by Tim Gander

Sink or Swim?

My previous blog post started with an apology for having been a while in the making, and here we are again; two and a half months since I wrote that post!

Well not many people are around in August, so when I do post during the Summer holidays I often feel like I’m talking to myself. In addition to this I did what I almost never do in August, I took a holiday! West Wales, Cardigan Bay in a camper van since you ask. And yes, it was fantastic and much-needed. I hope you all managed some kind of escape too, if only from the incessant heat!

Twists and Turns

But it’s not just that. It’s fair to say, life has been taking some slightly unexpected twists and turns of late. Let’s use this post to touch on some of those twisty turny things.

To be fair, June and July were absolutely insane with work. I had conferences, events, Summer Graduations for University of Bath (stepping in at the very last minute to cover for sickness, which was mildly stressful to put it mildly) and the usual smattering of corporate headshot sessions sprinkled amongst all that. It’s astonishing to think I had time to eat, sleep or breathe during that period, and yet…

And yet in amongst all that I spent more time as a swim teacher than I have previously and I spent a week training as a pool lifeguard. You read that correctly; I spent a week at Melksham Community Campus pool (a gorgeous swimming pool, by the way) in a class of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds learning first aid, CPR, the full range of pool rescue techniques and performing timed rescues, which believe me are not for the faint-hearted!

It was interesting to test myself against swimmers who are a third of my age and to see I wasn’t the slowest. I’d even gone into the week with a sinus infection, feeling rough and having not trained as much as I’d wanted to, so I’m particularly pleased and proud that I did the course and passed the written and practical exams (including the horrific timed rescues). So yes, I’m now a Royal Life Saving Society qualified pool lifeguard.

It’s also good to know that even as a photographer when I’m out on jobs, or just out generally, I have the skills to help if I encounter a medical emergency. For years I’d meant to do a first aid course, and now I have that skill too.

We are looking down a line of seated female students in the ornate surroundings of Bath Abbey. The students are in caps and gowns, looking up to a screen which which we can't see. The focus of the photo is on one student who in addition to her dark cap and gown is also wearing a head and neck scarf. She is smiling and clapping as fellow students take to the graduation stage (which we also can't see).
Summer Graduations at Bath Abbey in July

What Does This Mean?

Does any of this mean I’m turning away from photography? A question you’d be forgiven for asking, and the answer is ‘not by a long chalk’.

I’m about to turn 60 (!!!) so it’s reasonable to start thinking in terms of what the rest of my working life will look like. I’m obviously still fairly fit, but I have to ask myself how many more years I can be hefting kit about. City centres have become increasingly inaccessible to vehicles, most clients don’t have their own car parks and those that do often have a plethora of obstacles to negotiate between car park and office which, when you’re laden with equipment, suddenly become a right bore.

By contrast, although swim teaching isn’t always cushy (sometimes multiple hours neck deep in cool water), it’s not as impactful on the physique and I have found it to be incredibly rewarding. Not to say that photography isn’t, but knowing I’m helping children and adults learn new skills and making them much safer around water definitely has its rewards.

Decisions Decisions?

You might say I’m at a crossroads. I’d say the junction is visible, but still a way off in the distance. Even taking into account factors like my age and the rapid advance of AI imagery (pewk), my skills as a photographer will continue to be in demand for a while yet. It might seem foolish to put this post out now since some clients might take it as a signal that I’m hanging my cameras up. However I cannot deny that swimming and swim teaching have become important to me, perhaps more quickly than I’d anticipated, but I’m still here for the clients who care about their corporate image and I will be here for them for the next few years.

I might just have a whiff of chlorine about me. Sorry about that!

in My News / photography 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

The Non Camera Review Camera Review

I’m going to kick off this article with a couple of apologies; firstly that it’s been quite a while since I posted anything (did you miss me? No? oh well…), and secondly for the somewhat oblique title of the piece. I always struggle with titles, and this was no exception.

What I’m trying to get to in this one is that while I am going to talk about the cameras I use, this is not a camera review. Think of it more as a personal review of how my kit has performed since I updated it around a year ago.

To start with a little bit of background. I switched from Canon (who I’d been with for more than 20 years) to Panasonic Lumix just as we were emerging from the Covid pandemic. There were multiple reasons for this which I won’t go into here, but just to say I was suitably impressed with the Lumix S5 and found myself selling off my Canon bodies and lenses piece by piece to help fund the transition.

The S5 wasn’t perfect by any stretch (autofocus being its weakest point) but the Lumix bodies are solid and the lenses incredibly sharp and well designed. So I was satisfied with my new commitment.

Keeping a long story short, the S5 was superseded by the S5ii and S5iix bodies, but I held off updating to those preferring instead to stick with what I had until the S1Rii came out. Unlike with the S5ii cameras, it was enough of an upgrade to justify the outlay.

What the S1Rii gave me was a much higher-resolution sensor and solid autofocus. A few other nice-to-have features also swayed me, but this camera has what the original S5 lacked – reliable autofocus, even in tricky situations.

A month or two after purchasing the S1Rii, I upgraded my second S5 body with a S1iiE. Another apology is due here, this time for all the model numbers, but I’ll try to clarify what’s going on here.

So by this time last year I had upgraded both my Lumix S5 bodies. One with a high-resolution body (S1Rii is 44 megapixels), the other with a body with the same resolution as the previous cameras I had (S1iiE is 24 megapixels), but with vastly improved autofocus and handling.

Now here is where I really have to applaud the Lumix design team. With almost any other manufacturer, if you have two different camera bodies (one perhaps cheaper than the other) the handling and controls will always differ too. I always have two cameras for work since only having one is a liability, but the problem with this arrangement is that having different muscle memory for each camera body gets in the way of seamless operation.

The beauty of the Lumix S1Rii and S1iiE is that in looks, handling and controls, they are completely identical. So much so that I’ve put a little red sticker on my S1iiE so I know at a glance which one is which without having to look at the model number on the camera front. The single difference between the two cameras is in the file sizes they spit out.

A top-down view of two Panasonic Lumix camera bodies placed back-to-back showing that the controls and design are identical, even though they are two different models of camera.
Twin Peek - back-to-back S1Rii and S1iiE

You might ask why I didn’t just get two S1Rii cameras in the first place; a fair question and the answer is both twofold and simple: 1. cost and 2. file size.

Tackling point 1 first, I could have afforded to buy two S1Rii bodies, but as a freelance I always have to watch I don’t go mad just buying whatever I want. The S1Rii body retails at circa £2,600.00 where the S1iiE is £1,900.00. That’s quite a chunk of money.

Point 2. I didn’t want a 44 megapixel camera for absolutely everything I do. 24 megapixels is pretty much always more than sufficient and is lighter on storage needs, while 44 megapixels is great when I need to crop or for images destined for large print display such as pop-up banners and posters.

In practice I often use both bodies side-by-side on jobs, reducing the need to swap lenses. I like to keep an 85mm lens with its longer reach on the S1Rii and use the S1iiE with wider lenses, the reason being that with 44mp to play with, I can crop to make that 85mm lens more like a 200mm lens without having the attendant bulk, but still retaining image quality.

If I’d stayed with Canon, the R5ii being their closest equivalent (as far as I know) to the S1Rii, costs around £4,000.00 body only. So I’d have to shell out £8,000.00 to have two bodies. Also the R5 is still just 24mp.

So why are Lumix cameras so (relatively) cheap? I might flip that question to ask why the likes of Canon and Sony or Nikon are so expensive. I have to concede that for all Lumix has done to improve autofocus performance, Canon, Sony and to some extent, Nikon, are reckoned to have the edge in this regard. In practice though, I rarely have problems with focusing. The main reason I believe there is such a price disparity is in brand recognition.

Lumix are very highly regarded cameras to those who’ve used them, but the other three have a much larger market share each and can exploit the loyalty they’ve built up. Lumix has often been dismissed as a video-centric brand, but I’d say their stills performance is incredibly compelling.

One other issue could be down to the range of available lenses. Canon, Nikon and Sony all have very extensive choices of lenses, but Lumix is part of a lens mount alliance with Sigma and Leica, and though they are a little lacking in the longer telephoto ranges, I no longer shoot sport so this doesn’t affect me. In all other respects I feel well-catered for when it comes to lens choice.

To conclude: One year after upgrading to my current camera bodies, and around four years since switching to Lumix, am I happy with my decisions? Absolutely. Could Panasonic do more to improve the cameras? Yes of course, but frankly there isn’t much that they lack, so I can see myself continuing with my current pair of bodies for some years to come.

in My News / Personal Opinion / Point of View / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

2025 in Pictures

I’m rounding up this year with a selection of images, one for each month, which help illustrate what I’ve taken to calling a “textured” year.

Packed with work, swimming, cycling, professional and personal ups and downs, challenges and triumphs 2025 has been pretty interesting in both good and less good ways.

This gallery represents a very small selection of the assignments I’ve undertaken, and while they might not all be “bangers” they do represent a flavour of the work I’ve done and the personal images which interest me.

The majority of my professional photographic work has been with University of Bath, but other clients have also kept me out of mischief.

In the middle of it all my mum passed away in July which, while not entirely unexpected, did add another emotional dimension to the year.

 

A female Asian student in blue, yellow and black cap and gown is looking up, smiling and clapping. Other students are visible around her.
January - University of Bath Winter Graduations
Low Winter sun casts shadows of wooden benches and people across a textured concrete patio area. Trees are visible in the background.
February - I'm often on the look out for interesting light.
In a large sports hall a group of young wheelchair basketball players are being organised for a group photo. Large studio lights can be seen to left and right of the photo and a videographer is kneeling to capture some footage.
March - BTS of a PR shoot for Omaze
A female Asian student in denim jacket, pink sweater and black jeans is standing in a street of shops in Bath, smiling to camera with out-of-focus students in the background behind her.
April - Stock photo for University of Bath
A family group of two boys, two girls a mum and dad leaping into an open air swimming pool in the sunshine.
May - Shepton Lido official opening.
An engineer in orange high-vis jacket, safety hat and glasses uses a head torch to inspect a diagram. he's standing in a welding workshop.
June - IRTE Skills Challenge, Bristol.
A window sill with pot plants and a face mirror on, with a view of green hedging beyond. Below the window sill is a wooden cupboard with various personal items arranged such as a jewellery tree, a glass pot and drinks coaster
July - Mum's room.
A young woman with blonde hair wearing a peach top stands at a glass patio door holding a cup of tea and smiling. She is looking out through the window into the garden beyond, which is only seen as blurry foliage.
August - Eva Abley for Irwin Mitchell's piece on medical negligence.
A researcher stands at a lecture console with a projected image of his research on a screen behind him.
September - International antibody validation meeting.
A male conference delegate in a burgundy cap, his face illuminated by a laptop screen, glances up to whatever is happening on the stage. A bright spot light from the ceiling casts a light rim around his head and other delegates are discernible in the background.
October - IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025.
A super-wide angle view of the Roman Baths in Bath with evening event guests milling and drinking.
November - Back to Bath.
Three modern plastic chairs with wooden legs have been left on the pavement for anyone who wants them. There's a blue one, a white one and a red one. The red one is turned side on. There is a stucco wall behind them with a pale pented oblong higher up on the wall. The bonnet of a parked car is just visible around the corner. It is sunny and some blue sky is visible in the top-right quarter of the photo.
December - I have a bit of a thing for abandoned chairs.

It just remains for me to wish you all the best Christmas possible and every success in 2026. I want to say a personal thank you to all my clients and indeed to the friends who have supported me though this “textured” year. Thank you; I may not always manage to acknowledge your contribution directly, but it is very much appreciated.

in My News / Uncategorized 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

When Life Gives You Plums…

The past couple of weeks have been blessedly quiet after what has been a somewhat ‘complex’ period.

A mixture of heavy workload, personal development plans and a bereavement (see previous blog) had left me feeling a little bit broken. No major breakdown, just like I’d been rinsed through and needed to refresh and reset.

However, one of the absolute pleasures of the freelance/work-from-home life is the ability to take a break, step into your garden and pick fruit. Or even just to sit in the garden and ponder the great imponderables.

So it was that yesterday, one of the hottest days of the year, I spent a precious few minutes picking plums in the garden. There is something about fruit picking that I find incredibly mindful. Like my other passion, swimming, I can just immerse myself as I check which fruit are ripe, which need more time and which have gone over and need to be composted.

Looking down on a steel colander of freshly-picked Victoria plums. The colander is standing on a steel work surface with kitchen utensils and condiments visible in the background.
1.6kg of plums looks like this
A table-level view of four jars, of different sizes, of plum jam, two of which have handwritten labels stating "Plum Jam 12.8.25." The jars are standing on a steel kitchen work surface with cooking utensils and condiments out of focus in the background.
1kg of plums made 2kg of jam.

And when you’re married to someone who enjoys making jam, I mean it just doesn’t get any better than that, does it? In fact we had more plums than jam sugar, so I made compote too.

So this very brief post is to remind you to take those little moments when you can. Simple pleasures bring great rewards. They’re the times when you can recharge your batteries, let your mind freewheel in the background, and maybe come up with some ideas and solutions to problems you thought intractible.

I still have some way to go before I’m on the other side of all the admin which follows a death, but at least I have the ability to recognise when I need to take a pause, and in turn this is allowing me to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

So whatever fruit life gives you, use it to make something positive. Preferably something you can spread on toast and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

in My News / Point of View 1 comments
 by Tim Gander

A New Perspective and a Sad Farewell

Way back in September 2024 I talked about a camera I’d bought which straddled the Tool and Toy categories of photographic kit.

To recap what I said then, the Lumix GX9 is a compact camera with interchangeable lenses. It acts as a useful third body in my kit bag for work as well as being a fun carry-everywhere camera when I’m not working.

The Excuse for a New Lens

With University of Bath Summer Graduations looming, I decided to invest in an ultra-wide angle lens for the GX9. I could have just got an ultra-wide lens for one of my work bodies, but the cost and weight meant this was the less attractive option. Besides which, ultra-wide isn’t a focal length I use for work very often so I didn’t fancy forking out a fortune.

My thinking was that such a lens could offer some alternative options for shots inside Bath Abbey where the graduation ceremonies take place. In the event it also gave me one or two corkers outside the abbey too.

The lens I bought is a Laowa 6mm f/2, the focal length being equivalent to 12mm on a 35mm camera. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a budget-friendly (£520.00) lens, but I have to say I was impressed!

It’s designed to give a very wide view, while keeping horizontals and verticals as straight as possible – not the fish-eye distortion you might normally expect from this focal length.

I’m posting a handful of examples here. Whether the university ever uses these for corporate communications remains to be seen, but I see no technical or qualitative reason not to. And they certainly offer a different perspective on an event which, given it was 17 ceremonies over 5 days, can risk becoming a bit repetitive in photographic terms.

A procession of academics in colourful gowns and black caps passes by Bath Abbey. The photo is taken on a very wide-angle lens from a low angle looking up from the ground.
Academics process past Bath Abbey prior to a ceremony.
Academics process inside Bath Abbey onto a stage covered in blue cloth while families of graduands watch from the seats.
The procession mounts the stage inside Bath Abbey.
A very wide view taken upright shows the back of a graduand as he mounts the stage to graduate. He is doffing his cap to the presiding officer of the university.
An ultra-wide view taken in upright format makes for another interesting option.

Photo of the Week

This next photo was shot using one of my ‘professional’ bodies and is, I think, my favourite photo from the week. Taken in relatively low light on a drizzly afternoon, I was pleased to have spotted this student as he bolted from Bath Abbey door to embrace his girlfriend waiting outside. It sums up the release and joy of having graduated.

A university graduate in cap and gown is seen side-on running towards a group of people standing in the rain. He is smiling with one arm outstretched and is blurred by his motion.
Perhaps my favourite photo of the week.

I barely planned the shot, just kept my wits about me as the graduates started to exit the abbey, and locked onto him as I saw him dash forward. I’m glad it worked out.

The week was incredibly hot and humid, and pretty tiring, but I managed to get interesting angles and moments from every ceremony I covered (11 in all as I was alternating with the university’s staff photographer). Often the emotional moments as graduates hugged friends and family in Abby Churchyard would make my eyes prickle, the relief and joy being palpable, but I managed to concentrate on getting the shots needed.

Farewell

I can’t write this post without saying farewell to one of my favourite subscribers, my mum, who passed away on July 25th. This is the last decent photo I took of her as she peels the potatoes for Christmas Dinner, December 2024. I won’t say too much more here, but amongst many other things, I’ll miss her saying, “I read your blog post this week. I’m not sure I understood what it was about.”

An elderly woman with white hair sits at a large wooden table peeling potatoes. There is a window to the right, a potted plant to the left and a bright yellow wall behind her.
Edelgard Gander 1935 - 2025

in Case Studies / corporate communications / event photographic / Event photography / My News / Personal Work 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Photo|Frome is Looming

View of the front of Frome Library with extremely large format vinyl photographic prints attached to the walls showing the work of Joanne Coates
Frome Library wears the work of Joanne Coates

After a fallow year in 2024, Photo|Frome is set to return with a bang in 2025. In fact, it’s nearly upon us and installation has started!

I should start by saying that due to a combination of personal and professional commitments, I have much less involvement in this year’s festival than in 2022 and 2023. For the planning of Outdoor Exhibitions in 2025, I’ve taken on a more limited advisory role to assist de-facto new head of outdoor Mark Somerville, who’s done a grand job from a standing start.

And so on Monday of this week I was back on a scissor lift, helping a great team of volunteers to install massive vinyl prints on the outside of Frome Library. In 2023 this consisted of a collaboration between myself and the photographers of T House, an Italian collective.

This year’s star of this most visible of locations shows a small selection of images from Joanne Coates’ project “The Lie of the Land” which looks at rural life through working class and low-income communities, encompassing issues of gender and heritage and human impact on the landscape.

I haven’t necessarily summed it up very well, so do explore Joanne’s work more thoroughly here.

The wider festival, which runs from 5th – 27 April, promises to be exciting as exciting as ever, with a breadth and depth of exhibitions which will have something for everyone (always an aim of Photo|Frome).

Just returning to the library show for a moment, it’s also worth mentioning that the vinyl posters from 2023’s show have been recycled into bespoke, each-one-unique, handmade tote bags which will be available for sale at this year’s festival. Or if you’re interested in owning one, drop me a line via tim@timgander.co.uk. They are very limited edition (I believe just over 60 were made before we ran out of material), so don’t hang about!

Finally, just to say that if you are planning on visiting Photo|Frome, drop me a line so we can meet up if time allows. Either way, enjoy your visit!

Thank you to Photo|Frome’s sponsors:

MPB is Photo|Frome’s Official Sponsor, the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video gear.

Arts Council England Photo|Frome is supported using public funding by the National lottery through Arts Council England.

Frome Town Council is Photo|Frome’s Local partner.

in My News / photographer / photography 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Worst. Tourist. Ever.

I just can’t do it. Send me on a nice break, and I’m constantly looking for the gritty photo, or at least something with a bit of a story to it.

At the end of January my wife and I took the Eurostar to Paris to visit friends who live just outside the city. It was nothing more than a long weekend, so we packed extremely light which meant I wasn’t especially interested in taking a film camera, lenses and film. Besides, I’ve fallen a little bit in love with my Lumix GX9…

mmmmcheese

What we couldn’t resist during our trip, apart from the astonishingly good cheeses and cakes, was a visit to the newly-restored Notre Dame Cathedral. I can honestly say, it is well worth getting there if you can, but be prepared; prepared for crowds, queues and smartphones in every view.

The last time we visited Notre Dame was in 2014, and although there would have been tourists taking photos then, it wasn’t an impression which was stamped on my memory. This time around it felt like the smartphone-wielding had gone a bit OTT.

Rear view of a female tourist in an orange knitted hat raising her iPhone to take a photo of a holy mass underway in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, with one of the beautifully restored circular stained glass windows visible out of focus beyond.

Tourist captures Holy Mass on her iPhone in Notre Dame Cathedral

I’m not a religious person, but if I visit someone’s holy place, I hope I tread carefully and with consideration of where I am. At Notre Dame there were people poking their phones through railings, taking pictures in places with ‘No Photography” signs right next to their elbows. Maybe this is nothing new, maybe I should mind my own beeswax.

Maybe it seemed worse because it was incredibly busy – perhaps unsurprising as it’s only been open a few weeks, but when a Holy Mass got underway, there were people filming the service with phones on selfie sticks, small gimbal cameras and the like. Is this normal? Maybe it is.

While I wasn’t there to pass judgement (as I seem to have done, whether I like it or not), and not there to gather a story, rather than poke my camera into every nook and cranny of the cathedral I focussed on the visitors around me and tried to get a sense of what it was like to be there, more than what the space looks like*.

The result you see here is the best of a handful of photos I took during the visit to Notre Dame. In a single image I’ve tried to bring together the iPhone experience so many people have of places now with how such use can feel a little insensitive. At the same time, I wanted to make it fairly obvious where the image was taken to give it context.

A Dame Good Photo?

I’m not sure how successful I was in this. Perhaps if I’d had more time I might have managed to capture a sea of phones-type shot, but filling the background with a single spectacular rose window would have been impossible, and here I feel it helps add impact to the image. And on the tourist’s phone you can clearly see she’s lining up for a photo or video of the Mass, rather than an architectural aspect of the space. If I’d got multiple phones in-shot, you wouldn’t see what was on any single one of them, and this would have diluted the impact further.

Either way, however successful/impactful/useful it is, the shot scratched my itch to make a different kind of image that day, so I’ll settle for that.

Having had this semi rant, maybe I’m the worst tourist ever. While other people go to places and do their thing, I feel compelled to document them doing their thing rather than going to a place and minding my own business. And doesn’t that make me slightly hypocritical?! Or perhaps it’s healthy to take a step back from the crowd and show what society looks like, rather than copy what everyone else sees. It’s certainly a minefield, and one I’ll probably spend the rest of my life picking my way through.

For the camera nerds, here are the image specs:

Camera – Lumix GX9

Lens – Olympus 45mm f/1.8

Exposure – 650iso, 50th sec @ f/1.8

*It is incredible. The restoration has been done with astonishing care and attention to detail. There is far more lighting than was evident in the pre-fire cathedral, but this means you can now see all the beautiful carving, all the way up to the beautiful vaulted roof. Just go, you’ll love it.

in My News / Personal Work / Point of View 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

From BTS to ECG, MRI to ICB – it’s all happening here!

First of all, apologies for the extended radio silence, I’ve been having an unusually busy time. There are reasons behind this which I will save for another time, another blog post.

Suffice to say, Google might have been disappointed by my lack of posting; my handful of loyal readers on the other hand might have enjoyed the quiet.

While much of my recent photography work hasn’t lent itself to sharing, there is one completed project worth a mention: a series of images taken around the local(ish) area of newly-installed Community Diagnostics Centres. This is work I’ve undertaken for NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board.

The brief was to visit the various hospitals and health centres in Bath, Salisbury and Swindon where new diagnostics facilities have been set up so patients don’t have to travel so far for MRI scans, respiratory tests, CT scans and the like. It’s a multimillion pound investment making testing facilities more accessible to a greater number of people.

What is always rather fun these days is when I’m asked if a few Behind The Scenes (BTS) photos are ok. This usually involves me being photographed while I’m setting up and taking pictures.

I’m fine with this as it helps the client with their social media, and most are happy to give me a mention too.

This set includes the BTS photo followed by the shot I was setting up, and a couple of further images taken during my visit to the rather swanky Sulis Hospital in Peasedown St John near Bath.

 

A medical nurse sits at a electrocardiogram (ECG) machine while a photographer adjusts the medical light behind her. The photographer's camera is on a tripod in the foreground.
I'm gracefully reaching across to adjust the light.
A clinical nurse sits at an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine, looking at the screen and operating the controls. There is an examination bed in the background.
One of the results of my set-up to photograph the ECG machine.
The Sulis Hospital Bath reception area with comfy seating, reception desk and hanging net curtains designed to bring light into the space. I blurred nurse is walking through the scene.
The reception area at Sulis, Bath.
A male patient is on the MRI bed wearing a hospital gown and the head scanner piece. A female nurse is standing the other side of the bed operating the controls.
To avoid my equipment damaging the MRI, I could only take this shot from the doorway.
Screengrab from the News page of the NHS BANES Swindon and Wiltshire ICB website showing the announcement of the multi-million-pound investment in new community diagnostics centres
The client was able to quickly update their news page with one of the images from the set.
in Case Studies / corporate communications / My News 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Going for G-old

Have you been watching the Paris Olympics? Like most big events that I’d like to see (Wimbledon being the annual classic), I usually miss the whole shebang.

This year though, I’ve managed to carve out a little time to catch a bit of the cycling and swimming – the two areas of sport I’m most interested in.

In particular with the swimming, I’ve been trying to pick up some clues for improving my personal performance in the pool. Well, let’s say that’s a work in progress. Most of the athletes have a 40-year advantage on me. Plus they swim every day (for several hours) and spend hours in the gym when they’re not in the pool. I mean really, it’s cheating!

Of course their performances are also enhanced by things like, I dunno, raw talent. They’re coached in techniques to the nth degree, drilled until they want to cry and many have been swimming since early childhood.

Contrast this with my “swimming career”; I left school with only a basic breast stroke, and no real drive to improve even that. As for front crawl (for the Americans reading this, that’s freestyle), until a few months ago, I couldn’t even get off the side of the pool. I was, in short, a drowning windmill.

However since rediscovering the joy of swimming while on holiday last year, I’ve signed up to regular sessions at my local pool, where my breast stroke has blossomed, and I’ve taken lessons in front crawl. I can now just about manage 50m without feeling sick, which is a huge step up from where I was around three months ago.

So why am I wanging on about the Olympics and my swimming now? Well of course it’s so I can shamelessly showcase the fact that 16 years ago, I had the honour of photographing double gold medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington (Becky) when she came to the University of Bath in 2008 to help launch the Youth Olympics.

There is a little more to this tale (not much tho) than just wanting to share an archive photo.

Bearing in mind Becky had only just achieved this huge success in the Beijing Olympics that same year, the attention she received would have been a whole new experience and perhaps slightly disconcerting.

As we settled into one of the university’s lecture theatres for a press call, I was just checking my focus and exposure on Becky when she leaned in to the person sitting next to her and said, “I suppose I’ll have to get used to this,” meaning “being photographed”.

As she sat straight again, she looked directly down my camera lens, and I took the shot you see here.

Becky Adlington looks directly down the barrel of my lens.
Double gold-medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington holds her two gold medals while looking to camera.
Becky Adlington holds the two medals she won at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

The comment didn’t strike me as anything more than a very matter-of-fact observation of how her life would change; there was nothing hostile in her tone, and she posed patiently and with good humour for more pictures after the sit-down press conference.

Becky’s career beyond the pool has flourished. Clearly, she got “used to this” a long while ago. I doubt she remembers that moment or her comment back in 2008, but for some reason it always stuck with me. Perhaps because I care how someone feels in front of my camera, even if I’m just doing my job.

On that day, we were both there to do a job. I’m still a photographer, Becky is still in the media spotlight and seeing her presenting from Paris 2024 alongside Clare Balding and Mark Foster reminded me of this one moment.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue with my own swimming career, though I’m not expecting to slip into professional swimming any time soon. That ship might have sailed unless there’s a VERY senior league out there?

 

in My News / Personal Opinion / photographer / press release photography 0 comments
 by Tim Gander

Case Study

When an old photo of my lighting kit popped up in my Facebook memories, the first thing I spotted was the bottle of wine. Of course it was. Not only did it remind me of the generosity of a particular client at the time, but it also sparked an idea to write an article about how kit has changed over time. So I took a photo of my kit today to compare and contrast.

Picture 1 was taken in 2015 and shows (apart from the wine) my portable studio flash lighting equipment of that era (in fact, this kit was already several years old by then).

Sadly the photo was already cropped square, so I can’t tell you what was in the rest of the bag; I’m guessing you’d see the second flash head, a spare battery and some other bits and pieces. I clearly took the photo for the purpose of showing off the bottle of wine I’d been given.

So, apart from the wine (shut up about the wine now, Tim), what else is different? Let’s go through some of the components in the bag, and then compare them with today’s kit in Picture 2. I’ve made these pictures BIG so you can see the labels.

Photo 1
View inside a camera case showing two Godox portable studio flash heads and associated accessories.
Photo 2

At the top-left in Picture 1, you’ll see a trigger and receiver. Nothing remarkable there, except today’s receivers are built into the flash heads themselves. This saves having to Velcro a trigger to the back of the head and rely on a cable to send the firing signal to the flash. It’s a little bit tidier now.

The other disadvantage of the old system was that you could only adjust the power of the flash head by walking up to the controller pack and turning a dial. Modern units can be controlled from the camera, which saves a lot of time and back-and-forth.

This old kit was pretty revolutionary in its day. It was the first properly powerful, affordable kit that ran off batteries. It could be used outdoors and the light could be adjusted through softboxes, umbrellas or any number of other modifiers to achieve a particular look.

But technology moves on, and its main disadvantages over my current kit are power and control. The kit in Picture 2 is at least 50% more powerful than the kit it replaced. This might not seem that much, but it makes a big difference in photographic terms. The more modern design also has the advantage that each flash head is independently controllable from the other, and the increments of control are far finer than with the old kit.

The other disadvantage of the older kit was the build quality. The manufacturer, Lumedyne, is US-based and their kit looks and feels as though it’s been built by keen mechanics in a shed. Sometimes not all that well either. I remember screws dropping out, a control knob falling off and on one occasion, a loud POP! and a puff of blue smoke as an internal component blew up.

I probably had that kit for a decade though, and while it was expensive at the time, it more than paid for itself.

Thankfully, I’ve had the newer kit (made by Godox) for almost as long already, and it’s not showing any signs of ageing. I’ve added an extra spare battery as one of the originals isn’t taking a charge as well as it used to, but that’s about it.

Apart from technological advances, the other reason I switched to Godox was because Lumedyne is no longer distributed in the UK, so replacing parts or expanding the kit would be difficult.

Possibly more impressive than any of the technical advances of the contents is the case itself. Both flash kits have been safely transported inside the same LowePro Pro Roller 2 case, which must now be circa 20 years old. About a year ago, I finally replaced the wheels but apart from that this case just keeps… rolling.

The wine, sadly, is a distant memory, but good quality wine is readily available in several outlets. So next time I work with you, have a peek inside my rolling camera case while my back is turned. If there’s a wine bottle-shaped space in there, feel free to pop something nice in, like a Tempranillo or a Malbec. Some technology never really needs updating, just replenishing.

 

in Case Studies / My News / photographer / photography 0 comments