Pixel Commercial Photography

Bank sponsors good cause

2012-01-16T21:45:00.000Z

There's lots I don't miss about being a Staff Press Photographer, RTA's, Football, Vox Pops etc, but what I really do miss is shooting a feature. Features were always my strength as you were given a little time to chat to people and perhaps even light it properly. So I was over the moon when Provident Financial asked me to document life at the Door Youth Project in Stroud, Gloucestershire. They're a great bunch of people down there and I've now got another place to pop in for a coffee when I'm working in the area.

Community Foster Care CEO

2011-12-14T16:59:00.000Z

I've just spent an hour with some thoroughly good people at Community Foster Care and had the pleasure of photographing chief good egg, CEO Becky Pearson.

Rural Broadband

2011-11-28T16:17:00.000Z

Just been doing some pictures for Gloucestershire First who are trying to bring better, faster broadband to the countryside. This guy, Dr Phillip Pritchard is campaigning to bring better broadband to his remote Gloucestershire village of Purton, where the connection is so bad that they lose their paltry 600kb's when it rains!

Twitter Gritters

2011-11-22T15:31:00.000Z

Bad weather and especially snowy weather is always big news, so Gloucestershire County Council hired me to get some pictures in the bag ready for the inevitable call from Picture Desks.

Even before the chilly weather has arrived the media savvy team at the council have hit the headlines with their new Gritter Twitter feed. Drivers in the county can now receive updates online about which roads have been gritted.

The service will be used to tweet regular updates on the weather, road conditions and gritting activity.

It has also increased its salt stock from 9,600 tonnes last year to just over 11,000 tonnes this year by opening two new salt domes.

2011-10-29T23:37:00.000+01:00

One of my regular clients, Bristol-based builders merchant Kellaway Building Supplies, got some very good press coverage with the help of these pictures I took of their first trade show at the Passenger Shed in Bristol Temple Meads. The pictures made it into the local press and trade journals.

Congratulations for BPE’s promoted staff

2011-10-19T16:33:00.000+01:00

Gloucestershire commercial law firm BPE Solicitors LLP has promoted five key staff members within its Property, Employment, Litigation and Construction and Engineering departments. I was asked to take some pictures for their website and the local press. The weather was a bit wild and windy, but we managed to get it wrapped up very quickly.

Paralympian

2011-08-18T18:28:00.001+01:00

Just had an inspirational day photographing some of Britain's top paralympic athletes for Olympic sponsor, Visa.

Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson between press interviews at Bath University. Tanni is one of the most successful Paralympians Britain has produced, winning 16 Paralympic medals - 11 of them gold.
Picture by Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

New 5 star hotel for the Cotswolds

2011-07-15T14:07:00.000+01:00

I've been really lucky to be involved with the launch of the new luxury 5 star Ellenborough Park Hotel near Cheltenham this year. It's unrecognisable since my last visit in 2008, when I was sent there by the Western Daily Press to cover a story about ghosts when it was the Hotel De La Bere. Over the years I've photographed loads of struggling pubs and hotels claiming to be haunted, it's always a very desperate attempt at free PR.

It was great to see such a fantastic renovation carried out so well, the grade 2 building has been completely saved for the future. Last time I was there I thought that it was destined to be an old folks home, I'm so glad I was wrong.

Top notch kitchen campaign

2011-07-06T00:49:00.000+01:00

I had a great time helping Cotswold Kitchen Maker, Jon Randall, rebrand his business. Jon needed a set of pictures that would convey the craftmanship of his business. I spent a day at his workshop in Uley, Gloucestershire and made a nice set of pictures that have had a good showing in Country Life magazine and a couple of ads.

Cinema boss creates quiet cinema.

2011-05-16T12:12:00.000+01:00

Cineworld's Chief Exec Stephen Wiener

Just been photographing Cineworld Chief exec Stephen Wiener who is launching an upmarket cinema in Cheltenham. The "Screening Rooms" will target over-45s, and offer a bar, waitress service and posh menu, but the best news is that Under-18s will only be allowed in with a parent.

Friendly TV Farmer

2011-04-28T17:15:00.000+01:00

I've just had a lovely afternoon working with BBC Countryfile Presenter, Adam Henson at the opening of Countrywide's new HQ in Evesham. I've photographed Adam before he was famous when I worked on the Western Daily Press, and I was really pleased to discover that he's still a lovely bloke. Some how he finds the time to farm 3000 acres in the Cotswolds, run a Farm Park and get on tele every week.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen supports Royal British Legion

2011-04-22T17:28:00.000+01:00

Just spent a pleasant hour with dandy TV makeover king, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his daughter Cecille. The pair are offering their support to the Burning Pig festival in their home village of Siddington near Cirencester. The festival that takes place in the village pub, The Greyhound, features local bands including Cecille's with all the proceeds going to the Royal British Legion.

World Land Speed Record Attempt

2011-04-18T14:23:00.000+01:00

I've just had a very, very interesting morning photographing Richard Noble's incredible 1000mph car. One of my clients, 'Kellaway', who are sponsoring the project were taking a look around the car in Bristol this morning. The supersonic car is powered by both a rocket and a jet engine puts out 133,00bhp, about the same as 180 formula one cars and get this, 0-1000mph in 42secs!

Guitar Legend

2011-04-02T21:26:00.000+01:00

Just had the privilege to photograph the Grammy winning guitarist John Williams. Amongst his achievements is this fantastic piece of music made famous by the movie Deerhunter.

No where near as impressive, but here are a couple of my pictures of him.

Telegraph Magazine

2011-04-02T10:49:00.000+01:00

I was really chuffed today to see that a shoot I did for one of my clients last month is featured in today's Daily Telegraph Magazine. Field and Flowers are a great new company run by two lads who met at Cirencester Ag College, they've got some brilliant ideas and deserve massive success.

Mood Music

2011-03-31T20:04:00.000+01:00

I'm having quite a musical week, yesterday I was working with a gospel choir for the drinks brand, Tropicana. Tropicana marketing people are travelling around the UK with the choir playing good mood music and handing out drink samples. All good fun, but the best thing for me was having the choir singing right at me from a couple of feet away, a truly awesome experience.

Souls of Prophecy Gospel Choir

Cancer Research UK at Badminton

2011-03-30T17:48:00.000+01:00

CIRENCESTER schoolgirl Alice Beard, 11 - who owes her life to an anonymous American donor after being diagnosed with leukaemia - took part in the charity event at Badminton in memory of her mum, Susan, who recently died of cancer.

Cancer Research UK has been chosen as the 2011 charity of the year for one of the world’s most prestigious equestrian events, The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials.

Alice joined a cancer surgeon, a research scientist, Gloucestershire fundraisers and top rider William Miflin, who has battled cancer himself, at one of the most famous jumps on the Badminton course to celebrate.

After being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2002, Alice suffered a relapse and had a bone marrow transplant in 2004. Doctors trying to find a match for Alice had to look across the Atlantic when their search in this country proved futile.

More info here http://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/latest_news/2011_news/charity_of_the_year_2011.aspx

Courteney Pine

2011-03-30T17:16:00.000+01:00

I was asked to photograph Jazz Musician Courteney Pine last night. Jazz isn't really my bag, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy the assignment, but I was pleasantly surprised. But more interestingly it gave me the opportunity to try my new Nikon D7000 in low light, coupled with Adobe LR3 I shot the pictures with ease in near darkness, this pic was shot at 6400 iso!

Rumer for Hallmark

2011-03-21T16:11:00.000Z

Just been photographing the very lovely Singer Song Writer 'Rumer' for the Hallmark Cards. She has been the fastest selling debut artist in UK and has sold over half a million copies in 2010.

Cheltenham Races - Ladies Day

2011-03-16T17:15:00.000Z

I've just returned from a photo shoot at Cheltenham's new 5 star hotel, Ellenborough Park. The Cheltenham festival is taking place nearby and the marketing folk wanted some pics to illustrate Ladies Day. It was great fun working with the models who were tremendous fun and in high spirits as they were about to be whisked of to the races.

Field and Flower

2011-02-28T17:22:00.000Z

I had the pleasure of working with a great bunch of lads who have set up a fast growing business providing luxury farm fresh beef, pork and lamb direct to the consumer’s front door.
When city boy James Mansfield met farmer’s son James Flower at the Royal Agricultural College in 2006, a new business was born from a shared passion for food and farming.

They spent long evenings in a damp, dishevelled flat in Cirencester, discussing the dream of getting great farm produce back into customers’ hands through direct sale.

Alzheimers

2011-01-18T21:10:00.000Z

I had a very humbling job last week whilst working for the Alzheimer's Society. You hear lots in the media about Alzheimers, but I was surprised at how debilitating it is. The chap I was photographing had devoted his life to caring for his wife 24/7. What I found really sad was that when she stopped talking, friends no longer dropped by and now the couple spend most of their time alone, apart from visits from Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

Amazing Art

2010-12-15T16:39:00.000Z

I've just been photographing Easyjet's UK Manager with this incredible piece of street art and couldn't resist having a go myself. Here's what she said after the shoot "Thanks so much, these are fabulous, and it was terrific working with you again. Do hope that we can work together again very soon" Ali Gayward, UK Commercial Manager easyJet

Prime Minister.....from Little Britain

2010-11-20T12:45:00.000Z

I had a right laugh last night working for Virgin Media with Little Britain star, Antony Head. Antony was helping out with the phones at Virgin's call centre in Trowbridge on Children In Need night.

Corporate Pictures

2010-11-02T16:11:00.000Z

Here are a few pictures from a days corporate shoot I did recently. I don't like to be too obtrusive on this kind of shoot, so I just let the company get on with it's day to day work and I take candid pictures that I hope give a sense of what they do.

Nicholas & Harris Bakery, Salisbury.

2010-11-02T16:02:00.000Z

Polish Bakery worker Marcin Zasepa taking hot cross buns from the oven at Nicholas & Harris Bakery in Salisbury.

Kings Royal Hussars

2010-11-01T16:52:00.000Z

I was recently commissioned by Gloucestershire County Council to cover the Kings Royal Hussars receiving the Freedom of Gloucestershire from Princess Anne.

Inside a PC

2010-09-23T20:29:00.000+01:00

I've been working for the Arts Council this morning, photographing artists at the Arnolfini in Bristol. The assignment went very well and I was particularly pleased with these pics of artist David Link who has recreated the inside of a computer. The green tubes were very dim so it was a real challenge to light him without losing the detail on the tubes. I made a cardboard tube over a flash and funnelled light on David's face.

Tolpuddle Martyrs' festival

2010-07-20T16:11:00.001+01:00

I've been rushed off my feet this summer and I haven't had the time to post any thing on my blog, so here is a pic that I like from the weekend. I was asked by the TUC to shoot a documentary set of pictures about the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival in Dorset, I met some great people and heard some pretty good bands.

2010-05-17T16:53:00.000+01:00

Just had a lovely shoot for Anglian Home Improvement with Tomorrows World Presenter Phillipa Forrester. She was making a film in the Cotswolds about Green Energy and I was asked to photograph her at Elkstone Manor, Elkstone where the owner Christine Shine has installed 390 solar panels over an area the size of 2 tennis courts. The panels produce enough electricity for all her needs and she sells the excess back to the National Grid.

Utilities Approval

2010-05-14T08:51:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to say that Pixel Photography this morning qualified as an approved supplier for the UK's Utility Companies. There were many hoops to jump through and today I was awarded my certificate.

Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Taking Pictures for the Web

2010-04-30T11:08:00.000+01:00

Everyone writes a top ten list, but you really don't need to remember 10 things, so here's 6 that you you really shouldn't forget:

1. Fill the frame - just like when you were at school and the Art Teacher told you to fill the paper, but fill it with good stuff, we don't want to see loads of junk in the background. Get in close or zoom in close.

2. Exposure - Get it right, the computer can help, but it's always better to get it right first time. But if you are hoping to rescue a bad exposure on a computer, don't over expose, rescuing an over exposed picture is harder on digital than it was on film.

3. Here's an easy one, set the resolution to the highest you're camera will go, you can always delete the rubbish to save disc space, but you can never improve a great shot that you want to enlarge to the size of a bus.

4. Think about the light, that's what photography is all about, so help yourself get great pictures by choosing the right time of day. I rarely have the choice of when to shoot, but if I do then I always avoid mid day. Overhead shadows are always unflattering on people and boring on everything else. You need a bit of sidelight on the subject, so I'm afraid it's early mornings or late afternoon for the best light. When I'm away on holiday I always get up up before dawn if I want really special pictures.

5. This is often overlooked, hold the camera steady. Camera shake is the cause of most out of focus pictures, especially if your taking pictures in low light. My top tip is to carry a bag of rice with you or a small bean bag, rest the camera on it or wedge it against a wall between camera and you and you've got a brilliant lightweight tripod.

6. If you've got a zoom lens, use it, stand back and zoom in, the perspective is much better and the background will go out of focus to make your subject stand out.

by Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Clint Randall is a Gloucestershire based former Press Photographer who has given up the Press after 23 years for life as a PR photographer and Wedding Photojournalist.

Throwing light on the subject.

2010-04-30T10:26:00.000+01:00

Clients often say nice things about my lighting, so I thought I'd give an insight into how I light my pictures.

Here's a couple of pictures that demonstrate my technique well, I was asked to photograph an Apprentice Welder working on the UK's new aircraft carrier at Babcock's Appledore shipyard in north Devon.

To start with I never ever point a naked flash at anybody, I always bounce the light off of a wall or celing. But most of the time I use remote flash shot through an umbrella to soften the light.

Ebay sell a whole host of remote flash triggers from about £15, these just connect to any old flash and you can start getting fancy with lighting. It's essential not to try and use auto settings on the flash, you really need to set camera and flash to manual, otherwise you can end up with inconsistent exposures.

The pictures above were lit using a Nikon SB800 shooting through an umbrella, activated by the flash remote trigger from Ebay and positioned off to the left of the subject.

www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Floods Minister

2010-03-08T16:27:00.000Z

I photographed Floods minister Huw Irranca-Davies this morning for the Environment Agency, he had been viewing a new flood defence scheme in Gloucester. I'm surprised he's so happy considering he's responsible for this little lot:

Marine environment and Marine Bill
Fisheries
Natural environment policy
Natural England
Land management; Soil
Rural development programme for England (RDPE) (agri-environment/forestry schemes)
National parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty
Coastal and wider access, countryside & rights of way
Coastal erosion
Inland Waterways and British Waterways
Biodiversity
Sponsorship of Kew Gardens
Ecosystem services
Forestry
Flooding and water (including Nitrates Directive) Better regulation; Third Sector; Apprenticeships

Phew!

By Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Royalty week

2010-03-04T20:54:00.000Z

I was working for Macquarie Bank earlier in the week when Prince Andrew opened their new Bank in Bristol. And today I was photographing sporting royalty in the form of Olympic Gold Medalist Amy Williams for BAE Systems who helped build her sled.

By Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

New client - Camelot

2010-02-26T11:38:00.001Z

I was thrilled to be told by Effective Communication's, who do the PR for Camelot, that this picture of a lottery winner was the 'best they've seen', so hopefully I'll be meeting some more happy people. The picture shows Liz Jenkins and her partner Phil Stephens from Ross On Wye celebrating their £115k win at Liz's workplace in Gloucester.

Clint randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Clint chats about Pixel PR Photography

2010-02-16T13:39:00.000Z

CCTV

2010-02-11T11:39:00.000Z

I Had an interesting job yesterday, I bet you didn't know that Bristol has more CCTV than New York! The city had the foresight to buy up the old Redifusion TV network of underground cables and blew glass fibre up the cables and now it's the only city in the UK to have it's very own network. Other cities have to pay BT to have the images pumped around the phone lines.

There are 1200 cameras covering the entire city, once you start looking they're everywhere, I know some people don't like them, but I reckon if you're behaving yourself they're great.

by Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Praise Indeed

2010-02-04T20:30:00.000Z

I met some terrific students yesterday at the Hotel du Vin in Bristol where I was photographing finalists in Audi's 'Sustain our Nation' competition. It was a bit like The Apprentice but with likeable contestants, some great ideas to watch out for are;

"FreeFlush" by Liam Curtis and Jack Seal, is a system to use rainwater to flush the loo.

Nicola Horn with her harmless peace loving silicone beer glasses that harmlessly crumple on impact with a face.

.....and my favourite, Andrea-Marie Henden's "Share Square" SD card that enables any camera to transmit the pictures direct to any pc in the world using 3G.

Finally I can't resist posting a snippet from Audi's PR people, "It is really refreshing to find such a thorough photographer – the whole office is thrilled with the images! "

RAC Tower

2009-12-17T20:54:00.000Z

I've just got back from a tricky job for the RAC. They've recently been bought by Aviva and have changed the colour of the RAC logo from blue to orange.

The RAC Tower on the side of the M5 in Bristol is known to millions of us who sit in traffic alongside it every summer on the way to the beach. Tonight I was on the roof of it on the coldest day of the year so far.

The brief was to photograph the new sign in a way that the press would be interested in running a story. I arrived a little early and persuaded the security guard to pose for my picture, I then popped a slave flash on a stand in front of him, another one pointing at the air conditioning vent and a third in my hand to lift the foreground. It didn't take long and I'm pretty chuffed with the results, lets hope the press like it.

Picture by Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Liz Hurley pic in the Telegraph

2009-12-10T08:29:00.000Z

Just had a pleasant surprise when I found a pic of mine in the Telegraph, I took it a couple of years ago when Liz Hurley first moved to the Cotswolds and I had a share in a little plane for doing aerial pictures. Since then we've had more kids so I've had to tighten my belt and get rid of the plane :-(

Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Great Publicity Value from Pixel PR Photography

2009-12-04T10:49:00.000Z

Here's another example of the way good pictures of your business can be put to great use. I was recently asked by the Wiltshire Music Centre to take pictures of one of their music workshops. I was left to wander around and take pictures of things as they happened and came away with a lovely set of images that can be used to publicise the centre.

Already the pictures have appeared on several music websites , they will soon be used in brochures, posters and blogs. After 23 years in the newspaper business they can also be pretty confident that press releases with my pictures attached will get published.

Clint Randall/Pixel PR Photography

Tough job

2009-11-13T16:02:00.001Z

I've just had a lovely morning with Amelia from Storm Model Agency. Storm are working with National Express Coaches to find potential models passing through bus station throughout the UK. This morning I met up with them at Bristol Coach Station and managed to grab a set of pictures in the 10 minutes before the only spare bus left for the day.

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Nothings too much trouble

2009-11-13T15:45:00.000Z

Last week one of my clients, Gloucestershire County Council, wanted to get some coverage in the media about their 'Love Food Hate Waste Campaign'. The idea was to find a Gloucestershire family who would pose with half a dozen trolley loads of food to represent what most families throw out each year. Sounds easy but nobody wanted to pose for it, as I hate to see a job slip through my fingers, I volunteered my own family. So in another first for me I set up the shot and got the guy from the council to press the button!

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Good Exposure

2009-10-29T07:14:00.000Z

Last weekend a Pixel PR Photography picture was published Nationally, Locally and extensively on the web. I was asked by the Arts Council to think of a picture to illustrate a story about an artist digging up an arctic island and bringing it back to the UK.

It really needed to have sea and rock in the picture, so we met in Lyme Regis and waded out to a rock and started shooting. The client is very happy with the return in the modest investment in my fee to get such fantastic coverage. I think this represents very good Advertising Equivalent Value (AEV) - in other words, the cost of the publicity in column inches if it were paid for as advertising.

Ostrich Egg Pinhole Camera

2009-10-13T16:21:00.000+01:00

This is a first for me, last week I photographed
fellow Photographer, Simon Pizzey with his unique pinhole camera. Simon has long held an interest in all things pinhole and bored of the usual shoebox pinhole cameras, he constructed a working camera out of an Ostrich Egg!

I met Simon at his home in Stroud and we headed off to Over Farm in Gloucester to try snapping an Ostrich with the Ostrich Camera, surely a world first.

I was a little apprehensive about getting in the field with Simon and the prehistoric looking birds. I'm not keen on these birds, ok as a duster or in a burger, so I kept my distance on a long lens and left Simon to it. I needn't have worried Simon seemed to have some sort of special affinity with them and they were fine with him, even though he was wandering around their field with one of their eggs.

By Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Skater Ad

2009-10-12T19:48:00.000+01:00

I was asked to do some shots for a Skateboard company, we wanted to get an image that suggested a more middle classed suburban look rather than the usual graffiti park.

I used a slow shutter speed of about 1/2 sec and off camera flash mounted on a stand to the left at 6 feet.

Renegade Media

2009-09-24T10:53:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of photographing the innovative folk at Renegade Media in Chaxhill, Gloucetershire. Mark Terry-Lush and his team have reached the final stages of Gloucestershire Business of the Year Awards.

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Petersham Hotel

2009-09-22T12:53:00.000+01:00

I usually keep my Reportage Wedding work separate from my PR work, but every now and then a picture crops up that I like to show off in both worlds. On Saturday I had a lavish wedding in London, often these events are held in grand buildings, this one in Richmond was no exception.

The bride had chosen me because of my documentary approach to weddings, so she really didn't want me to interfere in anyway with her big day. So when I grabbed this shot there were no second chances, thankfully the D300 has so little grain that I could push the speed up to 800iso without losing any quality, and freeze her walking down the dark stairs.

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photograpy

Arctic Island Artist

2009-09-04T09:26:00.000+01:00

Last week I was commissioned by the Arts Council to photograph an artist who plans to transport an island from the Arctic and tour it around the South West coast of England.

Alex Hartley hopes to transport the island Nymark from the High Arctic to England. He discovered his island, which is about the size of a football pitch, during a tour of the region in 2004. It had appeared as a glacier retreated, revealing the land among the melting ice.

He became the first person to set foot on the land in several millennia and petitioned the Norwegian government to recognise and name the island. The name Nymark means New Land. He wants to load the island, made mainly of frozen gravel and sediment, on to a cargo ship and apply for new nation status while it is international waters. As the budget didn't stretch to flying us to the High Arctic, I settled for Lyme Regis as a location. Luckily I still have the waders I used when covering the Tewkesbury floods a few years ago, so it was quite easy to get out to some big rocks and set up remote flashes around Alex. Sadly I didn't realise the tide was coming in so we both got a good soaking when we made our way back to shore.

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Blood Bike

2009-09-02T20:16:00.000+01:00

I'm a rider for Severn Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service motorcycles and a few weeks back I climbed into the boot of a friends car and shot some pictures of one of our bikes in action. I'm pleased to say that the beeb have done a nice story on us with the pics
Freewheelers are a group of advanced motorcyclists providing a free out-of-hours courier service for hospitals in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, North Wiltshire and Herefordshire. We carry anything from blood to X-rays and patient notes between hospitals in the area. Our hours are from 7pm in the evening to 7am the following day and all day at weekends.

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Bravissimo

2009-07-29T19:16:00.001+01:00

This morning I had the joy of meeting the delightful ladies that make up Bravissimo's Marketing and PR team. For those that don't know Bravissimo make bra's for the curvier lady and they had brought their promo bus to Bristol to spread the word in the South west. The story was a bit tricky to illustrate as the Bravissimo girls were in town measuring ladies up for bra's and understandably they didn't want any pictures that would embarrass customers. Thankfully amongst their team was a very attractive lady who posed for my pictures, the weather was awful so I set up a small Nikon SB800 flash on a remote through an umbrella and got some pleasing shots despite the low light. For the picture in the bus I bounced an SB800 against the wall from the hotshoe, nice and easy but effective.

Clint Randall Pixel PR Photography

Recent Road Trip to Mount Everest

2009-06-25T13:01:00.000+01:00

These are some of the pictures from my recent road trip through Tibet to Mount Everest to mark my 40th birthday.

2009-06-25T11:35:00.001+01:00

Elderflower Harvest

2009-06-24T15:22:00.000+01:00

Last week I was asked by Storm PR to photograph the annual elderflower harvest for Stroud soft drinks company Bottlegreen, as it harvests enough blooms to keep it in elderflower drinks for at least a year.

Pickers head out to gather flowers by the sackful, to be turned into the syrup that flavours the cordials and sparkling drinks.

It is a race against time, as the flowers must be picked and steeped in the syrup within 24 hours or they start to lose their delicate flavour.

Although Bottlegreen collects many blossoms from the Gloucestershire countryside, it also bring in harvests from other areas, including Kent and sometimes as far afield as Hungary.

This year the harvest has been later than usual because of the poor weather, but as far as Bottlegreen is concerned, there is no let-up in production.

This year it's expecting to churn out 6.5 million bottles. That's around 85,000 bottles a day from its South Woodchester bottling plant – an old mill with its own spring water source.

The elderflowers are picked by hand and only the flowers which have totally opened are collected. These are put under cover from the sun and kept as cool as possible so they do not wilt. They are then soaked in syrup for 48 hours before the liquid is drained off and the mix is micro-filtered and stored.

Elderflower cordials and soft drinks make up 50 per cent of Bottlegreen's products and it is now exporting worldwide.

Operations director Paul Martin said: "We send our products to Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Japan. The Canadians and north Americans love it because it's such a quintessentially English product.”

The elderflower orchards of Easter Park Farm perched on the Cotswold escarpment in Nympsfield, has been supplying Bottlegreen for several years.

Every year pickers come from local towns and villagers to harvest the blossoms. This year has been a little different. Farm owner Richard Parr has been carrying out restoration work on the 15-acre orchard.

However, next year the fields will be in prime condition for an excellent harvest.

Bottlegreen's cordials and presses are made using traditional winemaking techniques and filtered to preserve their natural flavours, before being mixed with spring water from below the bottling plant.

“When we moved to this site we wanted to maintain access to the spring water but first we had to find it,” said Paul Martin.

“We found out about a local man who was a water diviner and he told us to drill in a particular spot down to 50ft, where we would hit the water.

“We went down further than he said, but still didn't have any luck. He told us to go back up to 50ft and when we did, the water just came through really fast.

“I'm a scientist and I was pretty cynical about the divining, but he was absolutely spot on. It was incredible.”

Since then Bottlegreen has branched out to include a new children's range of cordials.

To find out more, visiti www.bottlegreen.co.uk

Laurence and Jackie Llewelyn Bowen

2009-06-23T16:24:00.000+01:00

CARE International, one of the world’s top three aid agencies, recently asked me to photograph Jackie and Laurence Llewelyn - Bowen who are ambassadors for the charity. It was after their visit to some of CARE’s vital projects to help the survivors of Sidr Cyclone, which devastated several regions in Bangladesh in November 2007, Jackie offered her singing support for a fundraising jazz concert in Stroud, Gloucestershire.