I’ve been shooting moving image since 2009 when producer Robert Douglas and I embarked on a jounrey to follow three young Scouse amateur boxers on the road to the London Olympics, they were joined by one Londoner by the name of Anthony Joshua. Jazza went pro but Stalker, Natasha and Big Josh all made the team and competed at the 2012 Olympics, the film made it to Channel Four’s True Stories strand with the help of co producer Rob Alexander, they named it Knockout Scousers, and Liverpool loved it! Big Josh, of course got the gold.
I shot and directed my second full length documentary again with Rob Alexander. It follows the life of electronic music pioneer Gary Numan as he moves to Los Angeles to start a new life and record his first new album in eight years. The film is a love story interwoven with themes of mental heath, family issues and life on the road and with a cracking soundtrack. Android in La La Land enjoyed an international theatrical release and some stella reviews, see below.
I’m now developing my third film, again working with Robert Douglas, on the life of boxing extraordinaire Don King.
In between shooting my own documentaries I’ve been shooting for other directors as a DOP, for Mike Connolly and the BBC, I’ve shot The Summer of Love and How the Hippies Changed the World, Elvis: The Rebirth of the King and just recently Showbands.
And for Sylvia Stevens and Faction Films, brand films for Cartier and Gemfields.
Around all this, I shoot brand films for my all my clients… Lyle & Scott, Noble Outfitters, KJUS, Nike, Trendy Golf, Wolsey to name a few. People expect moving image, and I can provide a scintilating short film for your brand at a cost that is a fraction of what you might expect. Call me to discuss rates, you’ll be surprised at what can be done on a tight budget.
GARYNUMAN:ANDROIDINLALALAND
A Film By Steve Read And Rob Alexander
**** The Guardian **** Total Film **** The Times **** The Express
“Numan is winningly candid and guilelessly charming” - Variety
“A film that reminds me to smile” - The Huffington Post
“Startlingly honest and sincere” - Austin 360
www.facebook.com/numandroidfilm
I have a huge passion for portrait photography, it’s a challenge which I’ve always embraced, whether in a hotel room in Manchetser or on a roof top in L.A. I’ve shot royalty, rock and rap stars, politicians and Hollywood A-listers… Five minutes in a room with a big name under pressure and no time, that’s where I’ve made some of my best images… Eric Burdon, Wayne Rooney, Mickey Rourke, Ray Liotta, Michael Stipe, Rio Ferdinand, Eminem, Lennox Lewis, 50 Cent, Hugh Hefner, Zara Phillips and David Miliband to name a few.
Twenty years of experience shooting stills in these situations has become an invaluable asset when shooting documentaries, I’m constantly drawing on these experiences.
Lifestyle is a key part of any commercial photographer’s protfoilo. I’ve been fortaunate to forge longstanding relationships with elite brands such as KJUS, Morley, Canterbury Of New Zealand, Musto and Wolsey. I deliver high end creative assets and work well with tight budgets, be it a one day lookbook shoot or a five day brand film project.
I’ve been shooting country wear for almost twenty years, starting with Musto and more recently Schoffel, so I know the etiquette and what’s more, maintaining the products integrity and so shooting authentic images, whilst keeping the desirabilty and aspirational elements intact.
Aunthenticity is the key, just as it is with golf and with equestrian imagery. Schoffel enjoyed huge sales increases from the years I worked closesly with the marketing manager, growing the brand in the UK, I helped make a highly respected but niche country clothing brand find its place on a larger map and crossover into a far larger lifestyle market.
I knew nothing about golf until longtime friend and former loaded cohort Tim Southwell came to me and asked me to be Creative Director of his new brainchild GOLF PUNK, I brought the safey pin to the logo and a new way of shooing golfers to its pages, shooting them the same way I’d shot the rock stars, rappers and A-listers during my four years in L.A.
GP became a phenonenom, blowing the doors off a stagnent and boring golf sector, much lke Tiger Woods had done previously. Tim was at the helm of loaded Magazine when it reached it’s highest peaks, his drive and belief is outrageous. In my mind, he remains one of the most resiliant publishing figures in the business and my work with him and the team led to a whole new career I never new existed, let alone play such a key role in my creative and commercial output to date.
Golf is now a huge part of what I do… KJUS, Trendy Gold Golf, Tommy Hilfiger, Peak Performance, Lyle & Scott, plus recently Nike Golf, have been my most loayal clients and some of the most enjoyable shoots… Trendy Golf’s two Hawaii shoots with a Bahamas job upcoming, plus a recent jaunt to Lake Lucerne for KJUS… No argument.
Plus shooting some of the world’s leading players in trees and lakes (Nick Faldo), in junk yards and on B52 bombers (Paul Casey), on hotel rooftops (Ian Poulter), on the Manhattan Skyline for Tommy Hilfiger (Nick Doughterty), in the snow (Ernie) and with very expensive shotguns (Adam Scott), amounts to some incredible experiences… Yes the game of golf has been good to me.
To shoot golf right, you have to have the knowledge and experience coupled with creative flair, ask Walter Ioos, he’s the master. You cannot fake it in golf, I’m definitely one of the most experienced creative golf photograophers out there, ask Ernie… Or Poults.
I take a tonne of photographs, all the time, no matter where I am, if I’m on assignment in Thailand shooting a brand film in the day with my FS7 rig, I’ll go looking for something interesting at night to shoot with my Leica. On a recent commercial shoot for gem stone leaders Gemfields, I travelled armed once again with my Leica, the client eneded up with a whole series of stills to go alongside the brand films we were hired for. I’m fascinated by and drawn to scenes that are alien to me, unsettling, or both. The images here are of young boys enagaged in some of the most brutal plugilism I’ve ever witnessed, the crowd were revved up to a frenzy by the crazy Dutchman’s commentary piped through the house PA, wagers flying around all over the place like a scene from The Deer Hunter. Stills like these can often inspire short film projects, as this may well become.
I shoot a load of stills when filming documnetaries, something else I bring to the table when commssioned as director or DOP. As you’ll see from a few of the stills I shot whilst filming Knockout Scousers for Channel Four, they’re invaluable when promoting the film for broadcast, these show Tom Stalker, Anthony Joshua and Natasha Jonas on their road to the London Olympics 2012, Big Josh got the gold and his story is now well documented.
The list speaks for itself but there’s room for more, call me to discuss your brand’s needs. I look forward to hesaring from you.
A low res edit from Trendy Golf’s Spring Summer 19 assignment to one of the world’s most exclusive golf clubs, Albany in the The Bahamas, home of Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. The shoot features the world’s leading golf fashion brands, including J-Lindeberg, Wolsey, Nike, RLX and Hugo Boss.
These images are yet to be retouched but give a good feel for what we got from a three day shoot.
