Michael Powell Photographer

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Covid golf restrictions have been eased

The very first golfers to play at Market Rasen Golf Club in Lincolnshire after lockdown restrictions were relaxed for the sport

Covid golf restrictions have been eased in England so I went down to Market Rasen Golf Club on a beautiful morning to photograph the very first two ball of Keith Borst and Ted Cruttenden who teed off at 8am. The new English Golf Union covid golf guidance includes: not touching the flagstick, using clubs and feet to smooth bunkers, tee time bookings, one and two balls only, arrival for play just in time, changing shoes in the car park, hole liners in the cup, removal of seating and ball washers and more spaced tee time slots.

Golf courses have reported huge demand though the three day notice of openings has clearly caught some courses out and staff have had to work very quickly to interpret and instigate new working practices. Some courses have been rather neglected where too many ground staff have been furloughed. Better staffed clubs have had a unique opportunity to make repairs and improvements during the growing season with no golfers to interrupt and increase wear and tear.

After filing the pictures I went out and played my first round in a long time at my club, Forest Pines and what a joy to finally walk down a fairway again.

Keith Borst plays the third hole.

Ted Cruttenden plays the fourth.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Kellingley Colliery 1965-2015

Kellingley Colliery 1965-2015 On this day in 1965 Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire began production. When it closed in 2015 it had become the last deep coal mine in Britain. Just before its closure I spent a day photographing it for The Sunday Times. I have now added a gallery of the pictures to my website. Please click here to see them. I visited the site again recently with the hope of photographing what remained but sadly the answer is nothing. The two shafts have been capped leaving millions of pounds worth of specialist equipment deep underground forever. All the buildings including the offices and bath house have been demolished. However the memorial to the 17 workers who died at Kellingley Colliery 1965-2015 was saved and resisted to the National Coal Mine Museum for England.

Coal bound for Drax Power Station falls into a pile.

Bathman, Pete Armstrong.

Lampman Mark Bainbridge with Garforth safety lights used to detect methane underground.

Geotech Engineer, Dave Moore in the canteen.

Click here for a previous blog post on Kellingley Colliery.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Sunday Times Best Places For Business – Nottingham

I recently worked on the Sunday Times Best Places For Business supplement featuring my Nottingham corporate photography. Our case study was Olly Betts and his team at OpenWrks who specialise in the technology behind open banking in the Accelerate Places offices. OpenWrks lets customers share data with businesses so they can improve their products and services. It is backed by Blenheim Chalcot.

This style of Nottingham corporate photography relies on producing an image with enough impact to lift a feature otherwise heavy in detailed text. Many young tech based businesses have less formal work environments and a young workforce so a relaxed shot is often called for. Here I found a stack of colourfully branded boxes to use as props. I shot with two brolly flashes using a slow shutter speed which consequently kept the the background from going too dark by retaining some ambient light. There was just enough room in the office (after moving some furniture) to use a long lens to knock some of the background distractions out of focus.

Co-Founder of OpenWrks, Olly Betts (third from left) with some of the staff in the Accelerate Places offices in Nottingham. ©Michael Powell

Co-Founder of OpenWrks, Olly Betts (fourth from left) with some of the staff in the Accelerate Places offices in Nottingham. ©Michael Powell

I photographed Olly Betts in that very same office some years ago, again for The Sunday Times. His team was much smaller back then and as you can see, he had to multi-task.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

York wedding photographer shoots ceremony in time-lapse

See a York wedding photographer shoot a ceremony in time-lapse in this short video by Michael Powell.

Here’s something a little different. I have always prided myself on not being a slow photographer, particularly at weddings but here’s an entire wedding ceremony presented in just one and a half minutes. I have done these time-lapse weddings a number of times over the years but there’s rarely a really good place to mount a camera. This wonderful church that hosted Roz & Michael’s wedding had a balcony view where I clamped the camera to a flexible tripod on the back of a chair. The camera was then secured again by a lanyard just in case it became loose or was knocked. This also keeps my mind at rest when I’m working at the other end of the church. On this video you can see me at the top left working from behind a column near the altar. I have included a slower version at the bottom of the page for the benefit of guests who may be able to pick themselves out a bit more easily.

The music here is by Brendan Perkins, the talented bassist in our rock group, The Zimmer Band.

See more by York wedding photographer Michael Powell in the galleries at michaelpowell.com

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Brussels sprout recipe

Brussels sprout recipe by Rachel Green here with. If you still can’t get enough sprouts after a Christmas sprout extravaganza then take a look at this superb recipe styled by Rachel with food photography by Michael Powell (me). Here Rachel created Brussels sprout and Pancetta kebabs with honey mustard dip. I’ll be posting more of these recipe cards by Elsoms in the coming weeks. As ever I can vouch for this dish as I ate most of it after we had the shots in the can. If you would like a higher quality pdf version of this Brussels sprout recipe send me an email from the contact link at the top of the page or from here.

Brussels sprouts recipe photography by Michael Powell / michaelpowell.com

Covid golf restrictions have been eased

Kellingley Colliery 1965-2015

Sunday Times Best Places For Business – Nottingham

York wedding photographer shoots ceremony in time-lapse

Brussels sprout recipe

Search

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts