Providing Paradise - New Book Publication

HaVe Photography are extremely excited to have published their second 'Portfolio Edition' book, through the online publisher 'Blurb'. Exploring the dedication and hard work of those who work behind-the-scenes in the Maldives island resort of 'Royal Island', it shows just how 'paradise' is brought from concept to reality. To view the images within the book, click this link.

A Dozen Eggs - Image Update - Margaret

Margaret is 'Egg Number 6' within the Major Project. This photo-shoot was arranged for the Friday morning before the children went back to school. In discussion with Margaret, we decided that the Friday morning offered two possibilities: (1) because she was off work, it would allow me to photograph her daily life (which, in essence, is looking after the house and children), and (2) it was a 'special' moment for her, as her son (Alex - who was due to attend secondary school the next week) was going to try on his school uniform for the first time. I took a variety of shots (in a close-up, reportage style), but the shot below was my favourite, capturing not only the wonderful relationship she has with her son, but also her great sense of fun.

A Dozen Eggs - Image Update - Angela

This was an interesting shoot in that it was very spontaneous; it had not been pre-arranged, but I had my camera with me because I was taking my Mother out for the day at a National Trust garden and I wanted to get some shots of her. Angela decided that she would come along, which I was extremely pleased about as I thought it would be nice to spend some time together (and get some shots of her as well). Angela does amateur dramatics, and therefore plays to the camera a lot; in fact, trying to get her to be completely herself whilst a camera is around is quite difficult. Although I captured a few 'candid' shots (which could only be captured if she really didn't realise I was lining up a shot), I like the image below because of the texture and detail within the image. It is posed (naturally - by Angela - as opposed to any intervention on my part), but this is all part of Angela's character, which I was pleased to document.

A Dozen Eggs - Image Update - Graham

To represent Graham (Egg Number 3) within the Major Project, we decided that rather than any specific 'moment', it should be more of a general portrait session. Graham leads a simple, almost 'introvertive' lifestyle; when he is not working as a fork-lift truck driver, he is found in 'his chair' watching TV or reading a classic car magazine. His main hobby (aside from reading about classic cars or watching F1) is fixing bicycles, which he does from his shed, or on the bench, in the back garden. Other members of the family, when asked how to sum up Graham, have all said, "sitting in his chair, putting the world to rights". This seemed the logical perspective for this shoot. The image below represents Graham as everybody knows him. The image is full of texture and detail, and (as Roland Barthes comments) has a series of punctums for members of the family viewing it - from the graduation picture, to the photograph of the dog, to the yellow plate on the bookshelf - details of familiar items, bought and gifted by others who are the focus of this project.