EHRIN MACKSEY - A FINE FILMMAKER

I saw the above clip today and thought it was so powerful I watched it two more times. It was filmed by Ehrin Macksey, a photographer/documentary filmmaker based in Hanoi, Vietnam. He uses the canon 5d mark II (same camera as I use) and to great effect. He mixes the video with black and white stills which really adds something to the piece. The story is really sad and I urge you to watch it.

I'M NOT A TERRORIST

At first glance you might think this man to be a terrorist or some murdering thug but what's behind him is a bit of a giveaway - he's chopping down sugar cane in a field in Mauritius. Hard, tough work but he was a cheerful man and happily posed for a photograph.

DOOR NUMBERS

Don't ask me what it is about this image that I like but I just do. Maybe it is the regimented nature of the square or the random nature of the door numbers or that each door number is someone's house and behind it lies people's lives - I don't know and you probably don't care but I just like this image. Out of all the pictures I've taken this has probably taken me the longest time and has been the most dangerous - as strange as that may seem. These days in the super wary, on guard, there is a terrorist lurking in every dark alley people tend to be suspicious of someone taking a picture of their door number - and I sort of understand but it is only a number but I got sworn out, chased and generally got some quite unwelcome remarks at what I was doing even though I was doing nothing wrong. As a stock picture it has some potential, or at least that is what I am hoping. Home ownership is a strong concept keyword and these set of door numbers can have a number of meanings. It also has an educational element to it and it might make a good poster for a kids bedroom for parents wanting their child to learn their numbers. Here's hoping it appears in every child's bedroom! CLICK HERE IF YOU WANT TO LICENSE IT.

BIRD TIED UP

I took this picture quite some time ago when in Indonesia. A lot of Asian's keep birds as pets - and they pay quite a lot of money for them. To ensure they don't escape they tie them up like this. It is incredible sad to see. To stop an animal like a bird from flying must be like putting a person in a straight jacket. So while this picture upsets me it is also one of my favourites because of the emotional tie I have with it. When I look at it and just want to reach into it and cut the rope with a knife. I hope it raises your emotions like it does mine.

ART ON WEBSITE

I have a new picture on the homepage of my website www.carlpendle.com It's a bit different from the usual things I do on my website because it is more of an artistic photograph that has been processed in photoshop using layers of textures and blend modes to give it a very arty feel. I'd like to do more of this work but I do worry there is not much of a market for it to make it worthwhile. Let me know what you think.

PRICE OF MEDICAL CARE

Being a photographer I generally don't do illustrations. One because I mainly use photoshop and illustrator is foreign to me and I don't fancy learning yet another program (I struggle to keep up with photoshop) but I want to create a good stock image to tried to visually get across the rising costs of medical care. We all know how expensive medical cover is in America and it is only a question of time before the NHS struggles to cope and the government will issue some kind of top up NHS tax so an image that shows a heart monitor and a pound sign (I also did one with a dollar sign) I thought might sell quite well. I hunted round all my medical centres near me but none had a heart rate monitor I could photograph so just had to make one up in photoshop which wasn't that hard. I sent it to getty and then today when I had a look at the keywords they had associated with this image it was all about the stock market. So either my image is visually confusing or the getty keyword team is doing a poor job. I'll email them to see why. In the meantime if you like this image and like to license it go to my getty stream CLICK HERE

COUCH POTATO

In a lot of the work I do for getty images most of it is quite serious so thought a few months ago I'd tackle a very common keyword 'COUCH POTATO' and I came up with this image. It is not a new idea but putting a common potato on a couch with a tv remote and make it look funny was a bit of a challenge. I think in all, there are four different photographs in this one montage. It is for sale on the getty site so click below if you'd like to license it.

CLICK HERE