Equipment & Style

I'm shooting mirrorless Fujifilm digital cameras mounted with manual focus vintage lenses. For portraiture work I am currently using an Olympus Zuiko 50 mm 1.8 lens for the colour rendition and soft bokeh, and a Soviet Helios 44-2 for the swirly bokeh and crispness.

Also available are a collection of prime Pentax Super Takumars, including a 50 mm macro and a 135 mm; a 35 mm Super Takumar is available if you'd like to walk around Durham and be street-photographed in a more classic tradition. An Industar 50-2 50 mm is available if you like the vintage Industar look.  The Takumars, oddly the 135mm in particular, can also produce the beautiful Fujifilm Velvia look. 

The images featured by me on this website have been captured mostly with the Soviet Helios lens, and with the 50- and 135 mm Takumars. If unfamiliar with the lenses' character, please have a look at the links above. In addition, I can make recommendations based on your taste and desired look. Here, for example, is Durham Cathedral through the Helios lens.

I am shooting under natural light with or without parasol. I use a 0.72X focal length reducer to retain as much of the lens' original character as possible.

For backgrounds I like the texture of brick and stone, doorways and doors in bright primary colours, gothic interiors and foliage. My favourite portraits tend to be static candid images revealing the client's natural emotional expressions, with or without camera eye contact.

Location

Central Durham

Pricing

A session costs £100. The session lasts appoximately one hour. Payment is made upon receipt of approximately 10 curated images in a private album. The price includes image post-processing. Files are made available in .jpeg format.

Recommendations

I recommend you consider bringing a book, favourite items to handle, and potentially a friend to talk to while being photographed. I find this facilitates natural shots and decreases the stress many people experience when being photographed.  This is of course optional; everyone is different and you should do what feels right for you.

Photography Samples

Examples of my work, below. 

Thank you for visiting. I hope to see you soon!