It’s almost that time again, when our passion for food, drink and relaxation comes to the fore. And, as usual, it’s time to have a bit of fun with something creative and seasonal.
This year I wanted to mix the contemporary with something a little more vintage… so here’s an interactive Christmas tree in a snowstorm to play with. Have fun and happy holidays!
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Here’s a standalone timelapse and photo slideshow, capturing the opening day of the new Bramsche Bar in Todmorden on Friday 9th December 2011.
Anti Limited was commissioned to install one of our self-contained, discrete timelapse camera units to capture the whole of the opening day; from the shutters being removed outside the venue, all the way to cleaning and closing up, almost 21 hours later. The video was then edited and placed online, and was used as exclusive launch content for the bar’s social media strategy. It provided an exciting, cost-effective and engaging piece of content for the audience, whilst demonstrating exactly how the space can be used at different times of the day.
After several years lying vacant, a new team has carefully refurbished and renovated this property, designing and fitting it out with care and passion. The fare concentrates on the best of local food and drink, but with a wider European bar and café influence as well. When you consider the well-stocked jukebox, a great selection of cakes, a small but perfectly formed menu, and some seriously good coffee, it’s a perfect daytime destination. Add a great range of ales from Lancashire and Yorkshire, and an equally solid range of continental beers alongside a good cocktail list, and you’ve got an essential new addition to the Upper Calder Valley’s social circuit.
All timelapse, stills photography and editing by Anti Limited. Music credit: Minotaur Shock – Ocean Swell, courtesy of Melodic Records.
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Click or tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your web browser
This is Radiance, a gorgeous lighting and craft boutique in the small market town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. Radiance is owned by designer/maker Hannah Nunn: as well as creating her own acclaimed range of lighting, Hannah has a keen eye for the beautiful, showcasing and selling other talented designers’ work too. The result is a truly magical shop, filled with a wide variety of carefully chosen, high-quality craft products.
It’s the third year in a row I’ve worked with Radiance to carry out a 360° photoshoot: you can view the 2009 version here (in the previous shop unit), and 2010′s version here (interesting to see how much the shop has changed in just one year). I was commissioned to return to Radiance, a year on, to illustrate this evolution, and to create a more comprehensive 360° view of the store, to compliment Radiance’s newly redesigned website. I also captured a series of high quality shop interior and exterior for press and marketing purposes.
So what’s new? Well, for the first time you can look into Hannah’s workshop, and see where the magic is made. It’s also the first time Radiance has been visible on mobile devices. And as I’ve mentioned before, the shop is a dream for a photographer specialising in High Dynamic Range imaging: the huge range of light and shade provides both a challenge and an inspiration to capture properly. This time we shot it during normal opening hours, so there was an even wider dynamic range to contend with. For the technically minded, each image was shot with 9 bracketed exposures, each 1.3EV apart, using a Promote remote control. The resulting files were then processed in Lightroom and Photomatix Pro.
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Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Here’s a sneak peek at some footage I shot on Bonfire Night, as part of a wider collaborative project. I’ve got a long tradition of shooting timelapses of November 5th (here’s a link to an epic one from 2006) but this was particularly fun to shoot.
A grandstand view, 22 stories up in an apartment in MediaCityUK, using 2x Canon EOS DSLRs, and 3x GoPro Heros. The panorama above gives you a better idea of the location, and the attachments for the GoPros. Below are two of the timelapse videos I shot on the night: there are full descriptions of both on their respective Vimeo pages.
View this location in Google Earth by clicking or tapping this icon… 
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I’ve been working with the seminal Mancunian music venue Band on the Wall in Manchester, helping to showcase the unique venue and their facilities.
When I started this project I was particularly keen to capture one legendary North West DJ, Greg Wilson, in action as I’d originally shot him back in 2008 at the Electrospective event in Islington Mill. Ever since then I wanted to catch him in full effect, with his trusty Revox reel-to-reel tapes onstage.
I’d seen Greg back in April for the first outing of his new ‘Reels of Steel’ project, which he’s since taken on tour, so his recent return to Band on the Wall for Dan Soulsmith’s ‘Stretch Disco’ night gave me the perfect opportunity to snap him as he played to a buzzing crowd. It was a great night, and as you can see, the place was jumping. Check out Greg’s mix from the night on Soundcloud here to immerse yourself in the full experience…
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
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We’ve long enjoyed working within the North’s vibrant arts sector… an area where artistic and technological innovation are natural (but sometimes uncommon) bedfellows. So we were very pleased to be invited to bring our experience to bear and develop a solution for the Octagon Theatre, Bolton (described by the Guardian as one of the best, most revitalised regional theatres in the country).
As a forward-looking theatre, working hard to connect with a wider (especially young) audience, they wanted a high impact way to highlight all aspects of the theatre. Traditionally the public tends to focus on the talent onstage, to the detriment of the expert support teams whose stagecraft ensures a smooth, seamless and professional experience. Another key feature of the Octagon is the ability to reconfigure the auditorium in three distinct and highly different layouts, tailored for each performance.
We took the brief and applied our experience to develop an integrated, cost-effective solution to help shine a light behind the scenes at the Octagon – a permanent timelapse feature in the main auditorium. An unobtrusive, user-friendly camera allows the theatre staff to capture performances, rehearsals, training… or in this case, a wholesale reconfiguration of the theatre between performances. Staff can then use this internally, and integrate it with their wider social media strategy… you can view some of the results on their YouTube channel. As you can see, it provides an exciting and compelling visual narrative. Best viewed in HD for the maximum impact!
This integrated, easy-to-use solution was accompanied by comprehensive training, to ensure a value-led package with multiple applications across the theatre. It was great to help focus a spotlight on the talent offstage, as well as those treading the boards…
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This dramatic timelapse was commissioned as part of the highlights video production for the recent Manchester International Festival. We’ve been working on extremely high-resolution timelapse footage for many years, specialising in capturing the subtleties and richness which conventional techniques cannot do justice to.
Working with long-term film partners Toasted Productions, Anti Limited shot this piece across the Manchester skyline, which you can watch as part of the MIF 2011 highlights film on the link below.
I’m pleased to announce it’s also been chosen to be incorporated into a regular broadcast feature on the digital ‘Community Channel’ in the UK, starting in November 2011. This, alongside some of Anti Limited’s other cutting-edge high dynamic range timelapse material, will feature in the credits for ‘UK360′, a news programme covering the whole country. Obviously we’re more than happy to be helping to represent the North West!
Special thanks to MIF for allowing this piece to be licensed by the non-for-profit Media Trust, so it will be seen by an even wider audience.
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More views from Festival Square at Manchester International Festival.
Sunday 10th July. First up, on the decks is Dom Sotgiu from Manchester’s finest reggae label, Blood and Fire. Dom dropped his usual mix of righteous dub, roots and reggae on a hot summer’s afternoon in Festival Pavilion. A perfect soundtrack to the mellow warmth outside…
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Next, an evening view of Festival Square, with gorgeous fading light providing a wonderful close to an afternoon of perfect warm summer sunshine. Manchester felt just that little bit more continental, and plenty of people took advantage of the conditions to sit out and enjoy a drink and a chat, surrounded by music and mellowness.
I only realised when I was stitching this together that I’d caught Damon Albarn, who’d been starring in Dr Dee, as he bobbed out of the Pavilion. Paparazzi pano 
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Also on Sunday 10th, the wonderful Candi Staton (in her second performance of the Festival), live in the Theatre. She held the crowd utterly enraptured with her sweet soulful voice. I was really impressed by the sheer presence she commanded, leading a very tight band and backing singers and rocking the place. A very special moment from a gospel / soul legend.
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Below is the ever-sophisticated Barry Adamson, in conversation with Dave Haslam. An intimate, enlightening and often hilarious insight into the history and motivations of this Mancunian luminary.
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Finally, I had genuine difficulty standing still during this set by the Disco Mums, Manchester’s very own maternal disco & boogie posse. Five ladies with children, attitude, funk… and record boxes stuffed with pure dancefloor gold! Sunshine outside, and sunny vibes inside, on a family-friendly Sunday afternoon in the Festival Pavilion.
Click/tap the image above to view a fullscreen panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
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I’ve been shooting a series of official panoramas at this year’s Manchester International Festival, working for Toasted Productions on their wider media package for the festival. Now in its third year, MIF is going from strength to strength, with another selection of well-received original productions encompassing the full artistic spectrum. All of which helps Manchester make an even bigger mark on the global cultural map.
The location for this view is Festival Square, when Albert Square outside the City Hall is transformed into a cosmopolitan continental village for two weeks. On this, the opening weekend, we couldn’t have been luckier with the weather. Mancunians basked in the warm sun, and in the dulcet tones of this choir performing a cappella to the crowd.
Graduale Nobile are a 24 piece choir from Iceland, and they’ve been in Manchester for the last few weeks to support Björk‘s new show, Biophilia. I saw the opening night of Biophilia and truly loved it: an inspirational, ambitious and unpredictable performance with a host of talented performers… including this choir*. With its octagonal set and incredible visuals I would love to have shot a 360° of the Biophilia set…
Incidentally this panorama has already been published on the MIF website, but for the Flash version I’ve taken the liberty of adding some audio of the choir which I’d captured at the time. This hopefully gives a more powerful impression of the sheer impact and joy of their performance on this gorgeous summer’s evening.
*I’ve not been exposed to this much choral music since I was at school (I can still summon up parts of Orff’s Carmina Burana and Handel’s Messiah almost verbatim when prompted!) And if you, like me, are interested in all things Icelandic, you may enjoy some panoramas I shot there in 2008, on a short but perfect autumn break.
Click the icons above to view a fullscreen 360° view of the scene with Flash (for desktop) or HTML5 (for mobile). You can also view the location in Google Earth. Happy viewing!
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Enjoyed the chance to have a nosey around the John Rylands Library in Manchester earlier today, as part of a brief guided tour for photographers.
It’s a stunning building; with so many views and details the hour flew by. I had a great time, saw lots of things I’d like to have spent more time shooting, and would urge anyone to check out this architectural gem in the city centre.
The majority of these shots are HDR, shot with a variety of exposures; some 3x AEB and others up to 9x with a Promote controller, then processed in Photomatix and Lightroom.
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