Steetley Magnesite Apocalypse Now

I have wanted to visit Steetley Magnesite for ages but just never got round to it until today. My girlfriend had to go and work in Middlesborough for a few hours so I asked her to drop me off at this site on on the way.

View this image on flickr here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr here © Anthony Dorman

 There was something quite peaceful about this abandoned site which is weird because most derelict sites make you very aware of your surroundings, your senses are heightened through fear and atmosphere. I have never seen anything quite like this location, its like something out of an episode of Lost or maybe a scene from  Bond film. The site is massive, I spent nearly 3 hours walking around it and inside it. In all that time I never saw another person once which was quite weird. It was nice just getting some images on my own and simply for the enjoyment of exploring with my camera.

 Web: www.anthonydorman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Anthony-Dorman-Photography/215934471764447

twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AnthonyDorman

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

This image of the BAFTA award winning TV Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was taken today at Taylor Seafood at the Fish Quay in North shields.

View this image on flickr here © Anthony Dorman

This is one of a number of candid shots that I took whilst Hugh was filming the latest series of Fish Fight programmes today. The aim of the series is to highlight the food waste caused by EU and government regulations that make fishermen throw half of there catch back into the sea due to red-tape. I have experienced this myself when I embarked on my North Sea Adventure and witnessed first hand the amount of fish that is thrown back to die in the sea. The regulations set in place by government do not help conserve fish as it is impossible to select what enters a net. Hugh is trying to change the law to help the fishing industry and to also show that the wasted food can be used to help society. Today I shot some images at a local primary school who were being fed with today's fishing catch of fish that normally would be wasted. I was worried I would be in the way of Hugh and the crew today however they were very friendly and accommodating. I look forward to seeing the new series.

I will be posting more images on my local blog www.intynemouth.blogspot.com very soon.

Check out Taylor Foods Website here: http://taylorseafood.co.uk/#

Check out The Fish Fight campaign here: http://www.fishfight.net/ Please sign the petition.

www.anthonydorman.com

Kez

This was taken on a second shoot with Kez. Until recently I have never really fancied studio shooting as I like natural light so much but the possibilities a studio has to offer are endless. It was my first time using Mayfield Studios and they were really helpful with everything including lighting advice and backdrops.

Visit this image on flickr here  © Anthony Dorman

 

I will be posting more studio images in the next couple of weeks.

Visit the Mayfield Studio Facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mayfield-Studio/108630319202331

After some deliberation I have finally found my way onto twitter. I have become slightly obsessed with it over the last 24hours. You can read my tweets here: http://twitter.com/#!/AnthonyDorman

Beauty In Everything

This is an old image, taken last year. There is not much too it subject wise but the late afternoon light was amazing. Sometimes I bang on about wanting to be somewhere else, somewhere exotic or more vibrant. It is easy to forget that beauty can be found everywhere if you can see things in the right light.

http://www.anthonydorman.com/

Lilith (Nudity Warning)

For some time now I have wanted to shoot some fine art nude shots. Some people may find these images offensive, why, I don't know as the human body is one of the most fascinating things there is and should be celebrated more. I saw Lilith on a website which is aimed at connecting photographers, models, make up artists and stylists together. I saw Lilith's profile and new that I wanted to do a shoot with her. I like the work of Helmut Newton who was attracted to powerful woman, he liked to shoot woman who were confident, assured and naturally sexual. Lilith is all of these things and more.

View the set here on flickr © Anthony Dorman

View the set here on flickr © Anthony Dorman

View the set here on flickr © Anthony Dorman

I met Lilith whist assisting a friend of mine Chris Harrison who had organised a shoot with her. Now Chris is far more accustomed to taking images of beautiful naked women then me so I found my shoot quite challenging. I had a million images in my head before the shoot but as usual I found myself just going with the flow and shooting what felt right. We actually shot a variety of images as Lilith has a variety of persona's via her wigs and clothes changes. These images where probably closest to the images I had in mind before the shoot. I would like to thank Lilith for putting up with the cold and also thank my friend Simon for being my lighting man.

Check out this video about Helmut Newton recently posted on f-stoppers http://fstoppers.com/helmut-newton-portrait-of-a-fashion-icon-nsfw

http://www.anthonydorman.com/

No Longer Just A Blank Wall

We see signs ever where, its easy to ignore them. I have no idea how long this graffiti has been in Newcastle, probably a while. I only noticed it a few days ago for the first time. I quite like it.

www.anthonydorman.com

Ron Bedford

I have been shooting some comercial work recently which has taken a lot of my time and therefore neglected this blog. I have been writing another blog http://www.intynemouth.blogspot.com/ also - this is a blog to showcase the people, busineses and events in my village Tynemouth. I had a spare half hour today so went stranger hunting for my '100 Strangers Project' Before long I saw Ron standing at the traffic lights on the opposite side of the road from me. I waited for him to cross onto my side of the road and asked him to be in my project.

Ron 58/100 '100 Strangers' see it here on flickr © Anthony Dorman

Ron agreed and the image above is the result. the image has been treated in photoshop with a sharpening mask, some surface blur, dodging and burning and contrast tweeks for anyone interested. I gave Ron a card and he gave me his, Ron is a local singer songwriter - this is one of his songs on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDX32jEzNDU I got another interesting starnger on the train my way home but that is for another day.

http://www.anthonydorman.com/

Nuts and Bolts

I was asked recently to produce some photos for a local engineering company Chirton Engineering Ltd who are a rapidly expanding and successful local company . They required images for a new website they are having built. the images needed to be a mixture of location and product shots.

These images could not be any further removed from my normal work which is predominantly portraiture and reportage in style. It became apparent that I needed to approach the product shots in a similar way that I would a portrait. I have tried to show the products as dynamic, shiny attractive objects. It is objects like these - the 'nuts and bolts' of society that often get overlooked because of their practical functionality. The company produces highly engineered components for many large high profile clients around the world. I was a bit apprehensive taking this commission as I believed it to be out of my comfort zone. I now realise that this type of work will be the 'nuts and bolts' of my early photographic career. I actually enjoyed the shoot which reminded me that its good to try different styles of shooting and hopefully pick up a few new skills.

http://www.anthonydorman.com/

Echoes

I was helping a mate with a location based shoot yesterday and saw something that made me stop and question my surroundings. I tried a couple of shots without capturing what I wanted to say so I went back today and got this image.

Check out this image here on flickr © Anthony Dorman

I don't think I am weird but every now and then I put a story together from fragments of images and genuinely freak myself out sometimes. This image makes me think of the 'Red Riding Quartet' by author David Peace in the way the image looks like a specific kind of crime scene. I often think my imagination runs away from me at times but something seamed very wrong about this place.

http://www.anthonydorman.com/