chrisbeaumont's Photos

Earlier in the day before this shot was taken, my brother was sitting where my Mum is, and the setting sun was shining in through the patio doors, lighting him up nicely from the left hand side of the shot. When this one was taken the sun had long gone down, and so I setup a strobe in the garden and balanced the flash with the ambient light in the room to get this setup. Strobist info: One Canon 580 EX II to the left of the scene, aimed slightly upwards with the little white bounce card out, set to 1/2 power. See my blog for more info on how I set it up.

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I pass the Monmouth Coffee Company every morning on my walk to work. This little bench is a prime spot for morning commuters to get their early fix of caffeine and have a quick read of the paper or a friendly chat. The Monmouth Coffee Company is one of those lovely places that makes you feel weird because everyone who works there seems so happy. chris-beaumont.com

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There's something about going back to Essex that really messes with my constitution. I feel like I regress back down several steps on the evolutionary scale. Like I've walked right onto the set of 'They Live'. These security cameras are quite the eye sore; menacing and portentous. Ultimately I suppose the reasons for their existence are rational and understandable, desirable even, but still, for me they represent a facet of the darker side of the modern state, especially in Britain, which is, apparently, the most surveiled state on earth.

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I went to see the Arsenal vs Real Madrid pre-season warm up game a couple of weekends ago with some work mates. It was a tepid game with little to write home about, though my friend Ash bought his 2 year old son along to his first football match, which was lovely to see. I added a fake tilt-shift effect in Photoshop when processing this one, which makes it look like an image of a tiny model. I've made a video tutorial about how to apply fake tilt shift in photoshop and would love to get some feedback from you guys about what you think. It's my first attempt at such a venture so go easy!

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This was an experiment in taking a portrait using a longer focal length, which I’ve oft heard quoted as rule number one for portraiture. The golden number is 100mm, so they say. The only lens I have is a 17-85mm zoom lens, and this was taken all the way out at 85mm. The idea is to compress the background and flatten out the space between subject and surroundings. It definitely works - much more impactful. chris-beaumont.com

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I love these gas towers. Not sure why. I've gone past this one every day on the train for about three years and always wanted to photograph it. Then one day all this graffiti popped up on the side of it, and then I REALLY wanted to photograph it :) Sometimes graffiti looks so right. Well I found it a little while back - just round the corner from where I live. I love it. chris-beaumont.com

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Rikke is a journalist. This shot was taken for her profile on one of the websites she works for. It's actually a reject - the ones that got through the editorial sieve made her look far more friendly and approachable. This one was for me :) Technical Info The scene was lit with continuous lights that we use for video production. The Key light is a Kino Flo 400 placed camera left. The edge highlight is a Photon Beard Highlighter 110 placed to the left of, and behind, Rikke, and the backdrop is lit with an Arri Fresnel 300 spot. The Kino and Photon Beard are both great to work with - they're flourescent tubes that are naturally diffused and give off a lovely light. The Arri is a tungsten bulb that runs at a different colour temperature, which is why you can see some strange reddy/blue casting on the backdrop. The wall it was shot against is actually a light grey ... I like the way the Arri turns it into that blue colour when it's picked up by the camera sensor.

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This is Hugo - he’s a friend of a friend, who owns a little night spot in Hackney that’s not really a night spot but actually where he lives! He puts on parties and exhibitions from time to time to help pay the rent. He was a great guy. I had hoped to put a night on with him, but it all came to nothing in the end, as these things often do. His place was amazing. You can only see a small portion of it here, but behind the camera is a large open space, the walls adorned similarly to the walls you can see in this image. Speakers, wires, cables … all manner of brick-a-brack. There was also a stage where bands could perform. Being there reminded me of my favourite Jeff Wall image: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/jeffwall/image/roomguide/rm6_invisible_lrg.jpg

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Taken on Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands. I’m not sure what it was that bit the dust on the moorland, but it had feathers, and had been picked clean. This one was processed using the dodge and burn tools in Photoshop - lots of really heavy dodging and burning. chris-beaumont.com

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Ben and I have known each other a goodly while now, and we used to be close friends, but we've been drifting further and further apart for a few years. This was taken on a drunken evening in my back garden. I had some flash heads from work at home, and we decided to do a spot of photography at 1am. It was fun! chris-beaumont.com

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This image is a bit of a cliche and I'm slightly embarassed by it, but I love the mono tones, and the sky was just beautiful that day. chris-beaumont.com

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Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of “Spiritus Mundi” Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? – William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming”

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Alper is a friend and work colleague. We produce videos for the various websites under the CBS Interactive Media (formerly CNET Networks!) portfolio. Last month, we were on duty at the silicon.com CIO50 awards evening, held at the top of Tower42 (formerly the Natwest Tower) in the City of London. Here, Alper is using me as a manequin, testing the location he'd chosen to setup his camera for the vox-pops he was tasked with obtaining that evening. I was on photography duty that night - the rest of the images can be seen here. When not on duty, Alper is a film maker. He's in the finishing stages of editing his first feature length film, called "Exlpoits". Check out the blog for Exploits here (he may even update it one day!)

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This stubby little mountain was the first I photographed on a week long trip to the Scottish Highlands last April. There's something about him (it seems like a he) that's ever so cheeky, though I can't figure out what it is. http://chris-beaumont.com

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