Another commission for Transport for the North, this time highlighting railway infrastructure and electric car charging. Shot in and around a cold, wintry Warrington Bank quay station.
Commercial photography for Transport for the North
A recent series of images for long-standing client Transport for the North. I’m proud to play some small part in their effort to demonstrate to the government the North’s increasingly desperate need for proper transport infrastructure and planning.
Documentary Photography - BP's LiDAR buoy at Liverpool Docks
Another commission from BP as they work on the development of the Mona and Morgan Irish Sea wind farms. This time I was taking photographs to document the maintenance of one of their Fugro Seawatch LiDAR buoys which are surveying the field to find optimal wind turbine locations. The Seawatch buoys run on solar panels and fuel cells using methanol fuel. Although autonomous in the field the buoys need to be towed to shore for refueling and servicing.
As an ex-engineer with a background in Physics, this was a really interesting - if freezing! - few days shooting in Liverpool.
LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, can measure wind speed by using the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect is a phenomenon that occurs when the frequency of a wave changes as the source of the wave moves relative to the observer. This effect is commonly experienced in everyday life, for example, the change in pitch of a siren as an ambulance approaches and then passes by.
In the context of LiDAR, a laser beam is directed towards the atmosphere, and the reflected light is detected by a sensor. As the laser beam passes through the atmosphere, it interacts with particles in the air, such as dust or water droplets. These particles scatter the laser beam in different directions, and some of the scattered light returns to the sensor.
By analyzing the scattered light, LiDAR can detect the movement of air particles and calculate wind speed. The movement of the particles changes the frequency of the scattered light, and this change in frequency is detected by the sensor. The amount of frequency shift is proportional to the wind speed, allowing LiDAR to calculate the wind speed with high accuracy.
LiDAR can also provide information about the direction and turbulence of the wind, helping to identify potential challenges for wind turbine installations. This information is particularly useful in the development of wind farms, where accurate wind measurements are essential for identifying the most suitable locations for wind turbines.
Event Photography - Adidas and Versus at Manchester United
VERSUS is the platform championing the future of football and its rising influence on new music and culture. Adidas is well, Adidas. On commission for the wonderful TO Events, I photographed the launch of a collaboration between the two brands on the occasion of a games between Manchester United and Aston Villa’s women’s teams.
BP Bodelwyddan Village Hall consultation
I worked with BP to photograph a consultation event at Bodelwyddan Village Hall that helped explain to residents of the area the changes that would be brought about by the development of two new wind farms off the North Wales coast. The Mona and Morgan windfarms will be two of the largest offshore windfarms in the Irish Sea.
The wind farms will be located approximately 20km - 30km from the coast and be operational by 2029. Together, they will form one of the largest wind farms in the world, with a combined potential generating capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW). This is enough to power the equivalent of approximately 3.4 million UK households with clean electricity.
The development of the Mona and Morgan windfarms represents a significant achievement in the UK's transition towards renewable energy, and highlights the potential of offshore wind to play a key role in meeting the country's energy needs in a sustainable way.
On board the Fugro Synergy for BP
By far the best thing about working as a professional photographer is the variety of the work. The camera can gain you access to environments that are wildly different each shoot day and if you’re lucky, can sometimes take you to some incredible and unexpected places. One of the most interesting of my shoots in 2022 was an assignment from bp to photograph the crew and workings of the Fugro Synergy while on a recent stop at Liverpool docks.
The Synergy Modular Drilling Unit is a unique geotechnical vessel capable of delivering
high quality geotechnical data. Its design, standards and capacity make it an efficient
platform for geotechnical investigations and scientific drilling in challenging and remote offshore marine environments.
The shoot focussed on the Synergy’s role in sea bed core sampling, determining the sea bed composition to ensure that the sea bed substrate was capable of providing solid foundations for the siting of an array of wind turbines. Sea bed composition is critical, mud, sand or silt that is too soft and uncompacted will not provide a firm enough foundation, while solid rock is impossible to drill to the depths required for the footings.
EnBW with EnBW and bp are leading the development of the Morgan and Mona – two offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea. Roughly located 30km from shore between the north coast of Wales and the Isle of Man the total area of the two farms will be 800 square kilometres – about half the size of Greater London and when complete the farm will generate 3GW of energy – enough to power an astonishing 3.4 million UK homes.
These projects are helping to achieve the UK's ambition of generating 50GW of power from offshore wind by 2030.
British Cycling
It’s always great working with video production company What Media. This time to produce images of the latest British Cycling team jersey by Kalas
Read MoreNew Office for TJX
Another commission from the wonderful Vicky Fagan at film production company Fagan Jones, this time to produce a series of campaign images showcasing TJX’s new office building at their headquarters in Watford, UK.
Read MoreLangfields
Langfields are specialist fabricators of process plant for the Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Offshore, Oil & Gas, Marine, Defence, Nuclear and other process industries. Based only one mile from Deansgate they demonstrate that there is still some manufacturing industry in the post-industrial city.
As a former engineer, I love visiting these places and finding out what’s being made and the techniques used.
The fabricators at Langfields receive giant 18mm Aluminium plates and within the space of only 20 metres, cut, bend and weld it into complex, water-jacketed vessels according to the exacting specifications of high tech industries.
Read MoreWhat Media
What Media help brands engage with clients by producing creative video and animation content.
They asked me to photograph their team at their new location in central Manchester. As always when working with this team, the shoot was full of positive energy and went by in a flash.
Read MoreAdidas Superstar Awards
The Superstar Awards are where Adidas Europe recognise the outstanding contributions of their staff over the previous 12 months. I documented the event at their UK headquarters. Many thanks to the superb event managers at TOL Events for bringing me on board.
Read MoreEuropean Geophysical Services
Photographs for the new website of European Geophysical Services photographed by Manchester photographer David Oates.
European Geophysical Services established in 1994, are a leading borehole geophysical logging and video surveying company providing a large range of measurements and services to the water, environmental, mining and geotechnical industries.
Read MoreSue Steer for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
I was asked by London-based agency Sunday to visit Sue Steer at her home in Shropshire a few weeks ago to take some portrait photographs. Sue is a rural surveyor and the pictures were to accompany an article in the Royal Society for Chartered Surveyors’ Modus magazine.
Read MoreLeeds City Station for Transport for the North
Another great assignment for Transport for the North this time at Leeds railway station.
Transport for the North exists to make the case to central government for increased transport spending in the North of the country and I’m proud to be able to contribute in some way to that necessary and long overdue aim. To use the existing infrastructure is to see it’s limitations, the age of the rolling stock, the lack of capacity a general sense of a system neglected and lacking the requisite investment over many years.
Read MoreLuneside for U+I
It was a real pleasure to work for Just H architects again, this time on their latest project for developers U+I.
Photographing their Luneside student accommodation a few weeks ago was helped along by some gorgeous unseasonal weather and the presence of the beautiful River Lune.
Read MoreTravel in the time of Covid. An assignment for Transport for the North
Another great assignment for Transport for the North this time looking at the transport infrastructure in Liverpool and Sheffield and how it was dealing with the impact of Coronavirus.
Read MoreBarnfather Wire for HTP Digital
Barnfather Wire is the UK’s largest independent wire production company. I was commissioned by long-time collaborators HTP Digital to visit the factory in Wednesbury to produce images for the company’s new website.
Read MorePhoenix Healthcare distribution for Fagan Jones
A shoot documenting the high technology pharmaceutical facility in Preston Brook commissioned by the wonderful Vicky at film production company Fagan Jones. I was once again shooting stills alongside the exceptionally talented film cameraman Dan Lightening.
Miles and miles of robotised, computerised conveyors pick, sort and pack drugs for distribution to pharmacies around the country.
An enjoyable and very busy day that reminded me that running shoes are required equipment for photography professionals.
Read MoreBeClear Orthodontics for What Marketing
During the quiet times of our coronavirus disrupted summer it was great to get a call from the team at What Marketing to work with them on a shoot for cosmetic dentist BeClear Orthodontics.
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