ALEX ORROW PHOTOGRAPHER

2010-10-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

After a successful photography commission for the Cambridge University Botanic Garden I was recommended to the Marketing team at SAPS based at the Botanic Garden in Cambridge to take photographs for some of their new marketing collateral. The photography undertaken was very similar to the previous shoot for the CUBG except that all the children were 15 -16 and were visiting the garden as part of a week long tour of Cambridge University. Obviously this meant that I was capturing reportage style images with very little intervention or posing of the subjects. The brief was to capture the students looking interested and engaged in there activities.

Latest Commission: Cintra Website Photography - Cambridge based translation and interpreting service

2010-10-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

Cintra's new website is now live. The cambridge based translation and interpreting company asked me to photograph their staff over 2 days in August to provide assets for a new website. Due to the high number of calls made to the companies booking team and the different staff available on any given day. It was not possible to shoot all of the staff together at one time and so we decided to shoot the group of about 20 staff in 4 groups which were then comped together using photoshop. An example of the result will be posted soon.

Latest Commission: Photographer in Cambridge University Botanic Garden

2010-10-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

Cambridge University Botanic Gardens new website is now live. Results from 2 days of intensive photography is displayed throughout the site.

Previous post on the photographer at the garden. Cambridge University Botanic Garden photographer

Amazing Cambridge Free Running!

2010-10-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Some amazing free running in Cambridge!

Cambridge Folk Festival Photography at King’s College

2010-10-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

Folk legend Eliza Carthy popped into Cambridge in the early spring for a little pre Cambridge Folk Festival photo shoot! On behalf of The Co-Operative. Eliza was great fun and I even got to hear her play a little on the old fiddle.

Update 'How will the Sun affect my photograph'

2010-10-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Inconjuction with my previous post I have discovered a great free desktop application, for tracking the sun movememnt throught the day at any location throughout the world. Thanks to a blog post on David Tejada's site. You can now use the 'The photographer's Ephemeris' Tool to see very comprehensive information about the Sun and Moon's rise and set times.

Elevation of Obstacle Calculator for photographers- How will the sun affect my photograph

2010-10-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever needed to know whether the sun will be in just the right place for your photograph. Photographers can use the calculator below to determine how the suns elevation will be effected by obstacles. You will need to use a sun position calculator first to determine the elevation in degrees of the Sun beforehand.

Elevation of Obstacle Calculator

Newmarket Triathlon 16th May 2010 Photography

2010-04-30T05:19:00.000-07:00

Newmarket cycling and Triathlon Club are holding their annual Triathlon ni Newmarket on the 16th May 2010. I will covering the event on behalf of the organisers and the photographs are available from the event archive gallery

Duston Triathlon Photogallery

2010-04-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

Just Racing Duston Triathlon 18 April 2010. A very well organised event, fantastic weather and photo gallery online now!

Just Racing Duston Triathlon 18 April 2010 - Images by Alex Orrow

Sawston Fun Run

2010-04-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

Just had a look round the Sawston Fun Run route, and have identified some great places to capture all the action. Plus met two very keen participants training for the big day!! Looking forward to it gallery will be available here. Sawston Fun Photograph gallery

Cambridge University Botanic Garden Photography

2009-11-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Results from the Cambridge University Botanic Garden commission, to photograph children enjoying the Botanic Gardens surroundings and activities. Before undertaking this project I spent some time scouting locations with the marketing manager to find suitable places for children to enjoy and interact with the garden. There were so many beautiful and interesting options I new it would probably be best to stick to just a few places rather than tackling a long list of locations. Otherwise tiring the children and loosing their attention span.

There were in total about 12 children on the day, all were very enthusiastic and full of energy. My approach was to allow the children freedom to interact and enjoy themselves but to also set up and pose situations where the children might interact or find fun. Such as looking into fish ponds, hiding under tree branches or creeping through bamboo. Always keeping a mindful eye on the unexpected. I beleive the results are very natural and capture the fun atmosphere of the mornings shoot.

All images were shot available light with some fill from reflectors. The gardens are very interesting and diverse, with some wonderful views and trails throughout. More than enough for any photographer to get their teeth into, if you enjoy photographing nature and landscapes.

Photographer Cambridge

2009-10-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

As a new resident and photographer in Cambridge I am enjoying taking photographs in the local area. This has been a great way to get to know the University Colleges, local environment and people. I will be updating a gallery on my website with all new updates.

Tearsheet - NHS Nursing Recruitment Brochure

2009-07-28T10:08:00.001-07:00

Lots of portraits taken over two days for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital new nursing recruitment brochure. Great job, loads of fun meeting some very nice people. The brief was quite open with guidance to take approachable, happy portraits with neutral backgrounds. I chose to shoot with available light where possible and fill shadows evenly.

Cambridge Museum of Technology part2

2009-07-28T08:19:00.001-07:00

No specific brief for these images. The room used at the museum was full of old radios and television sets, where unfortunately none were working. The children had fun though despite the lack of interaction in the exhibits. I asked them to pose and they really got on with finding ways to look intersted. I used x2 SB800's on camera right to give more side light and fill shadows from window on left. This helped to separate the subjects. I also used 1 SB800 fired into the window side wall to help lift the ambient light. Part 1

Image below of one the huge coal burning furnaces at the Museum was lit using x3 Sb800 placed close to the right and left of the furnace. I wanted to keep the feel of light falling onto the furnace from the windows high above.

Volunteer Photography - Cambridge Youth Games Plus

2009-07-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

Every year Cambridge District Council's Sport Development in conjunction with Living Sport host a sports day for children with disability. I volunteered to take photographs of the event.

CAMSAR - Cambridge Search & Rescue Photography

2009-06-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue service training day - All images used to illustrate the service in action and methods of search and rescue for the CAMSAR website and other publicity. It was a very wet start to the day with continual rain making the protection of the camera and lens a priority as well creating well composed images.

Trained volunteer search technicians are assisted by a central control room providing up to date information from the local constabulary and GPS radio tracking technology.

Lighting for the two person portraits below was provided by off camera flash and the ambient daylight. Two flashes were placed behind and to the right/left of the subject and one overhead of camera position with softbox. Sunlight provided intermittent overhead backlight.

Rabbit Residence Rescue Cambridge

2009-06-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

I recently volunteered to take PR photographs at the Rabbit Residence, Great Chishill Near Royston and almost ended up coming home with one of the little furry residents!! Results from the 1 hour visit below.

Museum of Technology Cambridge: Part 1

2009-05-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

New images for the Cambridge Museum of Technology. More photographs to follow later in the summer.

Alan Johnson MP Visit to Royal Brompton NHS Trust Hospital

2009-05-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

Alan Johnson MP talking to a patient at the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust Hospital, London.

Tri Athlete's World

2009-03-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Cambridge Tri Athlete Don Hutchinson photographed for 'Tri Athlete's World' Magazine. Portrait was taken at Fen Drayton on a cold windy afternoon in March. Don was lit with two flash lights one of which used an umbrella, this meant securing the the light and stand so that it did not disappear across the Fens in the high winds. We also chose a location close to the lakeside where the ground was uneven adding to the challenge of using flash lighting on location. Despite the distractions it was a fun and interesting shoot with Don providing many stories from his career as a tri athlete and engineer.

Chelmsford Solicitors Corporate Portraits

2009-03-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Portraits taken on location at Solicitors office in Chelmsford for use in both a brochure and website. Other shots were taken at more locations within the office but this series is my favourite. The images were all taken using available daylight. The office presented a challenge as the ceiling was low and much of the wall space was covered with shelving and notice boards. I decided to move a small coffee table and seat away from a window and place them in the centre of the office to take advantage of window light and make use of a clean background.

The other location used was a small meeting room with a low vaulted ceiling, I used a single flash unit placed as high possible and close to the subject this also provided some illumination on the background. Again a clean background was chosen and some plants were removed.

Portrait on location during interview - Commercial photographer

2009-03-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

Commercial assignment to photograph Royal British Legion Director Robin Ashenhurst at RBL's headquarters in South London, during and after an interview. The series of images below were taken using the available daylight with some on camera flash to fill shadows.