Capture the Present, to Create the Past, for Future Generations...

Quick and Easy In this amazing, disposable, digital, instant age we now live in, isn't it remarkable we can capture a moment on our smart phone and share and post for all to be a part of that emotion?

We can record some special times with a click of a button without the hassle of carrying a camera - but do we ever stop - stop and savour that moment, do we ever appreciate it, or are we too concerned about photographing to share on social media?

Don't get me wrong I'm a firm believer that we share these times, with our smart phones we become so connected, but don't let them replace the importance of professional photographs. Now is a good time of year to make time to let a professional capture landmarks in your life, from my experience everyone has been so pleased they did.

Immortalize I love commissions to photograph moments that can never be repeated. My work is my passion, I get to meet so many interesting people who allow me into their lives to capture their families to reflect on and to safeguards their family history.

By going that extra mile, you are capturing the present, to create the past for future generations. In years to come, with printed photographs there will still be that suitcase in the attic full of prints for future generations to rummage through, just to see what great grandma or grandpa looked liked. It's that moment of realisation when you spot a distant relative who looks just like a member of your family.

Then and Now The selection of photographs below show examples of the photographs taken during the early years of when I opened my studio in 1997 to present day.

If I have photographed you before and you would like to recreate the pose, or you would like to start your family visual history, just give us a call, or come into our friendly studio to find out where to start.

Photographs below taken 'Then' in December 1999 and 'Now' in December 2014

Photographs below taken 'Then' in September 1997 'Now' April 2015

Photographs below taken 'Then' in September 2002 and 'Now' February 2015

Photographs below taken 'Then' in December 1998 and 'Now' January 2015

Photographs below taken 'Then'  December 1998 and 'Now' October 2014

Thanks for reading, I'll be back in two weeks with more to share. Enjoy the sunshine! Bye for now.

Stella

Summer Photographic Exhibitions

This is my favorite time of year, with the Summer Solstice on Sunday 21st June. What better way to spend 16 hours of daylight than outside with your friends and family and camera in hand. The perfect opportunity to make the most of the early morning light from dawn 'til dusk. Inspiration

If you need a little bit of inspiration it's worth making the most of the various photographic exhibitions not too far from home. I have chosen a few that may interest you in London, but firstly one in Kent, at Hever Castle this Sunday for Father's Day.

Stella Scordellis Automotive Photography at Hever Castle on Father's Day Sunday 21st June, a family day out and to see the cars and bikes racing legend John Surtees once drove and to meet him too.  On display are a selection of my Limited Edition framed automotive photographs and on sale for the first time. This link will tell you more.

Beneath the Surface at Somerset House until 24th August, the photographs on display are of a watery theme dating back to Victorian times, some rarely seen and from the V & A collection.

Fresh Faced + Wide Eyed at the Photographers Gallery is dedicated to recognising and nurturing new talents on until 5th July.

Ernst Haas: Reconstructing London at the Atlas Gallery showing images by this iconic photographer of London in the late 1940's some of it still recognisable, on until Saturday 4th July.

Audrey Hepburn - Portraits of An Icon at the National Portrait Gallery from 2nd July, a selection of more than seventy images taken by, Terry O'Neill, Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn, this isa must if you love portraiture.

 A History of Photography Series and Sequences Victoria and Albert Museum until 1st November. V&A’s internationally renowned collection, which chronicles the history of photography from the 1840s to the present day. In 1852, the V&A became the first museum in the UK to collect photographs and in 1858, the first to hold a photography exhibition.

Would You Like to Understand Your Camera Better? If this applies to you please get in touch. Twice a week I save the time to teach, on a one to one basis, how to understand your camera better and how to achieve professional results. Often this is bought as a gift voucher to present to someone special (like your dad for Father's Day).

Thanks for reading, I'll be back in two weeks with more to share.

Enjoy the sunshine! Bye for now.

Stella

The Elite Show London 8 and 9 May 2015

On Wednesday and Thursday I photographed the setting up of The Elite Show London, a luxury lifestyle experience, set in the opulent surroundings of Rizon Jet at Biggin Hill Airport. The scene has been set with an array of super cars and jets on display amongst a select variety of luxury goods.

Below are a few of the images I took just to whet your appetite.

HDR Photography

The photograph above was taken using 5 images spliced together, this is called High Dynamic Range.

The reason for taking a series of images at different exposures is because it's not possible to get a consistent exposure in one single shot. The light inside the hangar is much darker than outside.

By taking 5 images in rapid succession at varying exposures and processing in Photoshop one image with an even exposure is made.

The images below starting top left and finishing bottom right show the five images that were used to create the final one.

Spitfire

The spitfire below is on display at Intrepid Design alongside some innovative furniture created using decommissioned and recycled aircraft parts. You can even visit the guys from the Heritage Hangar to book a short flight in a Spitfire too!

Yesterday Afternoon

The photograph below is how it looked yesterday afternoon, before the cars and jets arrived. The lodge back right is by Waterside Holidays, by the end of the day I felt like curling up and going to sleep, it's so homely! If you get the chance to visit, either today Friday 8 May, or tomorrow Saturday 9 May you're in for a luxurious time.

Thanks for reading I'll be back next month with more news.

Bye for now!

Stella

London-Brighton Jaguar Car Run

On Sunday 26 April I went to the 17th annual London-Brighton Jaguar Car Run which started at Chartwell, Westerham, Kent - family home of Sir Winston Churchill, to photograph the start of the run.

The run is organised by Jaguar World magazine in association with the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club.

There were over 300 Jaguars scheduled to drive through Westerham starting at Chartwell for breakfast, getting ready for their start times between 8am and 10am. The route they followed took them on the B roads and finished at Madeira Drive in Brighton where the presentations were due to take place in the afternoon.

You may remember that after the heat wave during the week, Sunday morning was forecast to be a cold, very wet, wintery day and the forecast wasn't wrong!

I arrived at Chartwell at 7.30am equipped for the rain with camera bodies and lenses protected with plastic bags (I find the small Boots ones are best, turned inside out). This allows you to work fast without the worry the rain will seep into the equipment, leaving enough room to look through the viewfinder and operate the controls, and most importantly the freedom to walk fast without the worry that anyone is trying to shield you with an umbrella. Might sound crazy but it works!

The weather didn't stop the owners of this Jaguar C-Type Enduro/Proteus Replica 1953 taking part from the Netherlands!

There were a huge variety of Jaguars, too many to mention, in particular the three Union Jags. The styling of the Union Jag is based on the stunning XK8. This luxury convertible was inspired by Jaguar’s famous old XK-E (E-Type) sports car of the 1960s.

Car of the Run Award

I hear it was a smooth run and sunny in Brighton, well done to all who took part! Car of the Run Award was presented to Peter Hall with his MK 9 1961 Jaguar, presented by the Mayor of Brighton.

The Elite London8 and 9 May

If you enjoy the finer things in life, this could be just the ticket at Rizon Jet, Biggin Hill Airport. I'm looking forward to photographing the construction of this prestigious event and will feature more in my newsletter next week. If you would like up-to-date news about the event please follow me on Twitter and Instagram @StellaSMS

The Elite London now in it's second year - will celebrate the luxury lifestyle world by showcasing jets, super cars and featuring stunning brands from fine art to fashion and luxury gifts to exquisite jewellery.  Visitors will be treated to a selection from the world's most respected companies and sought after brands. To book your tickets please click here.

Photograph below supplied from last years event.

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend, I'll be back next week with more news.

Bye for now.

Stella

Fiat Step by Step Photo Shoot

As well as photographing people and events I also get to photograph another of my passions, classic and supercars.

A couple of years ago I was commissioned to photograph a private collection of classic and supercars as a special gift to the owner from his wife, so he could see and appreciate his collection all together in one place. The result was a beautiful handcrafted, limited edition photography book.

It was important to me to make sure that we had planned where each car was to be photographed - the location, the time of day and the lighting, the rest is instinctive. There were over 20 cars in the collection and each one had it's own character I wanted to showcase.

Every location chosen had a special meaning to the owners and each came with it's own challenges, but one in particular stayed in my mind and it's this one I'd like to share with you, the Fiats - their two everyday cars, that they most probably have spent most time in.

The photographs below give a brief outline of the step by step process I went through to get to the end result.

I chose to do this shoot at the beginning of May so we could spend the afternoon setting up in preparation for when the sun went down. I had postponed this numerous times as the conditions weren't right. The first photograph above shows the cars in position.

The above photograph shows the angle I positioned my tripod with the Nikon D700 firmly attached, the lens I used was the 24-120mm. I set my Nikon SB910 speed light remotely inside the Fiat Abarth, with lighting at the front and either side of the cars. There was a flicker of light from the house and a couple of domestic outside lights too.

As the sun began to set an additional light was added in the outside seating area, with a flicker from the tea lights on the table and to the right of the house as well.

From the image above you will notice that lights have been added to the tree on the left and another garden light to match the one on the right. Many exposures were taken so I could check the lighting was just how I wanted it, my lighting technician was very patient as we balanced the lights to compliment the lighting inside the house. It was precision timing to balance this before we had lost all the natural light.

The end result below, is just as I had imagined, with some careful tweaking in Photoshop to achieve the results I wanted below.

From the image above you will notice that lights have been added to the tree on the left and another garden light to match the one on the right. Many exposures were taken so I could check the lighting was just how I wanted it, my lighting technician was very patient as we balanced the lights to compliment the lighting inside the house. It was precision timing to balance this before we had lost all the natural light.

The end result below, is just as I had imagined, with some careful tweaking in Photoshop to achieve the results I wanted below.

Exhibition

This photograph and others from the book will be featured at the RAC in Pall Mall in the Autumn, with the opportunity to buy limited edition framed photographs. A small selection will also be on display at Hever Castle for Father's Day on Sunday 21 June 2015. I'll keep you posted as we get nearer the time.

If after reading this it has inspired you to commission a shoot please do get in touch.

Thanks for reading, I'll be back in two weeks time with more news.

Happy Easter.

Stella

Location Photography Bluebell Woods

There's a lot going on tomorrow Friday 20th March - a Super New Moon, the Spring Equinox and a Solar Eclipse all coming together during the morning. The eclipse will start at about 8.30am with a deep partial eclipse, 80-95% at about 9.30am. It's an opportunity to take a look up to, hopefully, a clear sky to see the moon pass the sun. Be sure to use a telephoto lens on your camera, a 200mm will work. Failing that grab your smartphone to capture a piece of history. Sorry if you have read this too late and missed it, the next total solar eclipse visible for our part of the world will be on 14th June 2151.....yes, 135 years away!

Next weekend, Sunday 29th March the clocks go forward so we can begin to enjoy the springtime, the longer days and all they have to offer.

Bluebell woods

This is my favorite time of year when we can wave goodbye to the bleak winter months and welcome the warm weather and watch mother nature do her thing. I especially look forward to bluebell season, time to head to the woods as the forest floor turns into a carpet of velvety blue flowers, the scent is just divine!

With the shoots already visible it's just a matter of time, the weather influences when they flower. To make sure I get the best backdrop for your family photo shoot I like to go on bluebell watch, so I can gauge when they are at their best. Years of experience has taught me to be patient, to just wait for them to flourish. I try not to be tempted to start too early, the best results for my photography is when they are at their peak and abundant. Last year, due to the very wet winter they were late to flower, I didn't start to photograph until early May, in previous years this is usually when they start to fade. I'll keep you posted.

You can see a few examples in the show reel below as to why it's worth waiting, families are always thrilled with the results!

We have started taking bookings, which are limited, due to photographing only at specific times of day when the light is just magical.

Call the studio on 01883 722282 to book your shoot.

To capture the present, to create the past, for future generations.

Bye for now.

I'll be back in two weeks time with more news.

Stella