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09Oct 2012

Urban Portrait Book

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Progress is being made in the Urban Portrait Book project. We have had discussions with a local publisher and we are confident we can go to press. We are looking for sponsors to help fund the initial run so any local businesses interested in getting involved are more than welcome!

It’s been a varied and busy time of late. The traditional wedding season has concluded and we had a very lovely visit to Wallasey Town Hall. Our bespoke books have started arriving from Italy and have been delivered to happy clients! We’ve had lots of comments on the wonderful layout created by Tina using her Graphic Design skills to the full!

As well finishing a last few Urban Portraits for the book we have had a few musician promo shoots. Tim Gallagher is finalising his recording and we had a great, if slightly chilly, shoot in Hassall Green beside a canal. Looking forward to hearing the EP and seeing the final artwork which will be designed by Tina! We’ve also been lucky to visit Whitby Morrison in Crewe for a shoot with Shaun & The Special Sauce. Whitby Morrison are the worlds leading manufacturer of ice cream vans. I’m also pleased to say that the company are sponsoring the Urban Portraits book. By bizarre coincidence straight after the shoot with Shaun I headed over to Nantwich Town for some press photos of Ed Whitby and Nantwich Town Chairman Jon Gold as Whitby Morrisson are sponsoring a stand at the Weaver!

I was also commissioned to photograph the recent Labour Party Conference held in Manchester. I produced a set of press photos covering the event and some of the fringe events. The highlight for me was meeting and photographing Eddie Izzard! I also got to photograph Lord Coe and Jonathan Edwards!

I am available for press work and I have recently been undertaking a variety of commissions for Cheshire East Council. I’ve been to Knutsford, Macclesfield, Handforth, Nantwich and Crewe to photograph a variety of events!

I’m also available for private commissions for Urban Portraits. If you would like to be photographed, please get in touch. I now have a site dedicated to the project: http://www.urbanportrait.co.uk

I am also organising a day of family/ kids/ pets photos in Nantwich. It will be a special event where you can come along and have a set of photos, then order online with delivery guaranteed by Christmas. More info to follow soon!!

03Sep 2012

Beth Tweddle Homecoming & Daniel Ilabaca

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Now the filming has completed on Gridiron UK I have been busy catching up with a few other projects. I am pleased to say that talks are ongoing regarding the possibility of a book of the Urban Portrait project. I will, of course, keep you updated.

Meanwhile I have been fairly busy with Cheshire East Council. I am currently working on a set of portraits for the Local Plan project. I have also recently been hired to photograph the opening of the Nantwich Freerunning Facility, as opened by Daniel Ilabaca. Free Running, or Parkour, is ‘a physical discipline of movement focused on overcoming obstacles’. It all looks very energetic and the facility looks great. It was officially opened by the Mayor of Nantwich and Professional Freerunner, Daniel. I got lots of action shots of Daniel for the Council (despite the huge downpour) and a portrait of Daniel on the apparatus.

DANIEL ILABACA

DANIEL ILABACA, Free Runner.

Straight after I was pleased to say that the weather improved as we had our seventh wedding in six weeks, this time at Reaseheath. A lovely venue and grounds, all made for great photos! Nice to be working alongside local musical her Tom Seals for the third wedding almost in a row!

TOM SEALS

TOM SEALS

RACHEL & SCOTT

RACHEL & SCOTT

Olympic Gymnast Beth Tweddle made her homecoming to Bunbury at the weekend. Cheshire East put on a very special event where Beth showed off her bronze medal won on the uneven bars. Beth was also made a Freeman of the County and had the honour of having a Street named after her! I photographed the event for the Council and got to do a portrait of Beth with her medal!

BETH TWEDDLE

BETH TWEDDLE, With the new street sign

BETH TWEDDLE

BETH TWEDDLE, With her Bronze Medal

20Aug 2012

Gridiron UK

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I’m sure most of you have seen all the buzz over the last month regarding the film that has been made right here in Crewe. It is based on the true story of the Crewe Railroaders which was set up in 1984 by Gary Delaney. Well, since then Gary has gone on to set up a film making company, written a script and has directed the film.

I was employed on the film as the official stills photographer. This has involved being on set to get the stills photos for publicity and also some behind-the-scenes photographs!

Michael Dixon, Actor

Michael Dixon, Actor

The film boasts some great actors and has been shot entirely in Crewe. Michael Dixon, Stephen Marcus, Right Said Fred and Rebecca Pitkin are just some of the people in the film. I managed to get in front the camera for a cameo as well!

Rebecca Pitkin, Actress

Rebecca Pitkin, Actress

The cinema release is scheduled for November and the DVD release should be in February next year.

During the filming we still managed to find time for 6 weddings, my Urban Portrait exhibition and the Prom Night for Sandbach High!

Nantwich Town Football Club Squad Photo 2012 - 2013

Darren Fletcher, Manchester United FC

The football season is back as well and we have been to some great games already at The Weaver Stadium. Nantwich Town are looking very strong this year. We have done all the player portraits for the club website as well as the full squad photo and a new manager portrait of Jimmy Quinn. Stoke City are also playing some of their home Barclays U21 Premier League at the Weaver. Manchester United were the first visitors and fielded a team that boasted Scotland international Darren Fletcher who played the full 90 minutes.

Darren Fletcher, Manchester United Player

Darren Fletcher, Manchester United Player

03Jul 2012

Charlotte Bradbury & The Olympic Torch

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Well July is certainly the season for weddings. It’s just a shame the weather hasn’t realised yet! We have a wedding at Old Hall in Madeley and if the sun responds to it’s invite we will be outside. If not I am sure it will be a lovely occasion indoors! We are then off to St. Oswald’s Church in Worleston, Nantwich. Its such a beautiful church and we have been along to the wedding rehearsal so we can find the best spots for the photography and meet the vicar in advance of the big day as we like to do!

In May the Olympic Torch relay passed through Crewe. Swimmer Charlotte Bradbury carried the torch through the town centre and I was pleased to get some great shots of the procession and Charlotte as we enjoyed some early morning tunes from Tom Seals!

Charlotte Bradbury carrying the Olympic Torch through Crewe, Cheshire

Charlotte Bradbury carrying the Olympic Torch through Crewe, Cheshire

Charlotte is a swimmer from Nantwich who had hopes of taking part in the Olympics but injury ended her hopes of qualification. I arranged to do a photoshoot with Charlotte at Cheshire East’s Crewe swimming pool. We did a variety of portraits with such a perfect backdrop!

Charlotte Bradbury

Charlotte Bradbury, Swimmer.

Another interesting shoot I have undertaken recently was of Kiss tribute band Dressed To Kill. It was certainly an experience! The pictures speak for themselves!

Simon photographing Dressed To Kill

Simon photographing Dressed To Kill

Dressed To Kill Promo

Dressed To Kill Promo (Click on the image to view the others)

25Jun 2012

Music Photography: Live From Jodrell Bank

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Last year I was fortunate to photograph The Flaming Lips and British Sea Power at Transmission 001 at Live From Jodrell Bank. This year saw the festival grow to a 2 day affair with headline acts Elbow and Paul Weller. Sadly the weather ended hopes of the Weller gig taking place.

Guy Garvey, Frontman of Elbow. In front of the Lovell Telescope.

Guy Garvey, Frontman of Elbow. In front of the Lovell Telescope.

I was at the Elbow gig though armed with the camera on official business! A great line up saw Transmission 002 take off where last years event finished! I arranged a portrait shoot with Guy Garvey of Elbow in front of the dish which was a nice little shoot. I’ve got to say of all the backdrops I’ve used in my time the Lovell Radio Telescope is one of the most special!

Elbow performing live at Jodrell Bank

Elbow performing live at Jodrell Bank

The live music itself was really good and not at all ruined by the deluge of rain. It’s a shame that that rain ended any hopes of me photographing the Gomez, Graham Coxon and Paul Weller show the following day! Still, I got a nice set of images which I have shared on the Facebook Page.

Wedding season is truly upon us and I have 5 special days to document next month. I have a few weddings in North Wales as well as one in Crewe, and one at Old Hall in Madely, South Cheshire. I hope the weather is better than for the Elbow gigs as two of the weddings are outside!

As the new season approaches for Nantwich Town I have lots of work ahead getting the new player portraits and the new squad photo. I was at the Weaver Stadium this afternoon to photograph the new kit. A change of sponsorship and a new away strip will be launched very soon by the club. It’s exciting times at the club as manager Jimmy Quinn has assembled a strong squad for the coming season. A lot of new faces bring hope for a successful season. I’ll be at most of the matches providing action shots for the club and local press in my role as official club photographer!

Eventbrite - Urban Portraits by Simon J. Newbury. The Exhibition.

My Urban Portrait Exhibition is really taking shape now, having photographed nearly 30 portraits. It’s been fantastic to have so many people volunteer to be a part of it. The majority of the photographs were taken around Crewe and the exhibition itself will be held at Bar 7 on Nantwich Road on Sunday July 22. As well as the photographic exhibition there will be some wonderful acoustic music to enjoy, all for free! I’m still shooting portraits for the project and hope to have a body of around 50 images by the time the exhibition comes about. I hope you can join me there!

26May 2012

Urban Portrait Exhibition

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My urban portrait project is really taking shape! I’ve photographed 20 models in an urban setting mainly around the Crewe area so far. I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of volunteers wanting to be a part of the project.

I am pleased that I have managed to organise an exhibition event which will be held at Bar 7, on Nantwich Road. The exhibition will involve a digital display of the images which are still being photographed right up to the event! I’ll be doing a talk about the project as well as a Q&A session. There will also be some great live acoustic music from Nick Bayes (the face of the project so far), Lee Garner, Al Dean & Tom Seals, Phil Maddocks and Sink Or Swim. It’s a free event and all are welcome!

Urban Portraits Exhibition Poster: Nick Bayes

Urban Portraits Exhibition Poster

As well as the urban portrait project I have been photographing loads of bands lately. I am running a special offer on band promo photography leading up to Crewe Live 2012 for which we are the official photographers.

Son Of Shinobi Promo Shoot

Son Of Shinobi Promo Shoot

I am also proud to announce that we have been chosen as the official Mayoral photographer for the new Civic Year. Congratulations to Cllr Peggy Martin and good luck for the new civic year! I attended the Mayor Making Ceremony at the Municipal Buildings in Crewe and I will be photographing the official Mayoral portrait this coming week.

The Worshipful The Mayor of Crewe Councillor Peggy Martin & The Worshipful The Deputy Mayor of Crewe Councillor Irene Faseyi

The Worshipful The Mayor of Crewe Councillor Peggy Martin & The Worshipful The Deputy Mayor of Crewe Councillor Irene Faseyi

I’m also looking forward to photographing the Olympic Torch as it passes through Crewe on Thursday.

To register for the exhibition please visit:

Eventbrite - Urban Portraits by Simon J. Newbury. The Exhibition.

11May 2012

Crewe Live & Band Promo Special Offer

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Summer is approaching and as well as a busy wedding season we have the annual Crewe Live Festival to photograph. We have been chosen as the official photographer for the event for the third year running! This year is shaping up to be an amazing event.

Headliners include Ash, Pulled Apart By Horses and Hadouken! The event will be staged across 10 venues and the town centre and will involve over 100 bands.

To celebrate our third year as official photographer we are running a special offer on band and musician photo sessions. All the details can be found on our site: http://simonjnewburyphotography.co.uk/musicoffer/

We have been busy with shoots this week with Son Of Shinobi, Sink or Swim and Thick As Thieves all having shoots as part of the special offer!


I’ve also started a personal project on Urban Portraits. I am going to photograph a series of people in an urban setting and maybe consider an exhibition at the end. It is proving to be a popular project as I have had over 30 volunteers already!

Meanwhile I have been busy undertaking lots of commercial commissions. I will be photographing some building exteriors for a construction company over the weekend as well as finishing up the hotel interior photographs for Firenze and The Cheshire Cat in Nantwich.

 

11Apr 2012

Nantwich Jazz, Blues & Music Festival

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cleo laine

Dame Cleo Laine performing Live in St Mary's Church, Nantwich

It’s certainly been a busy week for us here at Simon J. Newbury Photography. We were tasked with capturing the 16th Nantwich Jazz, Blues & Music Festival. A wonderful event spread across 15 venues and 5 days!

Tina and myself were out every day capturing

lots of the action around the town and the venues. One of my favourite bands were Spikedriver who appeared at the Crown Hotel Ballroom.

 

Tony Christie was amazing and it was great to actually meet the man and do a portrait of him in his dressing room!

Tony Christie Amarillo

Portrait of Tony Christie taken in his dressing room just before his performance at the Nantwich Civic Hall.

 

The jazz concerts at the churches were also really nice and the entire festival had lots of variety!

Tom Seals played all over the place and we were pleased to be able to get him photos with Tony Christie and Dame Cleo Laine. It was nice to see my photo of Tom on his roll-up banners around the town!

I managed to fit in two Nantwich Town matches as well.I travelled down to Stafford on the team bus on Monday before getting back to Nantwich in time for the final gig…

…The Beat at the Nantwich Civic Hall.

Since the festival I have also done another ‘Paint & Portrait’ with Sharon. I also visited Haslington Hall, where I am booked to photograph two weddings over the summer. I was meeting with Kim & Darren for the pre-wedding shoot which is a standard part of all my packages! The weather was kind and the daffodils were lovely!

05Apr 2012

Nantwich Jazz, Blues & Music Festival 1

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Well its festival time again and we’re gearing up for a busy season. As well as our regular photographic coverage of Crewe Live (looking amazing this year with Ash, Hadouken and Pulled Apart By Horses) we are covering the Nantwich Jazz Festival this year as well.

The popular festival has some amazing acts and top of the bill is Tony Christie. I’m hoping to get a portrait in Nantwich as well as lots of great live shots of his performance. We’ll be getting around all the venues as well to ensure decent coverage of the event!

Its a busy weekend for us as we also have our regular event at the Box in Crewe to photograph on Friday. Saturday is another home fixture for Nantwich Town FC ahead of Monday’s away fixture at Stafford. We’ll also be at Crewe Alex for the WTD Promotions darts exhibition featuring Steve Beaton and Colin Lloyd offering our event photography.

Tuesday (weather permitting) we are meeting up with a lovely couple for their engagement shoot at Haslington Hall. They are getting married later this year and we always offer a complimentary pre-wedding shoot as part of all our packages!

No doubt we’ll see some of you around this weekend!

08Mar 2012

England Under 18s International, The South & The Aussie Pink Floyd

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It seems I have been doing loads of travelling lately. In the last few weeks I have been to Birmingham twice, Manchester, Birkenhead and Stoke. I’m off up to Burnley tomorrow too!

Nantwich Town have been at home for two Saturdays on the trot so I have been over at the Weaver sat pitchside. I have great shots of Mat Bailey’s goals which appeared in all the local press. The England U18 national team also stopped by the Weaver Stadium this week for training ahead of their 3-0 win over Poland staged at Crewe’s Alexandra Stadium. I attended the training session and got a photo of the squad for the clubs website. The facilities at the Weaver must be good as the lads put in a stunning performance in front a a 6000 plus strong crowd. It was good to be pitchside at such a prestigious fixture! It was also nice meeting Sir Trevor Brooking before the game!

We have also been about to loads of live music gigs of late. The first visit to Birmingham was to photograph The South (formerly the Beautiful South) at the o2 Academy. This was the fifth time I had seen the band and they put on a great show!

We also headed up to Manchester to photograph the Australian Pink Floyd at the Apollo. It was a real visual spectacle with a stunning light show and video graphics. If you like Pink Floyd then its really a show you will enjoy!

We also managed to find time to photograph Syntronix at the Carlsberg Suite at Crewe Alex. Great performance and good crowd. Over at the Box Mercedes put on a really good show.

Sham 69 are heading back to town on Saturday and I’ll be doing some band photos for their publicity and website. One of my favourite portraits is of Al Campbell taken the last time they played at the Box!

We have also been busy covering a few events. We photographed a Christening party at Crewe Vagrants on Sunday. A great set of images for the happy parents. We have also photographed a few after dinner speaking events. We were with Yvette Cooper over in Tranmere and will be with Alan Johnson in Burnley.