Last week I had some very exciting news, I became one of only 18 people in the UK to achieve Craftsman status with The Guild of Photographers. This is a huge achievement for me to have been honoured with this qualification. In order to be considered I needed to present a set of 36 images, 12 of which needed to be printed and mounted, to be closely inspected by the Guild’s panel of internationally recognised judges. In addition to this I had to submit a finished product as an example of the quality of products that I supply to my clients, along with a brief which described my thought processes, planning and the techniques used for the shoots.
My submission was made up of images taken for my Cluedo inspired project ‘Mystery at the Mansion’.
All six characters in the Lounge (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
This collection was based on the much loved board game and included the six characters depicted in the nine rooms that are seen in the game, along with all of the murder weapons and also had a Lincolnshire sub-theme running throughout. I had organised the shoots earlier this year as part of my final major project for my degree. It was typical of editorial style, conceptual shoots, such as might be seen in a book or magazine. I had researched Cluedo (even having contact with the daughter of the inventor of the game), arranged for the six models and all of the costumes and props. The National Trust very kindly allowed me to use two of their houses as locations, which perfectly complemented the elegant, vintage feel that I wanted for the images. So we visited Gunby Hall and Gardens which gave me six of the rooms I needed, Belton House was perfect for a further two, and The Avenue Club, a gentleman’s club in Skegness, was the ideal venue for the Billiard room. The shoots happened over three days and I was ably assisted by Sarah and Harriet with Emily Johnson acting as MUA for two of my models. Big thanks go to the locations for their support and to all the people who were involved, from models to Horncastle Music Shop for the loan of the gramophone and Glenn James who provided Miss Scarlett’s wig. Full credits for the people involved can be seen at the end of my video which shows the whole collection which is on my youtube channel here (or can be seen at the bottom of this post). And some of the images are currently being displayed in St Mary’s Church, Lowgate, Hull, as part of the Hull International Photography Festival I shall blog in more detail about the shoots and what was entailed at a later date, but for now I hope that you enjoy the 12 images that were printed for my craftsman submission. Can you guess whodunnit?
Colonel Mustard (Chris Liversidge) and Mrs White (Penny Holland) in the Dining Room (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
Professor Plum (Brian Burbidge) in the Library (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
Miss Scarlett (Angela Hudson) in the Lounge (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
Mrs Peacock (Gail Hinkins) and Reverend Green (Chris Hinkins) in the Study (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
Mrs White (Penny Holland) in the Kitchen (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
Colonel Mustard (Chris Liversidge) in the Conservatory (Belton House)
Reverend Green (Chris Hinkins) in the Conservatory (Belton House)
Mrs Peacock (Gail Hinkins) in the Conservatory (Belton House)
Miss Scarlett (Angela Hudson) in the Hall (Gunby Hall and Gardens)
Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum and Colonel Mustard in the Billiard Room (The Avenue Club, Skegness)
Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard and Miss Scarlett in the Ballroom (Belton House)
