Shooting in Toronto, Haliburton and Montreal
A rare opportunity to shoot in Canada for a new contemporary dance piece to premiere in Toronto and London (The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada). We shot video, stills, timelapse and drone imagery. As well as photogrammetry and LIDAR scans. The show will premiere in Toronto November 2022!
The Staffordshire Gold Hoard at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley
In December 2021 I was lucky enough to photograph some of the Staffordshire Gold Hoard at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley. Several of the pieces had undergone conservation whilst others had been identified as belonging together, having come from the same item. The aim was to shoot them in their groups, or in their newly cleaned states. The work was managed by Drakon Heritage and Conservation. Incredible objects made with great expertise and quite tricky to photograph as they are shiny and small! So I used plenty of reflectors and a lot of focus stacking to retain depth of focus.
image copyright: ©2021 The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery
Shooting in Cornwall & Devon for "And Breathe..." at the Almeida Theatre, London.
In June 2021 I had a great opportunity to work again with Ravi Deepres. This time on the video design of And Breathe… by Yomi Ṣode. Premiered at The Almeida Theatre in London, the shoots took place largely in Cornwall and Devon over a number of days. With extra shots filmed in Malvern, Cannock Chase and the Lickey Hills. Returning to Cornwall after working in St.Ive’s some years ago was a great experience. A beautiful part of the country! The turnaround on “And Breathe…” was very short so we had to edit the footage quickly, and render the final video projections on-site (including multiple last minute changes). A great show!
Crave at Chichester Festival Theatre
In November/December 2020 I got the chance to work in Chichester with video designer Ravi Deepres. The production was Crave by the late English playwright Sarah Kane. We filmed the actors on green screen and created video sequences for front projection and also were able to integrate four PTZ cameras mounted at the end of the actor’s travelators into our projection. The production was live-streamed as well having a diminished ‘real’ audience (due to Covid 19 restrictions). The production team worked incredibly well together and we formed a sort of ‘committee’ to edit the live camera shots, animation and pre-filmed sequences that formed the live stream, into a cohesive film. This created a much better representation of the production for those watching online. It also proved a great asset when, after only a few days of the run, a new set of lockdown restrictions meant that there could no longer be a live audience. Fortunately the show carried on ‘remotely’ and tickets were sold for the live stream. https://www.cft.org.uk/archive/crave
Cast: Erin Doherty, Alfred Enoch, Wendy Kweh & Jonathan Slinger
Production: director Tinuke Craig, designer Alex Lowde, lighting designer Joshua Pharo, film designer Ravi Deepres and composer Anna Clock, with movement by Jenny Ogilvie.
I also found time to do some interesting runs around Chichester. Including one to The Trundle, an Iron Age hill fort with great views!
Snow on the hills…
A last run before Christmas & decided to go back over the top. Lucky to have access to this from my back door. Has proven to be a huge help during lockdowns.
Beacon on the Malverns - Jubilee 2012
Summer 2012 saw the most recent beacon on the Malverns. It was incredibly atmospheric. Seeing hundreds of figures walking up in the semi darkness was awesome. Looking out towards the Welsh Black mountains other beacons could be seen springing up on hills & down in the valleys. Felt like we were transported back in time.
Forget digital, I'm processing E6 slide film today!
Nice to be processing my own films again. Makes me think about my Great-Grandfather, Joseph Unsworth. He was one of the first in England to use commercially available colour film, having bought it directly from Antoine Lumiere: https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/6060778.incredible-doctor-joe/
The colours & contrast of new Ektachrome E100 film are very natural and look great. Much better than a film from another manufacturer that I tried (which was magenta heavy).
Aerial photography in Wiltshire
Finished 3 weeks working in Wiltshire. Good to get out during the Covid 19 lockdown (job had ‘Key worker’ status). Some challenging aerial work but also chance to see a lovely part of the UK that I don’t often visit.
Video from footage shot by myself & Ravi Deepres at Saddlers Wells
Taken from Autobiography (Music from Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography)
Video directed & edited by Ben Cullen Williams.
Choreography by Wayne McGregor.
Music by Jlin
Filmed by Ravi Deepres and Luke Unsworth.
Lighting Design by Lucy Carter.
Projection Design by Ben Cullen Williams.
Costume Design by Aitor Throup.
Taken from Autobiography (Music from Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography)
Video directed by Ben Cullen Williams.
Edited by Ben Cullen Williams on behalf of Studio Wayne McGregor.
Choreography by Wayne McGregor.
Performed by Company Wayne McGregor.
Filmed by Ravi Deepres and Luke Unsworth.
Lighting Design by Lucy Carter.
Projection Design by Ben Cullen Williams.
Costume Design by Aitor Throup.
People In Motion
Took shots of volunteers for refugee charity "People In Motion" over the weekend. They were doing a great job sorting through aid to send to those who need it in Calais, Syria and other countries.
Early morning landscapes
The client asked me to get a number of images which represented the view that they loved, whilst showing certain points of interest. The changing light throughout the night/morning created plenty of very different images but I liked this at 5 a.m.
Much Marcle, looking towards the Malvern Hills
BBC Midlands Today interview 2019
I was asked about my Bullring project by BBC Midlands today. I did try and smile, however that intention apparently did not register on my face. I prefer to be grumpy anyway…
Studio Wayne McGregor at The Grange Opera, Hampshire 2018
In the summer of 2018 I was asked to help shoot video and stills alongside Ravi Deepres at The Grange Opera in Northington. A neoclassical residence still undergoing repair. And a location that certainly rates on my list of “will I get home safely through these dark country roads” venues. These are a few of my shots…
The New York Times published this shot in the article: '‘Can You Rotate That?’ A Hyperkinetic Spin on ‘Rite of Spring’"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/arts/dance/wayne-mcgregor-afterite-american-ballet-theater.html
You’ll need a New York Times subscription to see the article however…
Behind The Scenes
Film showing the creation of Studio Wayne McGregor’s new studio at Here East, Stratford, London. Directed, shot and edited by myself & Ravi Deepres.
Stage video of Wayne McGregor's "AutoBiography", Saddlers Wells 2017
Performance of Wayne McGregor’s “AutoBiography” at Saddler’s Wells theatre, October 2017. Filming was directed, edited and shot by myself & Ravi Deepres.
George Melly
Taken at Southport Arts Centre in 1993 on a cold, wet night. He was late for the gig (he'd been relaxing in a nearby public house) but one of the band members had a word with him on my behalf, and he allowed me a few minutes to get some shots.
Collecting Birmingham
Shot some portraits of the inspiring Eunice Mcghie-Belgrave the other day. A community activist and former parish councillor (and if you care about where you live I'd advise anyone to join your local PC). All part of the Collecting Birmingham project:
http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/blog/posts/introducing-collecting-birmingham
Nicholas Pope banner at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
I finally got to see the end result of my stitched shot of Nick Pope's great artwork on Tuesday. It became a 17 metre long banner at Chapter Arts Centre. Always good to see the final result. It can be hard to imagine the end result when shooting one section at a time!
