All articles and features prior to July 2023
In August I took a small walk around Sheffield with the fabulous model Megan https://www.instagram.com/megantiamodel/ from http://www.mentormodelagency.co.uk/ and one of long time colleagues MUA Sam https://www.instagram.com/samjusticemakeup/ , the weather almost scuppered our plans, but we beat it!
So I decided with a little time off over the summer to make a return and update my book with some people photos. I arranged a shoot with the fabulous singer/ musician Elishama https://www.instagram.com/ukmusick/ and a make up artist friend of mine Laura https://www.instagram.com/lauramcmua/ We spent a few hour wandering around my favourite city of Liverpool with a few ideas, and no pressure and had a great time. Here’s what we did…
We are now featuring all manner of creative imagery here. The limits are endless, we are looking to showcase the work of all image makers, whatever the genre. We are looking for image maker sin all genres, and writers/ bloggers who are looking for experience. Please note: This is a portal to get your work noticed, we can not offer cash/ money. bunce in return. The reward is exposure of you and your work. If you would like to have your work featured, send your work to ascendancemag@gmail.com Submission guidelines: 1: The work must be your own, you must have copyright 2: You retain copyright on your work, you simply allow us to feature your work on a none exclusive basis. 3: Make initial contact with an outline of what the work is, and low resolution version of the work (600px on longest side) 4: If we decide to publish the work, we will require Jpgs at 2000px on longest edge, with no watermarks. cheers Lance
[whohit]pete[/whohit] Pete Cranfield is a barber of much renown. Famed for his quality, style and his unique take on male grooming, Cut Throat Pete has been making even bigger big waves since opening his Liverpool, Gradwell Street shop in 2014… I’d spoken to Pete’s agent Jo, of Bananafish Management, at the back end of 2014 about collaborating with Pete, but unfortunately due to both our crazy schedules it has taken until today for us to finally get together and make some images… The first thing I notice upon entering Cut Throat Pete’s is that the shop is full of personality! Often shops and salons are just white boxes that smell like your sisters bedroom when she’s getting ready to go out on a Saturday night! But not Cut Throat Pete’s. The lovely big window allows the shop to flood with natural light which helps to illuminate this fabulous creative space. It is like a treasure trove full of Pete’s loves! Pete explains ‘I wanted to create a space that didn’t necessarily look like a Barber Shop, I wanted it to look quiet industrial, like a loft, studio. It contains loads of things that have been given to me by people and little odds that I’ve picked up on my travels. I think it’s got a bit of a man cave feel’ I love the funky chrome cycle in the window, the crank shaft and pistons, the skate board, the miniature kennel for his little mate Buddy who is unfortunately absent today; I love dogs! The only thing I am not immediately sold on is Pete’s choice of background music… country and western with a rock edge (I never loved country)… but I have to say it does fit in with the happy atmosphere Pete has so carefully created and by the time I leave, Ok yeah I admit it, I was tapping my feet… The most notable thing in Pete’s shop is the distinct lack of customer chairs; not the kind you lounge around on whilst you are waiting, but the kind you sit in for your cut. This leads me to ask the question, why only one chair Pete? And what’s with the guaranteed 45minute sitting? ‘It’s what I’ve wanted to do for a few years, I like giving my client 100% of my time and attention, and they feel like they are receiving a special service. I never have to worry about people interrupting a client’s time in the chair. A lot of men comment on how relaxed they feel after their time in the chair’ ’45 minutes is a perfect amount of time to create a premium quality haircut. It allows me to chat to my client and allows them to feel like I’m not rushing them in and out. It makes my days really enjoyable. I haven’t got a rush in me as anybody that knows me will tell you!!’ This is the first time for me photographing a professional barber. I have been in many places, situations and had to work in some challenging lighting conditions whilst taking photos of people, so I wasn’t wary about how to approach the technical aspect, or working within the confines of a shop; but photographing someone who is moving, interacting with a customer, focusing on them, not on me, is something new. Pete’s first customer was more than happy for me to be snapping whilst Pete groomed him. It took me a little while to find the angles that worked, but Pete made it so easy; he is very photogenic and has lots of genuine expression. It had never occurred to me until seeing Pete at work, just what an art form barbering actually is. The fine tuning, the attention to detail, the time, effort and love that Pete puts into his barbering is quite extraordinary. It’s like watching a fine artist at work, watching a piece of art come to life, and I guess in reality that’s what Pete actually is- an artist! Pete’s cutting style is his own. He doesn’t ever try to be like anybody else. He explained that when he was first starting out, he always said that he wanted to be able to do any haircut that came to him perfectly. He takes his inspiration from fashion and he reads a lot too. Pete has barbered for some of the most recognisable talents. Musician Example, England International Wayne Rooney, Singer/ Entertainer Ray Quinn to name but a few. We talk about the celebrity heads and faces that Pete has shaven and we discuss how word of mouth is massively important in both our professions. As we are talking, a shiny white Range rover pulls up right outside the shop window. Pete says “Here’s John Stones!’ John Stones is a Professional Footballer who plays for Pete’s team Everton. My spidy senses light up, I smell a photo opportunity… John enters and greets Pete like they are best of mates. It is obvious to me that John has utmost respect for Pete and what he does. Acting on my spidy senses, I ask John if he is ok with me floating around taking photos whilst Pete does his hair. To photograph Pete working on a celebrity client would make for great images for this feature! Pete further explains what we are up to and John agrees that it is fine. It would have been awkward if John had not wanted some strange Photographer sticking a camera in his face, but he was a great sport and an absolute gent. Again Pete goes to work doing what he does best, creating a work of art. It is the most painless process I have ever seen. He floats around the client seamlessly putting together the exact look desired, exchanging stories, laughing and joking whilst obviously remaining fully focused on the job in hand. That in itself is gift only a few can do. Pete makes it look easy, but that is what great artists do. People who are exceptional at,
[whohit]where did you go[/whohit] “Fear is stupid. So are regrets.” Said Marilyn Monroe. I therefore think she’d be right behind my recent career change into modelling! Today we were visited by the fabulous Katie Isles. We had a fabulous fun photo shoot and here Katie tells us about her brush with modelling as a teenager, and why she has now in her early 40’s decided to give it another go… we say go girl!!! Katie Isles… You see, when I was just 16 I was invited by the super-cool-teenage-must-read ‘Just Seventeen’ magazine down to London to have an amazing makeover with a top London photographer and it rocked my world! I knew that I wanted to head back down south at some point in the future and become a model. I scoured magazines, recognised photography styles and could name all the top teen and supermodels of my era. In the meantime, I entered and won the odd modelling competition, one… erm, not so greatly named now that we’re in 2015… ‘Face of the 90s’ at 16 and another ‘New Faces’ competition when I was 19. I won modelling contracts, photography shoots and £250 (big time money for a student in the 90s!) among other things. I moved to Manchester to study languages at uni and was represented by Boss Models up there in my first year. This was a great experience as I did my first proper modelling including walking the catwalk at Earls Court and appearing in hair magazines. I was never going to be Kate Moss but this Kate was well proud! Then, I went to live abroad and a more ‘traditional’ career took over and modelling became something I had dallied with as a teenager before real life got serious! And I’ve always had that regret. (Sorry Marilyn!) Why didn’t I give it a go while I had the chance and the opportunities? Why didn’t I try it while I was young, smooth skinned and skinny?! For the last twenty years I’ve had a brilliant time taking an incredibly winding career path from marketing for Bentley Motors to Education Manager for a charity for disadvantaged children. I have been a holiday rep in Mallorca and finally a tutor at Manchester University. Then 2014 happened! I became a features writer for super wedding blog Love My Dress. I entered Specsavers’ Spectacle Wearer of the Year and made it to the semi-finals and, I got married. For some reason those gave me the confidence to consider modelling again at the ripe old age of 41. Things snowballed rather quickly and before I knew what was happening, one icy cold December day, I found myself sitting outside in just a towel in the photographer’s back garden. Apparently I was a model again. Not that it rolls off the tongue very easily yet. I feel a bit of a fraud, especially as most people see me in my scruffs on the school run!! My first couple of jobs were both for television. I’d expected a nice, old-fashioned knitting pattern job and here I was demonstrating fitness equipment on live TV! The pros for me include the unpredictable nature and range of work. I find this exciting. I love change. I adore meeting people. I like trying new things and challenging myself in new situations. I’ve discovered that I can take direction well and that I’m not fazed by things most people would shy from. A real plus about starting out in your 40s is that, while I’m a typical woman – never 100% happy with her looks – I’ve reached an age where I don’t obsess about it either. I’m fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been and pretty comfortable in my own skin. However, one of the major cons for me is that so much is out of my control! I’d like to think that I’m passionate, driven and hardworking and in all my previous roles, this has guaranteed my success but in modelling obviously, first your face must fit before those attributes are even relevant. So if any of you reading this have any experience, tips and advice for this newbie please find me on Twitter. I’d love to connect with other models and industry specialists. In the meantime, have no fear Marilyn, this girl has no regrets about becoming a classic model. In fact. Bring. It. On! Photos: Lance Burkitt: Follow @burkittphoto Model/ Words: Katie Isles: Follow @Isleskate Hair & Make up: Candice Redford: Follow @candiceredford
[whohit]deriliction[/whohit] thanks to ricostitch http://store.ricostitch.com/ Photos: Lance Burkitt: Follow @burkittphoto Model: Tyrese Thomas Follow @burkittphoto
[whohit]site access[/whohit] thanks to ricostitch http://store.ricostitch.com/ Photos: Lance Burkitt: Follow @burkittphoto Model: Tyrese Thomas Follow @burkittphoto
[whohit]testing[/whohit] I had a little downtime last weekend so I decided to test work and included in that was some portrait lighting set ups and enlisted the help of the fabulous model Tyrese Thomas of DK models in Sheffield. Testing should be just that… Testing lighting, locations, ideas, models, creatives, testing! if it works, great! if it works well even greater! If not, at least you tried. Today’s test was resounding success… Included in the set up were a couple of portrait style which I hadn’t lit/ shot before. 1st up was this high key white background look. I wanted to really blow out the background whilst allowing just a little to bleed onto the models cheeks/ shoulders. It took half a dozen test shots to get to where I wanted. Tyrese did a great job being patient for me, and then turning on the talent right on queue! Here’s the lighting set ups and camera settings used. Tyrese was sat about 3ft from the backdrop. The key light was about 4 ft about his head, facing down from my right. Next up was a face harshly lit, with a dark background with very little foreground detail into the dark side of the face look that I’d been wanting to do for ages. Like most of my work, there’s no rocket science involved, just some ideas and fine tuning. I realize I am not the first to do this set up, and I’ll not be the last… For this set I wanted an almost blown out key light, with just a little fill in the models face. The most difficult part was deciding how much fill light/ reflection to allow. I wanted a tiny bit of detail, but not too much.. Tyrese had real patience here… thanks man. Here’s the lighting set up used for this… All the images were shot in colour and processed in Photoshop with my secret monotone formula… Words & pictures Lance Burkitt: Follow @burkittphoto Model Tyrese Thomas Follow @burkittphoto
[whohit]swim[/whohit] swim wear, thanks to www.lilylola.com Model: Nicola Jane Make up: Zoe Peplow: Follow @zoepeplowmua Hair: Rob Czlapka: Follow @robczlapka Styling: Farah Pop Follow @farahpopxo Photography: Lance Burkitt: Follow @burkittphoto
