Kent’s Classic Car Show 2019

With over 600 cars in attendance at this years Kent Classic Car Show at Aylesford Priory it was definitely not one to be missed. We were blessed with amazing weather for the Capri’s 50th Anniversary and were so happy to see a few made it to our show! Thanks to everyone who came and helped support my local business, please find below some web ready versions of your images, please credit and tag me when sharing on Instagram (@dwoolway) and on Facebook Darren Woolway-Photographer, you should be able to right click and save the images straight from the page. If you would like a full resolution image that is printable you can purchase it here: https://scorpionmedia.co.uk/product/event-photography/


All Ford Show 2019

With over 600 cars in attendance at this years All Ford Show at Aylesford Priory it was definitely not one to be missed. We were blessed with amazing weather for the Ford Sidevalve Owners Club 50th Anniversary who won best club stand, but it is an important year for the Capri’s too as it is their 50th anniversary! Thanks to everyone who came and helped support my local business, please find below some web ready versions of your images, you should be able to right click and save the images straight from the page. If you would like a full resolution image that is printable you can purchase it here: https://scorpionmedia.co.uk/product/event-photography/


Motors by the Moat 2019

Thank you everyone for coming along to Motors by the Moat at Leeds Castle at the weekend. Despite the poor weather on Saturday there was a great turnout with around 300 cars on Saturday and 550 cars on Sunday. As promised everyone who has purchased a printed product I have uploaded a web-ready version of your image to share online below. Simply right click and choose Save As. If you are using a mobile you may have to hold your finger down and open the image in a new tab before you will see the option to Save. Please feel free to share the gallery using the social links at the bottom of the page.


Best of 2018

2018 was a year of change, challenge and accomplishment for me, with numerous awards and personal accomplishments along the way. Each year I like to look back at what I consider to be the “Best Bits” which include the imagery I like best; which isn’t always the clients first choice. I started to do these year in reviews as a way for me to battle low self esteem and confidence, in 2018 I bought myself a little black book and started to write down my achievements no matter how small. During the year I lost my little black book and will explain why a bit further down the page.

On Christmas day 2017 I received a phone call from Jeep Chrysler in China and was asked to bid on a piece of work for the Jeep K8 Concept Car, the agency loved my treatment document and I made it through to one of the top two photographers shortlisted. The second photographer was Easton Chang, an Australian photographer whose work I admire. Unfortunately neither of use got to photograph the car as it wasn’t built in time for the promotion and so instead some CGI renders were created.

The image below is based on some ideas generated from the treatment document I created for Jeep Chrysler, the Mercedes I photographed at the end of 2018 at Mercedes Benz World, of which I originally helped build the landscaping before I turned to photography.

Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 V8 Bi Turbo
Kent Chamber Awards

Finalist for Kent Chamber Business Awards

In November 2017 I launched a new business called Scorpion Media, I created Scorpion Media to support local small businesses in Kent. I found most my local clients did not have a web designer or a graphic designer and therefore found it hard to give good image briefs. I introduced to them a Visual Branding package where I would design and build a website so that their imagery could be planned and shot for its specific use. 

Asked to provide training by Canon for Canon Pro members with the Porsche Club GB

In February I was approached by Canon UK & IE to run a two day workshop for the Pro Members alongside Top Gear Photographer Rod Fountain. There were 75 participants per day, whilst I concentrated on Artificial and Mixed Lighting including smoke bombs, Rod concentrated on Natural Light photography. Below are a few images from the event.

Porsche Carrera GTS in Smoke

Awarded Associateship of The Master Photographers Association

In 2017 I was invited to Licentiateship my The MPA for my work and invited to talk at their annual awards weekend. In 2018 I successfully submitted an associateship panel and was awarded an Associateship of The Master Photographers Association.

Bought my First Home

It is such a struggle as a self employed person to find a mortgage deal, let alone a good one. I finally reached the milestone I needed to be offered a mortgage and we bought our first home together, which we moved into in July. My parter Dora and I will have been together 8 years this April and agreed not to get married before we have a home. We now have a home… and a puppy Husky called Dusty… and a cat called Daisy… and a Turtle called Donny… so that’s Darren, Dora, Daisy, Dusty and Donny hmm what to call our children when we get around to it? Anyway we are pleased to announce that the wedding has been set for 10th April 2019 🙂

Hired a Personal Assistant

I realised that there are only so many hours in a day, therefore from time to time I need a little help. I hired Kelly for a few hours a month to help keep me on track and keep in touch with existing and new clients. Kelly is a god send!

Won London & South East Commercial Master Photographer of the Year 

Ray Lowe shakes my hand as he acknowledges my award, the winning image is that shown of a DS Divine concept car. The MPA have been a major driving force in the past year with both my personal and professional development.

Finalist for the Illustrative Category at the Annual Master Photographers Association Awards plus 3 Merits

To be awarded finalist at a national level was a great achievement. This year I have spent some on personal projects for self development, this image is part of my personal project on mixing car photographs with graphical imagery. It was originally shot as a feature for Classic Ford Magazine, it is a MKI RS2600 Prototype Capri one of only two prototypes made in their German Factory.

Increased Value of Brand by 25%

Pearlessence London approached me to help photograph their luxury bathbombs. Their graphic design and website looked great apart from the imagery wasn’t representative of the quality of the brand and product. Each bathbomb has a ring inside worth £20-2000, its a bit like a kinder egg for adults and each bomb was being sold for £20. Since working with the company on both still and animated imagery they have now increased the price to £25 and have higher sales.

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Overcome New Challenges

SuperGlass Maidstone challenged me to photograph a Maserati window glass as part of a before/after promotion. The initial image needed to show the damage and the second image had to show the repair. Each shot was taken 2 weeks apart, each shot needed different lighting, the window had to appear support-less and the background needed to remain consistent. After a lot of planning and testing the final result was stunning.

Re-Launch of Portrait Studio

I was approached by Theatre Royal Stratford East to photograph their actors profile headshots for the season. It was back in 2012 that I closed my studio doors to portraiture as was mainly out on location photographing cars and products and therefore had no need for the studio. However after photographing these actors I decided that it was about time I started to shoot portraiture again and have just relaunched Portraits in Kent www.portraitsinkent.co.uk 

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The following images are a collection of different client and personal work that I enjoyed from the last year, the work includes a trip to the Lake and Peak District, some portraiture including test shots from the new Canon EOS-R and the wedding of my cousin Scott. Enjoy!


Master Photographers Awards Success

MPA Award Winners Announced

Darren Woolway AMPA, ARPS, Ba(Hons) of Scorpion Media claims the highly coveted awards of 3 Merits, an Award of Excellence in the Illustrative Photographic Category as a finalist, an Associateship Distinction and was awarded the South East Commercial Photographer of the Year in the MPA Master Photography Awards 2018

The MPA Awards Ceremony, Jurys Inn Hinckley Island, 7th October 2018

Celebrating the Masters of Photography, the annual Master Photographers Association (MPA) Awards welcomed some of the greatest photography talents in a glittering awards ceremony last night.

So high was the standard of entrants this year a record number of merit winners were selected for the wall of fame, 16 stunning displays printed by MPA sponsors, The Print Foundry. Merit winners were invited to the awards ceremony where finalists and winners from around the globe were announced.

Over 2000 entries from working professionals kicked off the first round of digital judging, with a second round of images being scrutinized in the printed submission round. A panel of leading industry judges carried out the mammoth task of judging at the Darlington headquarters.

Some of the biggest names in the photographic industry attended, and The Photography Show, The Print Foundry, 3XM Solution, Digitalab, Fujifilm, Epson, Graphistudio, Mastering Portrait Photography, Jerry Ghionis, Yervant, GotPhoto, Sim Imaging, Google Digital Garage, and Loxley Colour were amongst the list of sponsors presenting these prestigious awards.

Ray Lowe, CEO of the MPA comments: “The standard of photography we have seen this year is without a doubt world class. It is always exciting to see new faces coming through and rewarding to see such great talent entering our awards. With entrants both UK and worldwide, our winners really are the pinnacle of creative excellence. The Association has sat as the premier photographic association since 1952 and this year marked the 34th Awards ceremony. It is an absolute honor to showcase imagery of such high standard and we are extremely proud to represent some of the greatest professional image makers globally.

For more information please contact the MPA on: +44 (0)1325 356555 or at membership@thempa.com

To view our members outstanding creative imagery please visit the awards website:

www.thempa.com

**ENDS**

Editors notes:

This press release was written by the MPA.

Release Date:

00:00 Hrs 7th October 2018

mpalogo

About the MPA:
Established in 1952, the Master Photographers Association is the United Kingdom’s premier organization for qualified professional photographers.

The MPA offers members a variety of membership benefits, including education, qualifications, informative regional meetings, national seminars, and business building promotions with marketing support.

All qualified members adhere to a strict Code of Conduct and have undergone qualification to at least Licentiate standard. Each photographer must have undergone a rigorous assessment of their photographic work and business practice before achieving qualification.

Established in 1952 the MPA has promoted true professionalism in photography for over 60 years..

For Further Information, please contact:
The MPA on: +44 (0)1325 356555 or at membership@thempa.com


The Antiqued Mirror Company

Last week I got together with Joanna and Jan from The Antiqued Mirror Company to photograph their new collection of mirrors and furniture. The company is based in Wales, they were exhibiting their work in London and wanted to photograph the mirrors in-situe at a private mansion based in Sandwich.

The project although looks straight forward was rather complicated, the easiest way to photograph these mirrors would be side on and using the natural reflections from around the room. However these mirrors needed to be photographed straight on so could be cropped square for e-commerce as well as the ability to be used in a brochure so a set and negative space was needed. The natural background was a large window, similar in style to the one you see above; the pattern of the window interfered with the texture of the glass and therefore meant a new background would need to be inserted post production whilst retaining the glass texture and loosing the reflection of the camera. The last thing to consider was that different lighting positions may need to be taken to emphasise the pattern of the frame and create the depth needed, the best lighting to show  the pattern of the mirror and finally the best lighting for the whole room.

The final files were supplied in 3 crops, full un-cropped for use with Graphic Design, Square Cropped Scenic for use in social media such as Instagram and finally a close up square crop so that the detail of the frame and mirror can be seen for e-commerce.

Do you have a project with reflective surfaces that is complicated to light? If so get in touch and let’s work out the best solution for you. If you liked this project please hit the social media share buttons at the bottom of this blog.

With thanks to Joanna and Jan for bringing their collection along, Fran for helping with the styling and Dean for being the perfect assistant.


1932 & 1940 Custom Ford’s

I met up with Colin and Dave not far from where I live, which is nice as I am usually travelling all over the place. I had driven past this odd looking building many, many times and decided that it would make a great place for a shoot… but I had to wait until I found suitable cars. Colin is no stranger to me as I previously photographed his 1955 Chevy Bel Air for American Car Magazine, now with his ’40 Coupe for Street Machine and he introduced me to Dave with his ’32 Roadster. The then editor of American Car has re-launched Street Machine and suggested that they be shot as a dual feature. The building is actually an old parachute bunker and the grey structure behind the Coupe is an overturned, weathered lorry. With a very bright sunny day the weather caused me all kinds of reflection issues with Daves gloss black paintwork, so out come the large flash units to try and overpower the sun. It was a great shoot, although very hot and I love the results. Like and Share!


Dual Devons

I do enjoy shooting a bit of editorial work from time to time, these rare and beautiful Austin Devons were photographed in Orpington’s Frankie & Bennies Car Park… unfortunately we weren’t allowed to have the franchise in the background. It was an overcast day with a slight breeze, a dual shoot for Street Machine Magazine, which even as a photographer I am having trouble getting hard of as it is as rare as the cars themselves. As soon as I can get a copy I will post the tearsheets. As if two cars wasn’t enough on the same day they brought along their friends Sierra V8 Sleeper which beat them to print, which you can read about here: Sierra 2.0GLS V8.


Kent VW Festival 2018

This year the show returned back to Coldred in Dover, as we set up on Thursday it was a scorcher of a day at 37C and it was looking to be a sunny weekend… then Friday night around 7.30pm a great cloud that looked like a sausage roll rolled over the campsite followed by a massive updraft of wind lifting and snapping gazebos and tents everywhere. For those who survived the aftermath we were treated to some amazing bands throughout the weekend, a funfair and plenty of activities for the kids to enjoy.

We clocked in around 430 cars, thanks to everyone who turned up and purchased prints and mugs. Find purchased images below; which you can use on your social media.

Didn’t manage to view your car? Email darren@darrenwoolway.co.uk with rougly the time you entered on Friday along with your car make, model, colour and reg and we I try to find it for you.


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