Personal – Page 7 – Claude Schneider's Photoblog

May 10, 2008

Photoshoot with Sarah (Orchard)

After the brief but beautiful photoshoot with my friend Sarah a few days ago, we decided to arrage a proper photoshoot. As the weather has stayed warm and sunny, we had a picnic in the orchard at the back of her college, St. Edmund’s, followed by some more photos, which again look fantastic. The mid-afternoon sun wasn’t ideal for direct-light photos, but there were plenty of trees to provide some shade. I normally prefer shooting portraits at magic hour, just before sunset, as the light is golden, and if there’s a clear horizon towards the setting sun, you can often get a pretty backdrop for photos, as I did a couple of hours later…

Photoshoot with Sarah

More photos from this photoshoot with Sarah

May 7, 2008

Photoshoot with Sarah (Castle Mound)

I met Sarah through some of the dance shows that I’ve photographed this year – she was in Perspectives, this year’s CUCDW show, as well as the CU Ballet Show. I’d taken a quick portrait of her a few weeks ago, and was keen to take a few more photos of her. The weather has been rather sunny recently, so with half an hour to spare before I had to be elsewhere, we went up to Castle Mound and took a few photos. I also found out that she she’d been scouted by Select modelling agency…not only does she look pretty stunning, but she’s also a natural model, striking poses like a pro.

Photoshoot with Sarah

More photos from this photoshoot with Sarah

April 22, 2008

CU Fashion Show Launch Party

The annual Cambridge University Fashion Show held its launch party at Vodka Rev with cocktails, models, and designer dresses on auction. I was asked to take a few promotional photos for the event’s sponsor, the Grand Arcade, to use in their publicity. I also got a couple of interesting photos on the dance floor, including a lovely shot of one of my portrait models, Hayley.

CU Fashion Show Launch Party

Hayley
Hayley

More photos from the Fashion Show Launch Party on CantabPhotos

April 6, 2008

Rock'n'Roll Photoshoot

Again, this isn’t one of my photos, but I’m in it, hitting a pose from the Acrobatic Rock’n’Roll routine that I dance with my partner, Emily. The Cambridge Dancers’ Club booked a photoshoot with Andrew Carruth of Ely Photo Factory, and some ballroom, dancesport, salsa and Rock’n’Roll couples dressed up and danced (or posed) for the camera. This is one of my favourite photos of Emily and I from the shoot, Emily getting into the splits as I do a straddle jump behind her. Along with many other people, I wasn’t sure that the photo hadn’t been photoshopped when the photographer gave us the CD, but thankfully one of the other RnR dancers at the shoot assured us that it is indeed genuine :)

More photos from the shoot are on the Cambridge Dancers’ Club website

March 24, 2008

Portrait of Sarah

Sarah, a dancer friend, came round one evening, and during the conversation mentioned that she was thinking of dying her hair slightly redder. I took a quick portrait photo, and after some brief photoshopping, showed her how it could look.

More photos of Sarah, performing in the CU Ballet Show

March 17, 2008

Canvas Print – CUTAZZ Lyrical Dance

After the CUTAZZ Dance Show, I was approached by the boyfriend of the dance teacher / lead performer (Natalie Demain), to make a canvas print of one of her dances that I’d photographed, as a birthday present. I put together a few drafts of different artistic styles for the print, and a week later, the canvas was delivered in time for her birthday, and I think looks rather great.

The final canvas print, after some artistic editing

CUTAZZ - Lyrical Dance
The original photograph

March 16, 2008

Abi & Mark's Wedding

Two friends of mine met on an Oxbridge trip two and a half years ago, and they’re now married :) They chose Wadham College, Oxford, as the location for the ceremony and celebrations, as the bride’s grandfather is a fellow at the college. Very handy, as it made for a pretty wedding location. It also meant I was able to go to the upper balcony in Hall to get a photo of the dinner in its splendid glory. The photo of Hall is a stitch of 16 photos, mimicking a very wide-angle lens.

Dining Hall, Wadham College, Oxford

The Groom's Speech
The Groom’s Speech

March 2, 2008

ADC Dance Poster

Having photographed the CUCDW dance show at the ADC for the last 4 years, and to promote the photographs I’d recently taken of this year’s show, I put together a design showing my photos from the last four years, including the montage that I put together of this year’s show. I’m fortunate to know the ADC’s marketing manager (one of my muses), so was able to put up an A1 poster in the corridor leading to the auditorium. I currently have three exhibits up in the ADC – a range of selected framed photos from my portfolio up in the bar, headshots of current student actors, and now this dance poster. A1 prints can be rather pricey, but I found out about a fantastic printing company, MyShoot, who provide a personal and very well-priced service. Click on the image below to get a closer look.

February 23, 2008

Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll

While these photos weren’t taken by me, they do feature me; they were taken by another great Cambridge photographer, Reggie Thomson. He normally photographs beautiful landscapes, flowers, and Cambridge colleges, and for the first time tried his hand at dance photography, with great success.
I dance in the Cambridge University Rock’n’Roll Team, which performs acrobatic dance routines at balls, events, and charity galas, with individual team couples taking part in various competitions throughout the academic year. I’ve been dancing with Emily for the past year and a half, and we did quite well in our first first year of competing together. The team travelled to Bristol and back in one day for the the SUDA competition (Southern Universities Dance Association). Dancing for a total of 3 minutes, it’s just as well Cambridge took the first 6 places, and Emily and I were very pleased to come away with the top spot.

Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll

January 25, 2008

Such Stuff As Dreams

A dancer friend’s birthday was soon after the dance show, and she’d indicated that she was rather fond of some of the photos I took of one of the pieces. I put together these two montages as a gift.

Such Stuff As Dreams