From Twitter
Followers: 941
@brillpix Thanks - was a lot of fun and a great way to test the 1D-X :D
May 20, 2012, 4:27 pmLowepro Magnum 650 AW all packed with 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM 16-35 f/2.8L II USM 24-70 f/2.8L USM 2 Speedlights... http://t.co/0hZUUUgx
May 20, 2012, 4:07 pmmy @LoweproUK Magnum 650 AW is all packed for tomorrows Olympic Torch Shoot through Okehampton http://t.co/OBhyTyex
May 20, 2012, 4:01 pm@roorootini mwhahahaha
May 20, 2012, 2:31 pm@roorootini is your skin turning white… ;)
May 20, 2012, 2:02 pmThe Video Interview
Proud to be a Loweprofessional
Author: Paul D Smart
The owner and primary talent behind Paul D Smart Photography. Paul writes and films updates for the website himself and ensures that he reads all comments.
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Studio Opening
I must apologise for a delay to this post...
It comes delayed because we have been so busy in the studio since the opening night.
As with any new venture, there is a moment of worry when you arrive at the studio on opening night, just hoping that at least 10 people will turn up.
My wife, Toinette and I arrived at the studio 7pm, with our two children. I was surprised to see people arriving, as well as a large group of models had already arrived and were being looked after by Tony (my general assistant).
Within an hour, lots more people had arrived including Tristan (my Shoot Assistant), other photographers and even more models.
All in all the night went incredibly well. There was a lot of food that was eaten and a lot of drink that was... well, drank!
We gave away two photoshoots with yours truly as well as five Lowepro Camera Bags to five lucky photographers.
Photographer Holly Collings managed to capture some great images from the night, which are below. Make sure you take a look at Holly's Facebook page (link) and give it a like.
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Model: Cassie Hooper
Cassie is a tiny 4' 11" tall, but what she lacks in height she makes up in pure fun
Cassie and I have been talking about a shoot for sometime now. With a single portfolio shoot under her belt, Cassie and I arranged to shoot as soon as the studio was complete.
Well that day was yesterday and what a great shoot it was. Assisted, as ever, by the very awesome Tristan (check out his website at tristanography.com), we spent the morning working through different outfits and poses.
Cassie was a complete pleasure to shoot with and I am looking forward to our next shoot.
A few photos in the mini-gallery below
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Video {Infinity Cove Build}
Here we go... with countless email and Facebook requests to see updates on the studio build, I bring you the infinity cove build
We ran out of power on the GoPro half way through painting which is a bit of a downer, especially as we did not notice. The last of the filming was a time-lapse done on my iPhone
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Guest Post: Chris Harrison of Grime & Glamour
It's Easter Sunday and as a special treat, I've a Guest Post from Photographer Chris Harrison.
Chris is an amazing photographer who i've followed for a while now.
How Do You Eat Yours?(aka 'Eggs On Toast')
A quick word about myself. My name is Chris (working as 'Grime and Glamour') and although I enjoy shooting 'street' and 'macro' I concentrate on people.
Mostly 'Alt' glamour, and nearly always the female of the species.Usually without many clothes on. It's a horrible job but I struggle through 
I met Paul online some time ago, through Twitter and we chat on there and compare work and link to other photographers of interest. I have an appreciation of his work and,
(I think) he thinks I'm ok too 
Anyway yesterday morning (The Saturday before Easter Sunday) I tweeted that as I have a model staying with me right now (as a guest) I should do a shoot with her.
Paul suggested I should follow a theme. Hummm...now I am not very inventive when it comes to that sort of thing, and when he suggested "Eggs on Toast" I was stumped. I mentioned on Twitter and Facebook what I had to do and lots of people suggested ideas. Mostly involving nakedness but I didn't want to go down that route with this one--too easy(and the model is 17 so never going to happen!)
Eventually after wracking my (tiny) brain for a while I came up with this.
I was always thinking that I was going to use the Orbis ring flash and a very shallow depth of field (f1.4 TO f2.0) I wanted bright colours and almost a 'cartoon' feel to it. It was a lot of fun and quite a challenge for me to work 'outside the box'....not a massive stretch but I think its a little different.
Thanks to Paul for letting me take over a small part of his internet world. I shall 'repay' you one day!
Chris
You can find out more about Chris using the various resources below:
WEB SITE: http://www.grimeandglamour.co.uk
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/grimeandglamour
FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovesguitars
TUMBLR BLOG: http://grimeandglamour.tumblr.com/
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/grimeandglamour
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Studio Build: Infinity Cove Teaser
So, it's the end of Monday and the studio has been very busy today.
We've put in the external staircase, though we've not got a door on that side yet. More importantly is our infinity cove.
Construction started today and we thought we'd film the infinity cove being constructed. It's not finished yet and in fact we won't call it finished until the paint is dry. However, as we are filming it, I thought we'd give you this little teaser.
Enjoy
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The PDS Photo Jingle... Kinda!
A good friend of mine is a musician. I've known Paddy O'Meara for years now. He's survived every Facebook cull i've ever had.
This evening I sat Paddy a challenge. Write a jingle for Paul D Smart Photography, and I'll buy him a beer.
20 Minutes later... We were presented with this...
Amazing! Thanks Paddy
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Studio Update - 9th March 2012
So the studio work has been going nice and fast lately. With two walls plastered and ready to go and just 4.5 remaining.
Still to be done is the building of the cove. We'll be doing a time-lapse of that in two parts. The building then the painting. We've got to paint the rest of the studio too as well as add our storage area, background exchange system, lay carpets, install large 50" 3D tv, setup phone system and bring in the lights.
We then need to bring in my desk, the makeup mirror and lights, sofa and a lovely chunky coffee table.
last but not least will be setting up the portable shooting station, allowing photographers to shoot tethered to our dedicated Core i7 PC
That's all for this update. Keep checking back to see more and keep an eye on our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/HireStudio22 for latest updates
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Review {LensFettish - By Matt Fryer Photography}
I asked a very good photographer friend of mine, Matt Fryer of Matt Fryer Photography, to give an honest review of the LensFettish service. And with the launch of the new studio we are partnering with LensFettish to be able to bring lenses to the studio for you direct. We'll even check, package and return the lenses for you.
Towards the end of last year I had a kit bag clear out in preparation for some new glass for this coming season. A couple of commissions came in that required the focal length that I had just got rid of and was awaiting to buy new of.. Typical that hey.. So I decided to rent the lens in question rather than rush out and buy it for one or two jobs early in the season and with the imminent announcement of a replacement lens, plus I was almost on the verge of swapping from Canon to Nikon too!!
So a bit of googling and reading of reviews I placed my order with LensFettish a local company from Devon. www.lensfettish.com The website is slick with a modern feel, finding the products is easy due to a well thought out layout and popular products just being there on the front page. So finding the lens I wanted was easy and selecting the hire period was simple too. (they have a huge range of hire length options) I opted for the 24-70mm f/2.8L for a weeks hire. At first I thought the price was a little high but when I compared it to another hire sites they were very competitive, as their prices include VAT unlike some others!!
My only gripe about the site is the ordering system. The stock checker tells you the goods are available to hire for your period chosen, which is handy. But from there it gets a little confusing. A previous hire company I used just adds the items to your basket; you pay for it, job done. With LensFettish you have to apply for the hire. So you fill out your details and wait. Now I did mine late on a Sunday night, I wasn’t expecting a reply or response that night, so I shut the laptop down and called it a day. The next morning I received a slightly annoying email asking if I was still interested in the lens hire as they had had someone else wanting to hire it for the same period!! I was fully prepared to pay upfront for the lens had the order system allowed me to, so was a little annoyed to be asked if I was still interested after such a short period of time and no notification email to say my application had been approved. So a few exchanges of email with the guys at LensFettish and the problem was discussed and sorted.. Nice and simple.
The lens arrived on the day of my hire period and I was stoked to see an aero, a mint one at that, strapped to the invoice. This wasn’t a one off either, my next hire came with a caramel Freddo included.. The lens was well wrapped and the box was well packed. The invoice was clear as to where and when I should return the lens, what more could I want.
After the initial glitch I was stoked how simple and easy it was to hire the lens from these guys and is certainly a company I shall use again, in fact as I type this I am just hiring another lens for another commission.
Come on Canon release the new version of the 24-70mm f/2.8. Please.. And a more wallet friendly price too please.
So if you are ever in the market for hiring a lens to test before you buy or just for a specialist job then I urge you to please check out LensFettish. A honest company from Devon with to notch customer service and you get free chocolate.
The images in the gallery are from a recent shoot commissioned for the Wedding Factor Magazine.
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Half Way There Now...
If you've been following out updates on the _studio22 Facebook page, you'll know we've been making lots of progress with the studio.
We are at about the halfway point now. The rest of the insulation and plasterboard is going up this week and the cove area gets it's first official measurement so that it can be laid down.
We will be out hunting for the carpet that covers the main admin and viewing areas as well.
After that, we need need to organise the storage area, a mirror and lights for people having their photo taken and of course the large 50" 3D TV for the viewing area.
The toilets and kitchen are going in as well (see photo), and last but not least in the next week and a bit, the external stairs will be going in place so that you lovely people can actually get into the studio.
We've booked Close-Up Magician Graham Prigg for opening night, and also need to confirm the live music
Make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook page for small updates
