Today I was working in Jam Jar Studios, it’s an amazing 12000 sq ft TV Studio based in Gateshead, it also has the largest commercial Green Screen studio on the North East of England. I was asked to do stills photography of a video being made but I can’t say too much or show any of the images as yet …..

A bit of industrial today down in Redcar photographing a new product from the raw materials to the finished packed product. It’s always interesting to see how things are made even if you don’t understand the science behind the product. As always, it’s great to see things manufactured in the North East of the UK and long may it continue.

I often get asked to do photography for case studies, today I was at a new build high up in the area of Consett. Consett can be a windy place and very cold in the winter, the whole of the building is being insulated by a new Isover product which is excellent at noise insulation as well as heat insulation. Due to working with these types of products the camera and all the equipment had to be covered in plastic to protect from the fibres.

As the winter approaches Durham County Council are preparing for keeping the rural and main roads moving, open and safe. A few new power gritters, blowers, 42,000 tonnes of salt, 1,700km of priority roads and they are ready. It’s not often there’s a chance to get some of the fleet together so when the opportunity arose for a photograph of a few of them together had to be done quickly.

Its Panto season and the Gala Theatre in Durham have started rehearsals for Snow White, but this year Snow White is going Green. This year instead of using plastic confetti, the theatre has switched to a more eco-friendly paper alternative, doing its ‘bit’ to help Durham County Council reduce use of single use plastic. It was great to work with cast members Paul Hartley and Neil Armstrong, it’s a 73 show run and this image was used in local press and magazines to help highlight the sort of things we can to ensure our impact on the environment is as minimal as possible.

As these scarlet-coated veterans visited Seaham in County Durham they came face to face with the North East’s iconic soldier Tommy. I was asked to document their visit as they met Tommy discovered the history of military music and got hands on with the Durham Light Infantry Collection. The images were used in the National Press and local magazines.

I’ve been taking photographs of the regeneration of Spanish City over the last couple of years and was privileged to be one of the first people to see the finished project. I can remember it as a child being a funfair and then watched over the years as it declined in to a derelict state. It’s been wonderful so see it as it has slowly come to life again and stands proudly in Whitley Bay.

A bit more industrial photography today. A visit to a company who make amongst other things 25m tubes for heat exchangers. Although it’s quite bright in the factory rather than just using available light I decided to use lighting to ready give the image a lift and make the product stand out. The easy option isn’t always the best. Again by having someone in the photograph really does give it scale

A 10-hour hike by Npower staff along the Pennine Skyline in aid of MacMillan today raised a fantastic £10k which was matched pound for pound by Npower making the total just over £20k. I took photographs of the staff who were from all over the country at the beginning, during and at the finish of the hike for their local press. Obviously I couldn’t all do the hike myself as I needed to keep on front of everyone so had to use the car and sat-nav, well that’s my excuse !.

A trip up to the De Vere Slaley Hall near Hexham to photograph local singer / songwriter Annabel Pattinson to promote her forthcoming gigs along with with her band. Here’s quick shot of the set up using 4 heads and creating a bit of moody lighting.