nigelgoldsmith, Author at Nigel Goldsmith photography & film

Trade Union, not for profit and NGO photography

I have provided photography and photomontage services for trade unions and NGOs for over twenty years. The work is varied and interesting and differs widely from one organisation to another.

Photo-montaged images are often used to represent complex topics which cannot be illustrated with a traditional photograph. The types of subjects I have illustrated include, teenage pregnancies, John Major’s ‘Back to Basics’ policy, employment rights and environmental issues. This images often draw heavily on visual symbols and metaphors and can make very powerful images for campaigns, front covers or home pages. Some of my photo-montages have won the prestigious TUC media awards.

You can see more examples of my photo-montages here

Royal Mail privatisation. Commissioned by CWU

Most of these organisations have annual AGMs or conferences and need images of the event. Conference photography typically involves unobtrusively photographing speakers and delegates, taking shots of fringe meetings, team shots and stalls, recording any planned publicity events and forwarding images to picture desks from the venue.

Reaction from the floor- trade union conference

RMT – stewards

Guest Speaker – Dave Smith

RMT Conference delegate

My day rate for trade union and NGO work is based on the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) agreed day rate of £300/day before expenses.

Photomontages can require props and numerous location shots so please contact me for a quote.

Trade unions I have worked for; PCS, RMT, CWU, GMB, NUT, TGWU, UNISON, GPMU,

NGOs I have worked for; Greenpeace, War on Want, Central Americas Human Rights Commission, Prisoners Abroad,

PR photography for Hafren Round Britain sailing challenge

About 12 months ago I was invited to work on a photography project with a difference. Jeremy Warren and Phil Kirk are two highly experienced sailors who fancied a challenge. They thought they would attempt to sail around the UK in a Wayfarer dinghy (a very small but highly stable open boat). The boat is named after the Welsh princess Hafren which is also the Welsh name for the River Severn where the boat is based. I was invited to take pictures of the preparation leading up to the launch itself.

Hafren embarking from Weymouth at start of round Britain challenge

Hafren rounding Portland Bill

Jeremy and Phil sailed the boat day and night, sleeping in shifts on the open deck. For added ‘comfort’ they slept on two thin camping mats , their galley was a small camping stove supported on a home made gimble to prevent spillages. This little boat has had some major upgrades to make this endeavour possible including extra storage for food and water and the removal of an internal bulkhead to provide a sleeping space.

The previous record for sailing around the UK in a small dinghy was 72 days, Jeremy and Phil hoped to beat this though they knew it was going to be extremely hard.

Jeremy (left) and Phil (right) as they start their epic journey

They carried a Yellowbrick transmitter which regularly transmitted there location and uploaded it to their website so armchair sailers could follow their progress around the UK. They also posted regularly to Twitter and Facebook when they were in sight of land. They are raising funds for the RNLI and the Pappa Fund.

Position of Hafren is updated every 20 minutes via a Yellowbrick transmitter

Thanks to a combination of good weather, excellent sailing skills and night sailing they beat the previous record by 42 days coming in in 32 days and 2 hours.

The images have been used widely by both online and in print for local and national papers and magazines including the RYA magazine and Yaughting World.

Hafren round Britain. Nearly home

Hafren Round Britain Celebrations at the finishing line

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Ship breakers in Bangladesh

This image was part of a series of documentary images shot in 1998 of ship breakers on a beach just outside of the city of Chittagong in Bangladesh. The beach is the last port of call for numerous huge ships which are stripped down to their raw materials often with just pure brute force. While the ship breakers were mainly concerned with recovering steel and other metals from the ships they would also have to remove asbestos and other harmful materials from the ship.

While I was using digital cameras at the time I decided to shoot the whole project with the Hasselblad. The images were commissioned by a London based development organisation.

Prints from this series can be purchased from me directly. For more information, visit my print sales page

Ship breakers, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Living well with dementia – video and photography highlighting care in Gloucestershire

While good photographic images can really add to a website an animated slide show with a high quality voiceover presents the audience with a richer and more dynamic experience. This short promotion photo-film has been produced for South Gloucestershire Council to highlight the dementia care they provide in the area as part of the ‘living well with dementia’ strategy.

South Glos photofilm from PinholeWizard on Vimeo.

In addition to the video the client also gets a set of high resolution stills images. For more information call 07973 631185

Still image from dementia care promotional film - day care centre

Musical activity at dementia care home

The Marshfield Mummers

The ‘Town’ Crier’ leads the Marsfield Mummers along the High Street

I don’t normally work on Boxing Day however this year I was invited to photograph the Marshfield Mummers as they prepared for their annual performance.

Mummer’s costume case

The history of the Marshfield Mummers goes back more than two hundred years. The Mummers themselves are played by men local to the area, their identity is concealed by a costume made from torn strips of newspaper and cloth.

English Turpentine, used in the play for healing

Getting into costume

Typically, Marshfield is a sleepy village on the southern edge of the Cotswolds however on Boxing Day the pavements are packed with visitors who have come to see the annual performance.

The short 3 minute play is repeated a number of times along the High Street, between performances the Mummers walk in procession led by the ‘Town Crier’.

About to perform

The audience is invited to make a charitable donation to the Mummers, the money collected supports local projects. Many believe that a donation to the Mummers brings good luck for the following year. To read more about the Marshfield Mummers follow this link.

‘Saucy Jack’ a character from the Marshfield Mummers Christmas play

‘Beelzebub’ Marshfield Mummers

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