Educational

Bond in Motion London Film Museum

On Monday evening I was invited to enjoy a private view at the London Film Museum, Covent Garden to see the 'Bond in Motion' exhibition. The evening was hosted by Clive from Prestige Promotions for his members to see the largest official collection of original James Bond vehicles ever staged in London.

This exhibition is certainly worth a visit, you can immerse yourself in movie history, I was in my element. The best part for me, other than the cars, was that beside each vehicle you could watch footage from the particular movie it appeared in. I felt like I wanted to go and watch all the movies again from start to finish!

SMS Creative Photography Bond In Motion

Can you guess which movies the above vehicles featured in? Bottom right photograph Serena Gordon and Philip inside the DB5 with the original scene in the background.

Aston Martin DB5

Amongst the cars on display I particularly liked the Aston Martin DB5, this iconic car has appeared in many of the movies, however this particular DB5 was from the 1995 movie 'Golden Eye'. It featured in the chase with a Ferrari 355 in Monte Carlo with James Bond (Piers Brosnan) driving and his passenger Caroline (Serena Gordon). The added bonus to photographing the car was that Serena Gordon came to the event, it was lovely to meet her. I photographed her next to the DB5 and also inside, this time it wasn't with Piers Brosnan but with Philip, who came as a guest and bid £600 to sit next to her in the very seat James Bond once sat in. Serena said it brought back many memories of that eventful journey in Monte Carlo twenty years ago, looks like a hair-raising experience to me! This Youtube link is to that scene. The £600 goes to a charity close to Clive from Prestige Promotions heart, to support three primary schools in Kenya's Masi Mara which is where he hosts their annual Celebration of Wildlife safari in early October when the great migration is heading back from the Masai Mara to the Serengeti.

SMS Creative Photography Bond In motion 1

Above a selection of images I took during the evening, the bottom right photograph from left to right, Clive Thomas, Serena Gordon, Philip (the gentleman who bid £600) and Imogen Stubbs.

Above Clive Thomas and Serena Gordon with the DB5 from the movie 'Golden Eye' and footage on the screen.

Rolls-Royce

Now this one didn't appear in any of the James Bond movies, but it can be yours.

Thanks for reading, I'll be back in two weeks with more news. Enjoy the sunshine!

Bye for now.

Stella

Elite London Show Days May 2015

Following on from my last newsletter about the setting up of The Elite London Show a luxury lifestyle experience, set in the opulent surroundings of the Rizon Jet facility at Biggin Hill Airport.

The Elite London Show days on Friday and Saturday didn't fail to wow the audience with a prestigious array of 'boys toys' guaranteed to satisfy the most discerning customer. I had the pleasure of interacting with the exhibitors and customers alike, to photograph the emotion of the second Elite London Show. What stood out the most for me was the passion the exhibitors had for their products and craft.

Here are a few of the photographs I took at the Elite London show days with a brief description underneath.

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The photographs above show some of the exhibitors showcasing helicopters, supercars and inspirational sculptures.  All the images were taken using Nikon equipment with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens.

SMS CReative Photography The Elite Show London 2

The photograph of the hangar above was taken using Nikon equipment with a 24-120mm lens. The HDR process which I wrote about on my previous newsletter will tell you how it is produced.

SMS Creative Photography The Elite London Show 3

The photographs above capture different moments at the show in particular the Spitfire flypast, bottom right. The WWII plane captivated the audience with agile acrobatics, a fast shutter speed was a must for this shot.

Father's Day June 21st at Hever Castle

Say thank you to your dad this Father’s Day and spoil him with a memorable day out. In partnership with John Surtees and the Henry Surtees Foundation, Hever Castle presents a collection of F1 cars, classic cars and motor bikes from the John Surtees collection. I have been invited to showcase my classic and supercar photography at this prestigious event with framed Limited Edition photographs for sale.

Featuring the photograph below, home of the Spitfire taken at the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar, and an F-Type Jag courtesy of AutoPrive, using a Leica medium format camera. What I particularly love about photographing with a Leica is the quality of the lens, capturing crystal clear clarity.

Stella Scordellis Spitfire and F-Type Jaguar

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

Bye for now, enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend!

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!

London-Brighton Jaguar Car Run

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

London-Brighton Jaguar Car Run Stella Scordellis

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.

The Elite London Show 2014

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.

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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.

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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

Darley House

SMS Creative Photography Darley House

Last year I was asked to photograph a lovingly restored Georgian residence at Darley Dale.

It was a very special house with an interesting history. Darley House was bought over five years ago by Alex and Lucy Arterton. They could see the potential the house had to offer, and were unfazed by the restoration work that lay ahead of them, having restored two properties before, this was a challenge they were willing to take on, and with remarkable results.

One of the main attractions for buying the house was the garden and its history and its link with Joseph Paxton, the famous English gardener and architect who was head gardener at the nearby Chatsworth Estate. In 1845 he bought Darley House for his daughter, the gardens were landscaped in a similar design to Chatsworth. He was also the designer of the Crystal Palace and the prototype was built at Darley House.

Last September I was given the wonderful task of photographing the property. I love the variety of work I am offered and couldn't wait to get creative with this wonderful home. I arrived on a crisp and sunny autumnal afternoon, the front door was left unlocked so I could make my own way into the house. I was bowled over by the grandeur of Darley House. I had a lovely warm homely feeling, I wanted to kick off my shoes, put my cosy slippers on and move in. I was invited to stay overnight so I immersed myself in photographing the house and gardens. I very much enjoyed talking to Alex and Lucy about the restoration of their bolthole, they were wonderful hosts.

The reason for the photographs was so Lucy could market the property for people to come and stay, or attend a residential course or even hold their own. The house is available for hire for private groups from the end of March. Some of my photographs appear on the website which will tell you more, so you too can enjoy this hidden gem too.

Lucy Arterton Darley House

Above, Darley House in 2010 with the garages on the right demolished to make way for the new kitchen, with vaulted ceiling and mezzanine floor. Below the transformation is amazing, with dozens of PVC windows replaced with artisan crafted Georgian-style box sashes and original vertically recessed wooden shutters were repaired.

SMS Creative Photography Darley House
Lucy Arterton Darley House 2

Above preparing the floor in the kitchen. The restoration work used fourteen tonnes of authentic lime plaster on the walls. Some 50 to 60 bags of sheep wool were purchased to re-insulate the roof. The finished kitchen below is ideal to entertain friends and family or to host a business event.

SMS Creative Photography Darley House 3
SMS Creative Photography Darley House 2

The living rooms and bedroom suites have all been finished to a very high standard and make a perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

SMS Creative Photography Darley House 4

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

Stella

Photographic Exhibitions

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10 Days Left Until Christmas

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Saturday for the Oxted Christmas Festival, it was a brilliant start to the festive season.

There is still time to book a photo shoot with prints and acrylic blocks ready in time for Christmas, but hurry, Thursday 18 December is the last day to guarantee this. Appointments available this Saturday 13 December, please call 01883 722282 to make yours.

Creative Inspiration

Over Christmas why not stop and take some time out for some creative inspiration. Let your mind wander and explore some fascinating photographic exhibitions. It's such a beautiful time to capture some golden moments and see things from someone else's perspective. Or plan to visit new ones in 2015.

National Portrait Gallery are currently showing the 60 winning photographs from the Taylor Wessing photographic prize competition until 22 February 2015. This competition encourages photographers to submit contemporary portrait photographs to evoke an emotion. With over 5,000 entries from sixty different countries the winning ones are well worth viewing. I am determined to get one of my photographs accepted in the not too distant future.

Whilst at the National Portrait Gallery stroll over to Lord Snowdon's exhibition A Life in View to see a fascinating collection of images from the Queen's one time brother-in-law, on until 21 June 2015.

The Photographers Gallery Viviane Sassens work as a fashion photographer, her powerful photographs are more contemporary art, on until 18 January 2015

Somerset House will be  showing an exhibition to celebrate beards, yes that's right, beards, but not until 5-29 March 2015. This link will tell you more about the 80 prints on display.

Tate Modern Conflict Time this moving exhibition focuses on the passing of time, on until 15 March 2015.

Atlas Gallery are showing Celebrated from some of the most iconic photographers until 24 January 2105

Victoria and Albert Museum are currently showing the work of Horst one of the 20th century's master photographers until 4 January 2015.

EVE Edenbrige, Top Foto Gallery For something closer to home, if you missed this when it was  it was hosted at Chartwell, Westerham in October, my classic and supercar exhibition 'A Drive Down Memory Lane'  now on until 2 January 2015.

These exhibitions are just a few of the many out there, enjoy!

Thanks for reading.

Bye for now.

Stella

P.S For Classic and Supercar lovers, the ultimate gift of a bespoke book, please visit my website for more info...