A Typical Month ... (as was) ...

I'm so lucky to have so much variety in my work (no more than now, as we navigate through changes we must all make to our work and practices in response to the Covid19 pandemic) .. For now, lets lose ourselves in a blog I wrote BC (before covid) which is a time that I miss of course, while at the same time, I'm grateful that my late 80yrs old parents are both keeping safe and well here in Truro, Cornwall and I'll do what it takes for that to be the case.

A Typical Month | 2018

Since my last blog, I've been shooting in Italy, the Isle of Wight and London .. not to mention being flat out busy here in Cornwall too. The Tuscan trip was a mixture of work and pleasure. Four days scouting locations, making contacts and of course, trying the local delicacies (mainly chianti).

The first contact was made at Pisa Airport where an unsuspecting Car Hire guy, volunteered his own family for a photo shoot which was held at Livorno, 25 minutes SW of the airport, on the beautiful West Coast of Italy.

So, it was here that my wife Anna and I, met with Pierpaulo, Andrea and their eighteen month old son Mattea, in a cafe on the promenade at this seaside resort. After an hour or so, posing against the backdrop of the setting sun, our new friends took us to a small, family run restaurant, way off the beaten track where we were to experience typical Livorno cuisine.

Although this is an evening I will never forget, for the newly found relationship with our Italian friends, the buzz of this tiny tucked away local's restaurant that I probably could never find my way to again, the food and community spirit, this was one rare evening, where I put my cameras away to experience life in the moment. It was one of the best evenings of my life and I really enjoy hearing from Pierepaulo, about his new B&B business venture and his young family periodically. Feeling thankful for a chatty wife. I was painfully shy as a child and I wouldn't have started a conversation with the car hire guy, but it led to something very nice.

On waiting for a few minutes for a table to be extracted from the masses, shuffling between far too many seats and diners, which were jam packed in this long and narrow backstreet restaurant, we arrived at a sought after table with barely no room for your legs nor elbows. Mattea's pushchair navigated to the quietest spot (there was no quiet spot but as we were keeping the little one out late at night, our efforts felt justified in that we had at least tried to make it more comfortable for him). He slept throughout and didn't stir once all evening. Coats were piled as high as the Tower of Pisa as there was no room to hang them, Italian introductions were loud, Italian instructions from the waiter about how this was going to play out was well rehearsed and loud (so that we could hear over the wave of conversation and laughter of the regulars), the squeaks of chair moving at every moment was loud, everything was loud. We were seated ...

The menu stated in no uncertain terms, (and in Italian only), that the food produced here, is all lovingly prepared by 'Mama' in her tiny broom cupboard of a kitchen, to her family's recipes and you may have to wait. However, if you are not inclined to have a drink and talk with your companions while Mama works her magic, then there's a Pizzeria just down the road and you would be more than welcome to go there! This raised a smile and made us all want to wait for Mama's cooking even more.

Suffice to say that we loved our time in Italy and Anna, continued to talk to everyone! It's what she does, which is good as it gives me time to snap away ... which is what I do.

The day after landing back at Bristol, I was re-packing and heading to Portsmouth to catch a ferry to the Isle of Wight. The next job (or challenge) was to spend four days shooting summer brochure pictures for a national caravan holiday park. I've been working for them for the last six years or so, and our shoots usually take place between April and July, so making October look like summer was going to be fun! .. as you can see ... #bts

Well, the weather certainly did not behave and the models were cold in their t-shirts and shorts. As we worked our way through the brief, I thought about how much time I was going to spend editing goose bumps. As much time as possible was spent working on indoor shots that best represented the facilities and the Marketing Executives did their best to keep us all fuelled with hot drinks. They always look after me and the model families really well so it's good for us all to pull together to make things happen. These shoots are always a lot of fun and really benefit the client's large picture portfolio.

Lower Hyde Holiday Park, Parkdean Resorts, Isle of Wight

Landguard Holiday Park, Parkdean Resorts, Isle of Wight

Everyone survived and the Marketing team are happy with their new photos, so I look forward to next years photoshoots once more. On the quiet, I hope they revert to shooting in the warmer months!

Next, I was on my way home to Cornwall for a couple of weeks of photographing food, kids in nurseries, portable toilets (I said it was varied) and interiors. Thereafter, off to North London for two days shooting interiors for two different magazines.

The first publication, was for a regular homes magazine client. The house was in Mill Hill, North London and was enormous with it's own gym and cinema room. The following day, I was a little further east in Muswell Hill, working for an interior magazine. This house was a bit more modest but still beautifully decorated. The brief, to shoot the kitchen, master bedroom and a couple of bathrooms. Six hours later ... this shoot was complete and delivered on the brief, to the quality the client needs for their editorials. Homeward bound to Cornwall once more.

I love to travel, which is fortunate with my job and I'm lucky that they go hand in hand. I, like so many of us who work in and out of county, have grown to love the sight of 'the trees' perched on a small hilltop on the side of the A30, which welcome us home each and every time.

#simonburt #photographer #mylife #travel #people #photography

If you would like to read more of my holiday park adventures, come with me to Wales via my blog below: