Visual Inspiration – Jeremy Cowart

Last week I mentioned meeting Zack Arias. Once we got chatting, he asked me what I thought of Jeremy Cowart’s work. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of Jeremy Cowart until then.  Zack mentioned that Jeremy had followed the Passion crew around the world for their Awakening tour and released a photo book at the end of the tour.

He sounded interesting, so I typed his name into Google to find his website. Well it seems I had been living in a cave. Jeremy Cowart has been featured on Scott Kelby’s blog and interviewed for the Lightsource podcast, both of which I subscribe to. He has also photographed many well-known (anyone heard of Barack Obama) celebrities. Most bizarrely, I’m a massive fan of a lot of bands coming out of Nashville, many of which Jeremy has done the promo and cover work.

It might surprise you to hear that Jeremy does most of his photography with a single light being very spontaneous and flexible, something we are required to do quite often. Take the time to check out his work and get inspired.

I’ve included a spotify link to some of the bands Jeremy has worked for. Hope you enjoy:

• Mat Kearney
• The Daylights
• Imogen Heap
• Switchfoot

Photography Growth

Hey guys, during the summer, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Zack Arias. Zack Arias is a commercial photographer, specializing in the music industry. He is also an in demand workshop host, teaching photographers around the world how to light.

One thing Zack mentioned was quite a surprise to me. He said that so many photographers  mention that they have mastered the technical aspects of photography and ask him how to go about marketing themselves. When Zack checked out their work, he noticed that most of their work was inferior and in actual fact, they had not mastered their craft. Zack is convinced that once a photographer has mastered their craft, business will follow.

My role in our team is to develop the photographers on the team. I would like to start by concentrating on the craft. Before I start planning workshops, I want to ask you what you would like them to be on. Where possible, I will try get an expert to host the workshop.

So what would you like to learn? Here are some ideas:

• Retouching
• Location Lighting
• Portrait Techniques
• Composition
• The three basics (aperture, shutter speed and ISO)

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Let’s Catch Up

Hey guys – It has been a long time since our last post. I have a good excuse though – we’ve been out of the country for 7 weeks. For those making travel plans soon, let me quickly break it down for you:

• Iceland – hands down the most beautiful, dramatic and diverse place I’ve ever seen. Definitely a place I will return to and maybe even live at for a short while. Here are some landscapes and portraits from Iceland.
• Cephalonia – a Greek island. Good for chilling out and getting a tan. Not so much for photography.
• Croatia – Full of great architecture, beautiful beaches and interesting sights. Dubrovnik and Plitvitz are especially enchanting.
• Paris – The French version of London, great for street photography.

I started shooting video on this trip. Once I figure out how to make the 5D files editable, I’ll post a few clips. The reason that I mention this is that I know many of you have video SLRs and with new, cheaper models being released all the time, it is only a natural progression for us to start working on video projects.

I’m loving this video by Chase Jarvis shot with Nikon’s latest offering:

Even more entertaining is the behind the scenes video. Can you honestly tell me that you don’t wish it was you who did this trip?

Closer to home, here is a video from a good friend of mine, Dale shot with a Canon 5D markII. Dale lives out in Haywards Heath and has recently started doing photography full-time. He also runs an interesting blog about his experiences starting out.

The last video is from another good friend of mine, Shane. This one was shot mostly with a Canon 7D and shows a side of Scotland that most of us are not familiar with.

Well, I hope you guys are inspired and I hope the year to come brings ridiculously amazing photos and super cool videos from the team.

We’re keen to see you guys soon – not even to discuss shoot, just to hang out.

Cheers

John