Once again I had the pleasure of working with Stoneham Amplifiers to produce a range of promotional shots for the new Stoneham Savage mk1 Guitar Amplifier.
I've worked with Stoneham for around three years now and every time I see their new masterpiece I'm totally blown away by the craftsmanship and attention to detail put into each HANDMADE amplifier. They are simply stunning.
For example, take the Sentinel SS1 Amplifier from 2014, below.
Even Iron Maiden don't go up to 666
Look at that font, the backlighting and the fact that all of the controls go up to 11 (so far, so Spinal Tap) but wait - the Master Volume goes up to 666! You don't get that on your shop-bought models.
Then there's the Custom Twin 50. Just look at that embossed vinyl!
Blue laser smoke not included.
So, back to the Savage mk1. The brief was to take standard studio shots and then to try to add something which will give a clue, a subtle hint, at its hand-built in Newcastle Upon Tyne heritage. The studio shots were great fun to do. The Stoneham workshop has an area set aside just for things like this and customer demonstrations. First, simple lighting...
The shot above was lit with a standard Speedlight on a lightstand at 45 degrees left front with another rear right for a side/backlight effect to add depth.
The shot below used just the single left side Speedlight.
No back or side light, just front left from slightly above.
Next, I introduced flare from the rear sidelight - love the effect!
A happy accident or light-spill on purpose, you decide!
And now for the location shots. To remind you, the brief was to convey the Newcastle Upon Tyne roots of this handmade amplifier, to show its industrial north ancestry. Nailed it.
I forgot about the "subtle" part of the brief....
Not a backdrop, actually placed in front of the Tyne Bridge.
The Tyne Bridge shots were originally planned for the 18th September. So glad I looked at the news a few days before to realise that 50,000 runners and fleet of 40 Olympic outside broadcast units may just have gotten in the way of my shoot (yep, it was the day of the Great North Run).
How many bridges can you see?
The shot above was taken on the Millennium Bridge. This tranquil scene is not what it seems. There were so many tourists on the bridge it took an age to set up. Brilliantly assisted by Elara Christie (who only needed Starbucks for payment, mmm Iced Pumpkin Spice Frap...) we placed the amplifier central on the bridge and waited and waited for a break in the crowd. We couldn't believe we could carry a huge guitar amplifier/stack onto a bridge without anyone challenging us or asking us to move. Unreal.
Finally, some "behind the scenes" photographs courtesy of Elara...
People removed in Photoshop later. My hair removed itself naturally.
Teamwork!