Back to the Studio :: Now Complete

The studio is now complete - all the lights and accessories have arrived and we're good to go. One of the last items to arrive was a set of gels which give us the ability to change the colour of the background and to create interesting effects - all with the emphasis on creating impact and something a little different. Here's a taste.

A Couple of Landscapes

Although landscapes are not a core part of our business, we are looking to produce at some point in the future a range of prints and postcards. For now though, we're just enjoying the wonderful Scottish scenery and light. The two images shown here are of Dunnotar Castle just outside Stonehaven on the way to Aberdeen. We got up at 3am and were rewarded with a fantastic sunrise. The colours you see here are exactly as they were on the day, but they lasted only minutes. Dunnotar is a glorious place and well worth a visit.

Personal Favourites

Here's a couple of recent shots, which personally, I quite like. Shadows, atmosphere and a sense of subtle narrative.

New Toys :: The Smoke Machine

Colleen has been pining for a smoke machine for many weeks now, so we placed an order with an excellent company call 'Pea Soup' and last week it arrived in it's very own flight case looking for all the world like something 'Q' would give James Bond prior to his latest mission. We currently have family staying with us, so we roped in Hamish and Karen, dragged them off to the nearest castle and wafted smoke all around. Hamish seemed to quite naturally fall into character as the creature from the black lagoon while the ladies did what ladies do...Mainly talk about shoes...

Anyway, we'll be using the smoke machine on our outdoor shoots where we think it will add something to the mix. If this gets you interested - please call!

(p.s. the smoke is non toxic)

Steph :: Take 2

Last week we also had a return visit from Steph who was in the studio to help complete our portfolio of marketing images. We played with the lights and had a thousand or so costume changes until we got some very special photographs. Many thanks to Steph for being ever so patient and to Colleen for the make-up.

Family Shoot :: The Morris Family

We had Rob, Fiona, Lindsey and Kirsty in the studio last week and had a great time, despite one broken leg! I hasten to add the leg was broken while riding a scooter and nothing to do with us. We blew bubbles, squeezed everyone on one chair and got some great photographs. Here's a couple of shots of the wonderful Morris family...

Cute? :: You should see the havoc they cause

From a recent wedding shoot....More later!

Another Shoot With :: Hannah

Earlier this week we had a great studio shoot with Hannah and got some great photographs. A couple are shown above. Hannah is now off to University - so from both Colleen and myself, "Good Luck Hannah" and thanks for all your help and patience. Hannah will be featuring on our marketing material together with Tracy and Steph, so if you're in the Borders area, keep an eye out from the first couple of weeks in October....80eight is about to launch.

Note: The coat Hannah is wearing in the first shot, is Colleen's and the artwork was created by Jamie Avis. More on him later - but he's a very talented young man.

The Natural Studio :: Behind the Scenes

And this is what it looks like behind the scenes....It's probably also best to say that should anyone notice any mysterious flashes of light in and around the Duns area, don't be concerned - it's only us wondering what a hay bale looks like when lit up.

The Natural Studio :: Outside

The studio is now complete and taking orders! It's very exciting, interesting and above all fun for all concerned. We've had a couple of great shoots recently which we'll be showing here on the blog very soon, but in the meantime, what happens when you take the studio outside? Well, it stopped raining just long enough for us to find out, so armed with lights, batteries and Colleen in a blue dress we set to work and ended up with this.

I love this shot. If you love it, then we'd love you to give us a call.

Latest Shoot :: Tracy / Studio

The studio is now virtually finished and there is only the stuff which I've been trying to ignore left to do - like painting....We're forging ahead with beefing up our marketing portfolio and we had our first studio shoot with Tracy a few days ago. The shoot was good fun and given the weather has been dreadful recently, much more preferable than dodging the rain. Here's one of the photographs which will be soon be seen on large posters in and around the Duns area and the Borders very soon.