Stuart James // Blog - the blog of documentary wedding photographer and commercial photographer Stuart James » Band Photography

2009 – our favourite images from a fantastic year! || Slideshow

stuartjames — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:48:48 +0000

2009 was an absolutely fantastic year for us – one with great weddings, many commercial shoots with the building of several relationships, the visiting of old clients and photographing their new-additions with the photos of little Jack Richardson and Thomas O’Connor and meeting some amazing new people from the photography world leading from the [b] school including Laura and Pete Lawson, Hayley Ruth, Stewart Randall, the boys from 3b media, Jennifer Clare and not to forget the guys from north of the border Chris MacKenzie and James Pearson and the guys down south, the lovely Davenports and not to forget MrF and everyone else from the [r]Network – it’s been a pleasure to meet you guys and I’m sincerely looking forward to our next GTG in London!

It is great sometimes to take a step back from how you do things and take on others thoughts and ideas, and from the many people I have met this year, both from the world of photography and other friends and associates, so much has changed possitively for us in 2009. When I worked with David Pullumon a lovely Asian wedding in Walsall I took a refreshing look at a different approach and as I’m sure you’ll see by the end of 2009 my work has definitely shifted slightly and our new style really is OURS!

A shift to Canon gear for much of our 2010 work will see a continued improvement in the way we work and I really am so incredibly excited to get stuck in to this year.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy my favourites from 2009 – a year that has been absolutely fantastic to us.

Thank you so much to all of our fantastic clients. I look forward to sharing 2010 with you all!

sj.p

Mezzotonic Live at the Steinbar, Walsall || Band Photography

stuartjames — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:35:34 +0000

Last night me and Beki went to see our friends Mezzotonic play at the Stein bar in Walsall.

As always the awesome funk/rock sound of Mezzotonic was stunning and it was great to catch up with the guys.

The lighting in the basement at the Stein bar is almost non-existent – with only a couple of effects lights and nothing else. However, 5DmarkII and its incredible low-light performance produced a stunning set of photos. Here are a few of my favourites from the night:

sj.p

Treyc Cohen and the Monday Sessions | X-factor Star Live Photos || Band Photography

stuartjames — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:20:39 +0000

Last night I had a great time photographing another gig in Walsall at a new venue to me – The Hang-up!

The star of the night was X-factors Treyc Cohen with her band.
The gig was a great night and the photos have come out great considering the awful lighting in the venue.

Treyc Cohen really has got a stunning voice and it was great to see her perform live and I’m looking forward to hopefully working with her and her band in the future. She is definitely a hot talent and has a big chance of going far in the UK Music Scene.

Here are a few of my favourites of X-factor star Treyc Cohen in action at The Hang-up in Walsall.

If you get a chance to see Treyc or her band the Monday Sessions in action I thoroughly recommend heading down!

sj.p

Mezzotonic Live at the Wharf10 | Canon 5DmarkII First Outing || Band Photography

stuartjames — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:43:23 +0000

Mezzotonic are one of the country’s up and coming big acts! They are an awesome band with such a fresh sound they really are going to go far…
I have known the guys from the band for some years and it was an absolute pleasure to get down to the Wharf10 in Walsall a few nights ago to watch a live set, and to capture a great set of live shots on my beloved newly acquired Canon 5DmarkII!!

I have always been a Nikon guy and also this isn’t going to change I do like the Canon to work with and I love the files from it. The colours are so crisp and clean, and especially when you come up to high iso shooting the Canon files are just cleaner than those from the Nikon D3. However, at times the Nikon D3 will still be my chosen camera over the Canon, but for shoots like this gig, well I must say I’m only going to be taking the Canon with me!

I will be posting a more in-depth view on the two systems in the coming days but for the moment please sit back and enjoy looking at these stunning photos of the fantastic Mezzotonic.

Hope you enjoyed looking at this post as much as I enjoyed shooting it – and sharing it with you.

Oh and for those of you who may be interested everything was shot on a Canon 5DmarkII on either the 35mm f1.4 L, 135mm f2 L or 24mm f1.4 L Lenses. Oh and the focussing issue that’s so often talked about with Canon cameras – this thing is sharp as anything!! Can’t wait to play properly with the two systems side-by-side on Sunday’s Greek Engagement! Look out Eleni and Kyri, I’m intending to have a lot of fun…

sj.p

2008 Highlights | Thank you for a great year!! || Slideshow

stuartjames — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:19:23 +0000

2008 was an absolutely fantastic year for us. The first year completely digital, a great year for weddings, and an eventful year for personal relationships.
It seemed like a long year at times but to be able to share it with the awesome clients I have is just amazing, and from Ali and Dave through to Caroline and Phil and the commercial clients along the way, all I can say is thank you for a great year – and here’s to an even better 2009!

Enjoy a selection of highlights from the year…

sj.p