articles - Page 18 of 28 - Nigel Goldsmith photography & film

Ghost caught on pinhole camera

I am currently going through the current crop of extended pinhole camera pictures and discovered that a camera had recorded a ‘ghost’ of a structure not present when the camera was put up or taken down. On the left side of the building there is a faint image of scaffolding which must have been in place for around half of the exposure (3 months). You can see more pinhole images in the gallery section of the website

Ghost of scaffolding captured in 6 month pinhole camera exposure

Celebrations at the finishing line. Hafren Round Britain

Linking in to the earlier story on the 2nd July, Phil and Jeremy sailing in their tiny Wayfarer dinghy Hafren successfully managed to knock 43 days of the previous record for sailing around the coast of Britain.

Hafren Round Britain Celebrations at the finishing line

The Squeaky Wheel – stop motion animation featuring Sylvanian Families

This is a recent short film combining video and stop-motion (stop frame) animation used for a show reel. I borrowed my daughter Grace’s Sylvanian Families characters as my main talent. She also has a little car styled on the classic British Morris Minor from the 1950s which I thought would also work well in the film. When I picked up the car I noticed it had one squeaky wheel, this gave me the idea for the film. The kitchen in my house was being installed at the time so there was a lot of tools and materials lying around which provided a great location for the story.

Ambient sounds used for this include; the squeaky wheel itself, the engine starting and horn of a 1968 Citroen van, some power tools and hammers, the oil can, a screw on a metal saw, dripping water.

The film combines video, stop frame animation and ambient sound recording. I used a skateboard for the shot of the characters driving towards the camera.

Stop motion animation, when combined with a detailed knowledge of Photoshop can really bring an inanimate character to life. In the video the characters blink at the camera. Since seeing this film Grace hasn’t been able to turn her back on her Sylvanians just in case they spring into life.

Morris Minor drive past – frame from stop motion animation

Our services include planning, filming, sound recording and editing. As an alternative to animation or standard video I also offer photo-films, you can see examples here.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more.

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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