Ph Creative – these guys are not your typical creative agency. It seems they like to kick the bog-standard old school design malarcky well into touch. So the brief was to capture their fresh creative take on things in the form of a few relaxed photographs. Without further adieu…

Click here Photography Liverpool to view more of Ant Clausen’s portfolio

Was recently commissioned to take a few photos in and around Liverpool. I made my way down to the Mersey one clear evening and grabbed a few shots. Conscious of the number of Liverpool Skyline shots i’ve both seen and taken since i’ve been living here, I zoomed in a little closer and tried to capture a different take on the skyline.

Click here Liverpool Photographer to view more of Ant Clausen’s portfolio

Rolled over to Manchester to grab some photos for BBC Olive magazine. This time the brief was to try and catch the “busy TV celebrity chef” Simon Rimmer and his restaurant Greens in south Manchester. Great little restaurant with a fab team of chefs rustling up some great vegetarian nosh! Simon Rimmer was a really chilled likeable guy with no hint of the anticipated “i’m on TV so i’m too busy etc etc to talk etc etc.” So had a good yarn, took a few photos and then got to eat the food afterwards. Sometimes I really do just love this job!

Lovin’ the fact that there was a bottle of Crowded House NZ sav there too!

For more commercial photography action click here Ant Clausen Commercial Photography

Marco Pierre White is spending a lot more time in the Northwest these days with the White Swan restaurant in Aughton and another in Chester. The brief was to grab a few PR/promo photos of him yesterday. And as a few people have already remarked – it was nice to see him smiling too!

Click here for more Liverpool commercial Photography to view more of Ant Clausen’s portfolio

Jonathan Pratt and Charles Hanson were in Liverpool last week as part of the new BBC series of Antiques Road Trip. They’re cruising round the UK in an old Alpha Romeo picking up various bargain antiques along the way. There was no love lost between the two and before they came to blows I managed to grab a couple of promo photographs that are going to be used to promote the new series.

“The programme pairs Britain’s best loved antiques experts and sends them on a nail-biting road trip across the UK, competing with each other to make the most money buying and selling antiques. The battle of wits, expert knowledge and egos has proven to be a compelling combination, with the series attracting audiences of up to 2.6 million.“

For more commercial liverpool photography click here Ant Clausen Event Photography

Yep, quite chuffed getting this photo in the Times. 18 months ago when I started my photography business in Liverpool – I was excited about getting a photo in the Liverpool Echo or The Liverpool Daily Mail.

Click here for commercial Liverpool Photography and to view more of Ant Clausen’s portfolio

I managed to notch up 25 miles heading to different learning centres on the Wirral capturing images for their marketing and promotional material.
The last stop was New Brighton and I met a lovely couple who have an autistic child who gets amazing tuition from home. The father was also a photographer – and so joked that they never have any nice photos of them together. So I discreetly snapped this shot whilst I was chatting with them.

Click here Photographer Liverpool to view more of Ant Clausen’s portfolio

Come inside and check out some virtual tours and photos of the rest of the show apartments on display in One Park West, Liverpool. They’ve been designed by world renowned architect Cesar Pelli, famous for the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpar and has been heralded as the city’s ‘most desirable place to live.’

Ant Clausen Photography covers the whole of the Northwest and has a 24 hour turnaround with all 360 virtual tours commissioned.

For more commercial Liverpool photography click here Ant Clausen Event Photography

Described as being the “jewel in the duke’s crown” the final phase of Liverpool One is being implemented. These are the One Park West 17 storey apartments overlooking the Mersey River. I was there for the grand opening by the Duke of Westminster a few months back. Now the apartments are on the market and are being snapped up by savvy Liverpudlians and investors further afield. I was there on Thursday to take a few promotional shots for their new marketing collateral. So, hot off the press, here’s a sneak preview inside…

To check out more of Ant’s commercial images – please click here: Ant Clausen Commercial Photography

[Show as slideshow]

One of the things i’m lovin about photography here in the North West is it’s taking me to a few new places I might not otherwise see. Hull for example. Barclays have recently opened a new branch here, located centrally in the town square. Here’s a few photos of the people that both make up the town and visited the new branch that day. I was working this job courtesy of Steve Stills photography who is based in London.

And the Gods smiled on us… the only afternoon in the past month (as far as i’m aware) where the sun shone consistently, brightly, brilliantly… etc etc.. was the afternoon where the brief was to capture images that would persuade students from the planet to come and study English in Liverpool! And why wouldn’t you might I ask?

To view more of Ant Clausen Photography commercial images – please click Ant Clausen Commercial Photography

Mike Brewer of “Wheeler Dealers” fame was in town for a one day photo shoot to promote new accident breakdown company, Call Zebra. The shoot was nice and varied – starting in a mechanic’s workshop we got some shots with some smashed up cars. We then went into the studio and got a few “marketing-type” shots. We finished off with a trip to a car yard for a few more photos. A great day’s shoot, and Mike was the consummate pro and a pleasure to work with.

To check out some more of my commercial images – please click here: ant clausen commercial

Housed inside the dramatic Corn Exchange building – I went across to Leeds to photograph the new Piazza by Anthony restaurant for the BBC Olive magazine’s July edition.

To check out a few more of my commercial photography images – please click here: commercial photography
Ciao!

[Show as slideshow]

Three renovated buildings are being finished as part of the overall Liverpool One project. The Russell Building, Stanley Building and the Compton House. Think PR are holding a special opening party tomorrow night which i’ll be popping along to take a few photographs.
Here’s some photographs from the various buildings…

Welcome to the Lightworks – photography studio Liverpool. We’re based out of Static, behind the bombed out church off Berry Street.

There’s a lot happening at Static Gallery, Liverpool at the moment. For one it’s St. Paddy’s day and the smells wafting from the kitchen are getting the ol’ salivary glands ticking over… the Static Cafe/Bar is also getting the final touches and will be open to the world as soon as!

So I thought it fitting – that I put the old panoramic head on the tripod, stand out in the middle of Static and snap off a selection of 360 degree photographs, then throw them into the computer, stitch them together and create a virtual tour… whew!

Enjoy the tour and pop in for a visit sometime!

The Panoramic bar up the top of the Beetham Tower is the perfect place for an evening cocktail. I was up there last week to grab some promotional photographs for them. The view is nothing short of incredible. To see more shots of the bar and the view – click here panoramic bar liverpool

To go back to the main site – please click here ant clausen photography

Also – the Ant Clausen Photography blog is having a face lift. There’s been limited functionality with this blog so far – so the new blog will have far more interaction and features – so stay tuned and please bear with us whilst the changes are being made.

Back again to photograph the hottest new bar in Liverpool. This time the focus is on the cocktails. “Flaring” which is the bartending equivalent of juggling – was on display and definitely a challenge in low light. I opted to shoot with available light to show movement in the bottles/shakers etc and hope the bartenders weren’t dancing around too much. Was quite happy with the results (see photos below)
I definitely recommend checking the bar out at some point – will be back in there when they’ve got some live acts playing. Stay tuned for a few more shots!

For the complete gallery – click here

[Show as slideshow]

Chameleon – a brand spanking new bar in Liverpool opened last week and is going to change the way you drink forever! Well that’s if the bartenders have anything to do with it. From what I saw they are a cross between pyromaniac magicians and jugglers. They also make pretty darn fine drinks too. Just behind FACT on Back Colquitt Street… it’s right in the thick of things and should be on your bar-hopping list this Christmas.
Here’s a few photographs taken this evening…

Another frosty morning in Liverpool led me out near the John Lennon airport in Speke for the Merseyside Property Auction. Was also a great opportunity to catch a few shots of the old plane sitting out the front!

The auction soon got under way with many people getting a few bargains – if only I had a few spare pennies! All in all, a great auction!

Due to open before Christmas – the dramatic waterfront block that is One Park West will be tempting potential buyers with views out over the Mersey and the new cosmopolitan area of Liverpool One.
The Brief – to capture the views to entice potential buyers in with the dramatic panoramas they can see from their new balconies. The solution… grab the Manfrotto, the D300 and then stitch like mad using Photoshop CS3.


Panoramas are great if viewed say 1 metre plus across… but you often need a bit of close up detail too… so I grabbed another shot where you can clearly see the Albert Dock a bit clearer.

Then wandering back to my eco-friendly bicycle I looked back and noticed the sky had turned quite a cool shade of red – so I grabbed another shot and then did a quick HDR render on it to bring out a bit more detail.

If there’s one place in Liverpool to get a bit of both – it’s the Bluecoat. With the restaurant “Upstairs at the Bluecoat” re-opening this week – it’s a great place to be! Here’s a couple of shots of the interior. With the new look complimenting the old – I think it’s working quite well.



Working with Deana Clarke – we then set up the restaurant with some “guests” and attempted to make it look nice and busy!
Can’t wait to get back there and try some of the cuisine!


To go to Ant Clausen’s main website click here

The call comes in… “Ant, we need you to come down and photograph the cover of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers book… projected on the side of an old dockyard warehouse building”

I’m like “Cool. Very cool.” Having been a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan from the good ol’ Freaky Styley/Mother’s Milk days etc… I was intrigued with the whole concept. And the concept, it turned out, was very hot indeed.

I jumped on my bike, armed with my Nikon artillery – and headed down to the Liverpool waterfront. The idea was to coincide with the “stars/celebs” rolling into town for the MTV Music Awards. Timing was critical, and placement just as important. They settled for an old abandoned standalone dockyard building (plenty to choose from in Liverpool!) but from a strategic viewpoint – this was the business. Set between the “Three Graces” and Albert Dock – it was prime positioning, catching all the traffic making their way along the Strand.

And what a result! It’s amazing what you can do these days… backing up a van, opening the back doors, turning on a high powered projector and projecting an image on a 100ft building across the road. Bl**dy nice work I have to say.

The team at Think Publicity are really pushing the creative boundaries to full effect!

Photographer Tony Woolliscroft is the man behind the book. He’s been travelling and photographing the Peppers for over 20 years. The Peppers regard him highly and it’s with that trust, that Tony has captured images that are intimate and show a personal side to the band never seen before.

I’ll definitely be grabbing myself a copy. To check it out for yourself click here

And to check some more images from last night’s “screening” click here

To go to Ant Clausen’s main website click here

Beer o’clock would have to wait… it’s 5:30pm on a Friday evening and i’m at the Dolphin Dance Studios – Liverpool City Centre. Some of the team are off to France to dance at Disneyworld and need some photos taken! Armed with my portable studio – I get set up and decide to use my white background. The good old versatile white background. I’ve used it frequently over the past few weeks. Great for corporate shots as you can easily turn your backlight down a stop or two and you’ve instantly got a nice light grey background. Crank up the backlight a stop or two and you’ve got pure white. I’m always conscious of getting this right, and sometimes there’s a bit of tweaking involved. Getting it “right” can depend on what your definition is. In my case, i’m talking about not overexposing and not blowing out highlights. Check out the photo below and you’ll see that the direction of the backlight is obviously from the right. The front is lit by a soft box from the left hand side. The fact she’s wearing a white shirt is definitely a challenge, and not something I would recommend by default – unless you’re going for that sort of look.

Next photo we have the same background, with the light stopped down to give a different look and feel – a slightly grungier look which I prefer.

So again – the bonus of using a white background is the freedom to choose which look you want to go for. Once the model/subject is cut out, it can be placed on any different background you like. As you can see from both my blog and website, I like a nice uncluttered, clean background, so there’s less distraction from the image. So that’s my little spiel on white backgrounds! Possibly my most informative post yet! Stay tuned for more shots in the future when the “dolphins” are actually dancing!