Portraits – Little Time Machine

Portrait of Britain

by Pete 7 Aug 18

I am thrilled to announce that a portrait I made, as part of my year long documentary project about Port Sunlight, has been selected as one of the top 200 photos in the ‘Portrait of Britain’ competition. It will be included in the ‘Portrait of Britain’ book and there’s a chance it might be selected to be on digital displays around the country later in the year.

The photo is one of my favourites from the project that of Valerie knitting in her bedroom. She made knitwear for charities overseas. The Chinese artwork on her wall reminds her of her trips to China and the reproduction of the Pre-Raphaelites ‘Scapegoat’ painting is representative of her ability to take on the troubles of others. “Take me as I am or not at all”, she told me. I spent nearly 3 hours talking with Valerie. Amazing woman. Read More

Filed under Portraits

Lily Cole filming in Liverpool

by Pete 3 Aug 18

Earlier this year I was asked to produce a series of cast portraits and behind the scenes stills of Lily Cole working on her new film ‘Lily Cole: Balls’. The film marks the 200th anniversary of Emily Brontë’s birth.

We only had an hour on set but it was fascinating to watch a film being made.

The cast is comprised of four actors: Tia Bannon, Sarah Gadon, John Sessions, and Gillian Bevan. Balls has been co-written by Lily Cole and Stacey Gregg, and produced by Kate Wilson at Fury Films. The film has been co-commissioned by the Foundling Museum, Brontë Parsonage Museum and Rapid Response Unit, with support from Arts Council England.

Filed under Client work Portraits

Gareth Hughes – Podcaster

by Pete 15 May 18

Gareth Hughes is a podcaster based in Anglesey. I was commissioned by Swiss magazine Migros Magazine to go photograph him for an article they were doing on him. His podcast is basically him walking around Anglesey speaking English as part of a foreign language education network.

Cosplay

by Pete 18 Mar 16

The first Liverpool Comic Con naturally appealed to me. I’ve been to a few before. London in err… 2007? Toronto in 2006. I took photos. I took bad photos. Jaunty angle boring photos, which got huge traffic at the time. So I was tempted to visit the Liverpool Comic Con but I was concerned it would be overflowing with people like me from 2006. I realise that I need to find my own unique voice and angle, so the thought of hanging out with lots of other photographers all fighting for the same photo at an event like this really isn’t appealing. I’m sure you’re all beautiful snowflakes but there’s no point in everyone shooting over each other shoulders for the same photo.

In the end I thought I could stay at home or go out and see what I can do. Thankfully all the photographers were inside. It was overcast and I found a grey wall to shoot against. Within a minute of getting my camera out I was asking people if I could photograph them. 3 hours later I had taken 96 portraits and needed to go somewhere warm. I had SO much fun. I had good light, then great light, then good light. I had awesome chats with people about manga, comics, and lots of geeky things. I learnt about new anime. I was sad to not see anyone in a Starfleet uniform. Ah I had loads of fun. There’s some highlights in this weeks vlog.

So. Much. Fun.

I worry way too much about whether I’m doing good work. Whether I’m on the “right” path. Frack it. I just need to worry about having fun, paying bills, and having more fun.

Highlights below and a full series can be seen on my portfolio.

Filed under Front Portraits

Rush Hour Records – Amsterdam

by Pete 3 Dec 15

I saw this cool looking record shop in Amsterdam. Upon poking my head in I met this guy. It was like walking back into Liverpool. Cool place.

Filed under Amsterdam Portraits

Morning Gloryville Portraits

by Pete 12 Nov 15

Morning Gloryville is an event that takes place on the first Wednesday of the month at Constellations in Liverpool. It’s basically a morning rave from 6:30am till about 10am. A morning rave. Crazy. Constellations is right next to a school so when some kids are wandering into school going “Ugh its too early.” there are people bouncing out of a rave filled with more energy than your average star. It’s a great contrast.

I was too young for raving as it developed in the early 90s. I do remember my cousins talking about places like the Paradox. I didn’t get it. I was perfectly content playing Elite 2: Frontier and Street Fighter 2 on my Amiga. I missed out on raving the night away and photographing it all.

I thought it would be interesting to photograph people as they came out after the early morning rave. Everyone was absolutely buzzing with energy and positivity. It was fantastic. I’ve never been hugged so much. The positive energy was infectious.

Morning Gloryville recently celebrated its first birthday. Happy birthday :)

Filed under Portraits