Neill Watson

The Frozen Lake

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:25:39 +0000

It’s not every day you get chance to stand on a frozen lake, never mind drive a car at high speed on one. Shot in Sweden on the most piercingly bright sunny day I’d seen in ages, with a temperature of -25c, when the car engine stops, the silence sings in your ears.

Sweden is one of the most beautiful places I’ve photographed, but technically one of the most challenging. That’s what makes it so rewarding when the shots work.

For the CGI retouchers out there, just think of the kind of shot you could make out of this as a background….

Big Russian Radial

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:51:00 +0000

I’m a big fan of old radial aero engines. The laid back rumble of a big radial overhead is rarely heard today, so please excuse the self indulgence of this lovely Yak 50 Eastern Block aircraft, now a popular import to the UK for the aerobatic scene.

Ground Attack Jet

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:57:03 +0000

Sadly no longer in service, the Jaguar has been around a long time. This was shot on the flight line in it’s final year of service, getting ready for an airshow appearance for one last season. The pilot was superb at mugging the crowd from behind. Still, ground attack was their speciality…

Dead Metal

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:28:58 +0000

The whole saga of ship dismantling on Hartlepool has been much discussed in the local and national news, with the project being delayed. These old US Navy ships are to be scrapped eventually, but meanwhile they’re a local landmark from both the ground and the air. This aerial photograph of the ships shows the fleet huddled ready for scrapping in late 2008 and was part of a sequence of aerial photographs of Seal Sands shot at that time.

Snow Mobiles

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:50:31 +0000

If you think this looked like a cold photo shoot, you were right. In northern Sweden on a snow mobile safari, I suddenly had the idea of replicating a car tracking shot, but on a snow mobile.
This ended up with me hanging off the back of another snow mobile at around 70 kph, no gloves because I needed to work the Canon 1DS and an air temperature before wind chill of -20c. Riders though it was hilarious, but I was less than thrilled after two runs across the frozen lake. Still, we got the shot.

The Football Stadium

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:37:25 +0000

You’re not a proper aerial photographer if you don’t have at least one stadium shot!

I’m no football fan, but this shot of Middlesbrough Football Club is always popular and has been sold as a large format print for charity and published in various places.

Industry II

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:10:02 +0000

Almost home from a shoot, late in the day and I couldn’t help grabbing a wide angle lens and trying to see how much scene we could get in without removing the helicopter door…. Actually more that this, but the blades crept in from above! Note to self - look upwards as well as down when shooting a 17mm from a helicopter.

CGI Roads

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:15:39 +0000

There’s more and more CGI out there every day. The one thing about car photography CGI is that car photographers are needed to shoot the scenes - but without the car….

If you need a landscape or similar background for CGI automotive rendering or other use, contact me for some ideas on locations that will fit your concept.

The North Sea

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:47:53 +0000

Now there’s a rare sight in the North Sea in January - flat calm and a lovely sunset.

DFDS Cargo ship en route to Gothenburg.

Staithes, North Yorkshire

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:32:22 +0000

A fishing village famous for it’s vertigo - inducing cliff edge view, this shot is taken down by the river inlet. The dramatic tidal range means that the tiny stream you see can support a fishing boat a few hours later.

This shot was used by a variety of travel guides and continues to sell for the library.