Ben Plewes Photography

It’s been far too long since my last post – the truth is, time has been at a premium for the last few months. It’s ongoing projects like this blog that tend to suffer when I have a full schedule. Note to self, must do better in future!

Blogging inconsistencies aside, 2008 has got off to a great start. I’ve lined up some new kit to help along the way. First up is Canon’s flagship 1D mk3 SLR; 10 frames of beautiful high resolution 14 bit colour per second really is going aid the creative process. Especially for my clients who need high quality action shots. It’s also the perfect companion to my trusty 5D, which has delivered nothing but quality for the last 18 months.

Next up is the Canon 100-400 L series lens which I’ve lined up to fill a gap above 200mm, which until recently wasn’t an issue. Usually I don’t have much call for this focal range, but several recent client requests have called for a high quality long lens. So after hunting around at the recent NEC Focus exhibition, the 100-400 L seemed to offer the best combination of quality and versatility.

And finally, my compact camera of choice for 2008 is the Ricoh GRD II, which is ideal for those impromptu gems you find while out and about. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and the B&W function is just great. Quite noisy at ISO’s over 200, but this looks like film grain on B&W’s. I’ll be posting some arty shots in the gallery soon.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll be back soon to post examples of recent client shoots. 

The photograph below has been highly commended by the judges of Take A View 2007 ~  The Landscape Photographer Awards. It will appear both in the awards book, produced by AA publishing, and as part of a presentation at London’s National Theatre. I took this image of Brighton’s West Pier after sunset in late November 2005.

It will feature at London’s National Theatre between 15th September to 3rd of November 2007.

Click here for licensing options at Alamy 

It’s always nice to see where one’s work gets used, but when selling stock imagery I rarely get to see where my images finally feature. Nice then to see this on which is currently being used on an American finance website. 

The drowning piggy bank image above is available for immediate download from Alamy at the following link:Click here to see the image

It’s been great working on this project, which has finally gone live this week. Buckland lake is a massive wildlife reserve project with big ambitions. Landscaping works around the lake are starting this week and the new website blog will be documenting construction progress on a regular basis.

I’d like to express genuine thanks to Doug Hilton for being an excellent client. Doug is always a pleasure to work with. To see the new Buckland Lake website click the following link www.bucklandlake.co.uk

It’s been a busy few months here and the blog seems to have sunk down my list of priorities, probably not where it should be! I’ve been working hard for new clients which has brought its own set of exciting new challenges. Not really an excuse but it’s the best I can do!

The studio has also seen change, from Elinchrom lighting to higher spec Bowens wireless lighting which has made a fantastic difference. It’s also nice to invest in equipment that’s designed and made in the UK. The Bowens lights are not only great in the studio, but on location too because I use a Bowens Travelpak (portable power source) for situations where an extension lead just isn’t long enough! I’ll try and post a review a bit later on.

This month also sees a transition from my trusty G5 and G4 based Macs to the new Intel based machines. I’ve been using Adobe CS3 since release in April and am now looking forward to the performance boost that the new Intel Macs will inevitably bring.

Another recent development involves this website which has been in it’s current form for the best part of 2 years now, so it’s been due for a facelift for a little while. I’ve pretty much finalized the new design and now just need to find the time to implement it. The revised site will be simpler and have a much stronger focus on this blog. It will also better reflect the kind of photographic work I’m doing now and the services I offer.

Thanks to everyone who’s given me feedback to date, it’s always appreciated…

A week in Devon during April offered an ideal opportunity to shoot some infrared film.

Berry Pomeroy Castle (cool toned)

Track near the coast (warm toned)

Only this time it’s in the Netherlands and in print!

DPS in Waterkampioen; The Netherlands largest boating magazine. Pic shows Doug Hilton’s Amphicar leaving Dover. Photo by Ben Plewes.

These images are part of a series I’ve been working on to promote the use of carbon neutral energy.

Now available for Royalty Free download from Alamy.