A shave and nod to a bygone era...

Sunday 26th February saw the arrival of a shoot I had been looking forward to since it's bizarre conception one night in January. Oddly on reflection.... I was clean shaving my beard one night and did what I'm sure many of us have at one point in our life.  Shaved a moustache to see how it looked and have a bit of a laugh at myself. Surprisingly it didn't look too bad but did change my look completely and I thought... It would be well cool to do a shoot that made me look so different to normal. It then came to me... I'd always wanted to do Film Noir type images and that look would suit it perfectly. Having been fortunate to work with many photographers during my career I immediately called Paul Silver as I knew his style would suit  my concept and vision perfectly. He immediately said YES he'd love to do it and a date was set. Then I called Hair and Make-up extraordinaire Jean Rhema who with over 40 years in the industry I knew would be the only person up to this task of creating exquisite hairstyles and period make-up. Next I confirmed a female model whom I thought would fit the role perfectly and then set about to find suitable costumes and... Errr... Location ;) - LOL! - Thanks Paul you certainly delivered on the location! Kudos!

The initial inspiration! LOL

The venue confirmed was the wonderful 'Big Strawberry' veggie cafe in Hanley who taking gestures to a whole other level, opened especially for us and even provided catering! -  BIG THANKS to the wonderful Charli for her kindness and hospitality. Then 2 days prior to the shoot, disaster hit... The female model had to withdraw from the project due to personal circumstances and I found myself without a leading lady! DISASTER! 2 days out, everything in place after weeks of planning and suddenly it looked like the project was going to fall apart as quickly as it was conceived. After a momentary pause in time whilst the news digested I remained calm and racked my brains. I needed a model... But not just any model. I know many fabulous models but not with the particular look I was after for this.... Especially one who might not only be available at such short notice but would also  be able to find a suitable wardrobe and accessories too. I went through my phone and saw a name that made me stop and think... I just wonder.  So I contacted her and she was interested... BUT was not free that day, which I'd had to expect.  But Wait... There's more... She said I may be in luck and indeed I was! The charismatic, beautiful and perfect girl for this shoot 'Victoria Roelake', casually said... It's ok I can change my plans and have lots of suitable attire for it... Are there any accessories you'd like me to bring too? I was stunned and blown away by her attitude, commitment and compassion to this project so late in the day. WOW! Now that is what you call a friend! Suddenly it was all back on and I couldn't be more excited again.


The 26th came and myself, Victoria and Jean met at Paul's house where we had drinks, I shaved, we packed equipment and headed off to out chosen location.  It was perfect... Very retro with lots of interesting elements both inside and out for us to indulge. Not to mention the highlight of the day... A recently vacated room that had a New York Skyline. OMG... How perfect! You know when some things just feel meant... This shoot was feeling just that.  Against all odds everything was suddenly perfect! The venue... The Team... The costumes... The Female Lead and the host! We set about getting ready with hair make-up and costumes whilst Paul set up equipment. Then suddenly we realised something was missing... A soundtrack! Something to swing the shoot along in the right manner and get us all going. Then again as if fate would have it... I remembered a CD I'd bought on a whim just a week previous that I'd not even listened to... Hugh Laurie's 'Let Them Talk'. It was perfect! - And highly recommend too! LOL


My vision for this shoot was to not imitate the era but pay homage to it, a nod to it if you will.  I certainly didn't want a bunch of stock type looking images either that were clearly contemporary.  I wanted something believable... As though the shots had been lifted from a film of it's time or it's promo.  Not obviously posed... Just candid with a natural charm and integrity. It was also important to me that each photo said something different... Set a different mood... A different tone... A different look... Even a different genre. I wanted a mixture of styles and tones from that period... Romantic, gangster, comedy, tender, sensual, the list goes on. Thank you to the efforts of all involved and particularly the amazing Paul Silver, we got them and MORE! MUCH MORE!  We shot for 2 hours and got a wealth of beautiful imagery that I am personally very proud of and am delighted to share with you.  Please take a look at the selected images below and be sure to click the link and visit the gallery of this shoot which is being continually updated as fast as poor Paul can process them.

Click here to see more...

Thank you again to everyone who made this day such a success and a very fond memory, in particular Victoria Roelake without whom it would not of happened at all... You are a natural star and true friend. Thank you x