A Commercial photography commission for Transport for the North
Documentary, Commercial, Advertising David Oates Documentary, Commercial, Advertising David Oates

A Commercial photography commission for Transport for the North

I recently completed another commission for Transport for the North, focusing on the intersection of modern transportation infrastructure and sustainable mobility. The shoot took place in and around Warrington Bank Quay station on a cold, wintry day, providing a striking backdrop for capturing both railway and electric vehicle infrastructure.

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Commercial photography for Transport for the North
Commercial, Documentary, Industrial, Advertising David Oates Commercial, Documentary, Industrial, Advertising David Oates

Commercial photography for Transport for the North

I recently completed a comprehensive series of images for long-standing client Transport for the North, documenting railway stations across the North of England. As a professional photographer, I am proud to contribute to their efforts to demonstrate to the government the region’s growing need for well-planned and efficient transport infrastructure. This project combines technical photography with human-focused storytelling, highlighting how people navigate the North’s key transport hubs.

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Documentary Photography - BP's LiDAR buoy at Liverpool Docks
Documentary, Commercial, Industrial David Oates Documentary, Commercial, Industrial David Oates

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.

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Event Photography -  Adidas and Versus at Manchester United
Documentary, Commercial, Event David Oates Documentary, Commercial, Event David Oates

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.

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Photography of BP's public consultation at Bodelwyddan
Documentary, Commercial, Industrial David Oates Documentary, Commercial, Industrial David Oates

Photography of BP's public consultation at Bodelwyddan

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.

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Suzanne Lacy at Whitworth Art Gallery
Documentary, Artists David Oates Documentary, Artists David Oates

Suzanne Lacy at Whitworth Art Gallery

Suzanne Lacy

What kind of city?
A manual for social change

The Whitworth presents the first major UK presentation of multiple works of US artist Suzanne Lacy, a pioneer of social practice and community organising for almost five decades. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, What kind of city? has been conceived with the artist as a project that is more than an exhibition, one that takes key works with relevance to our current context and uses them to convene people in order to start new initiatives that will actively help rebuild our city. Working around fundamental themes such as youth agency, borders, social cohesion, and work prospects for older women, the exhibition is designed to operate as an evolving manual for how we create equitable transformation. This underpins a new direction of travel for the Whitworth, as an institution that actively works for and with people across the city, one that begins with the question: after Covid, what kind of city can we make together?

Thanks again to my friends at the Whitworth for asking me to document the event opening and associated artist’s talk.

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Langfields
Documentary, Commercial, Editorial, Industrial, Website David Oates Documentary, Commercial, Editorial, Industrial, Website David Oates

Langfields

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.

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Luneside for U+I
Architecture, Commercial David Oates Architecture, Commercial David Oates

Luneside 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.

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50 Windows of Creativity. An assignment for Wild in Art

This autumn, Manchester is hosting 50 Windows of Creativity, a showcase of the work of artists and makers displayed in a series of windows, venues, businesses and spaces across the city centre.

The displays feature multiple art forms from fine art and photography to ceramics, crafts, mosaics and murals curated by well-known and emerging artists and collectives – all with a connection to Greater Manchester.

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Phoenix Healthcare distribution for Fagan Jones

Phoenix 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.

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Mark Radcliffe for the Daily Telegraph
Editorial, Portraits David Oates Editorial, Portraits David Oates

Mark Radcliffe for the Daily Telegraph

Mark Radcliffe is as nice in person in real life as his radio persona would suggest. Music nerd, City fan, all round good egg.

I’ve photographed him a couple of times, here in Dunham Massey country park in Cheshire with a beautiful vintage VW Beetle for a motoring feature in the Daily Telegraph.

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New website photography for Nufox
Documentary, Website David Oates Documentary, Website David Oates

New website photography for Nufox

It’s long time ago since I finished my PhD in Materials Science, my subject was high temperature materials yet my office was not in the upper rooms with the furnaces and laser flash equipment but in the basement with the polymer engineers and the extruders and that weird persistent smell of all things rubbery. So it was with a feeling of nostalgia that I was once again amid the extruders and waterbaths at Nufox in Manchester to photograph their people, processes and products for their imminent website redesign.

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Documentary photography of Helen Knowles 'Trickle Down', Arebyte Gallery, London
Documentary, Artists, Event David Oates Documentary, Artists, Event David Oates

Documentary photography of Helen Knowles 'Trickle Down', Arebyte Gallery, London

Trickle Down, A New Vertical Sovereignty is a tokenised four-screen video installation and generative soundscape, which explores value systems and wealth disparity. The artwork is composed of auction scenes, performances and choral interludes by different communities such as prisoners, blockchain technology employees, market sellers, and Sotheby’s auction bidders.

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British Association for Applied Linguistics conference
Documentary, Conference David Oates Documentary, Conference David Oates

British Association for Applied Linguistics conference

A few weeks ago I photographed the latest BAAL conference at Manchester Metropolitan University.

I find it really interesting to cover conferences as you get thrown into the deep end of academic research in subjects that you previously hadn’t really thought all that much about. BAAL this year was no exception, some extremely interesting themes and insights into language acquisition, learning foreign languages and linguistic changes brought about by emerging technologies.

As freelance photographers we often don’t get feedback on our work after the event, so it was very pleasing to get this response from the conference organiser:

‘I’ve just downloaded the photos – absolutely fantastic. I’ve never given a photographer such a haphazard brief and had it nailed so well, so thanks very much. I wouldn’t hesitate to use you again based on these.’

If you’d like me to photograph a conference for you either in Manchester, the North or across the country, please get in touch via email or using the contact form on the About page of the site.

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British Ecological Society Summer School
Documentary, Event, Schools David Oates Documentary, Event, Schools David Oates

British Ecological Society Summer School

The British Ecological Society’s summer school is a week long residential field experience for students studying sciences at A-level, Scottish Higher and other similar qualifications. This year 31 students from 7 different schools across the UK gathered at Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales. I was there as documentary photographer giving an overview of the day’s activities and providing marketing and social media material.

As ever, working for BES was extremely interesting, a personal highlight being the nature walk led by Dr. Daniel Forman, lecturer in Biosciences at Swansea University. I’d walked the same route as part of the Pennine Way last year but his fascinating insights into the ecology around us was illuminating.

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