In April I began a period of work shooting for the Wye Valley Meadery, a local brewing company originally founded in Chepstow and ran by brothers Kit and Matt Newell, who were about to complete an entire rebrand of their business – soon to be renamed the Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co. They had already enjoyed an admiralable level of success and exposure having been praised and endorsed by TV personality and local celebrity Kate Humble. The company has also appeared on an episode of popular BBC television show The Hairy Bikers.

As part of the rebrand, the guys were looking for an enitrely new suite of marketing imagery that captures and emphasised a bold new move to stand out from other companies in the brewing scene. They were particularly keen on a more down to earth, lifestyle approach that showed more emphasis on the bees and honey aspects of creating mead, as well as more emphasis on people enjoying the products in a social ‘real world’ setting.

Close up of two colourful cans of Hive Mind sparkling mead with a smiley girl in the background, taken at sunset

Added to this, they’d been talking to several marketing agencies about the prospect of having a brand film made to showcase the evolution of Wye Valley Meadery into Hive Mind. After going down to pitch for the opportunity, I was thrilled that they loved my ideas and opted to use me and support a fellow local business through their journey.

The result was a series of shooting phases continuing through spring and summer to produce the final brand film, as well as a bank of fresh imagery showcasing the various products and processes. Additionally, I was also asked to shoot some merchandise shots and also travelled to both the Green Gathering festival and CampBestival Shropshire to capture the boys’ summer promotional activities to help push Hive Mind’s brand further away from home.

Bee keeper inspecting a honey hive surrounded by flying bees on a sunny day

All in all, I got to climb into a bee keeper’s suit and get up close and personal with thousands of honey bees (only got stung twice…). I got to observe and capture the complete process of brewing beer. I got to go out around the beautiful Monmouthshire countryside on a summer’s day delivering crates of mead to various local suppliers. I got to meet some amazing, hardworking people working behind the scenes at festivals. I got to witness the wonder on children’s faces as they learned about the life cycle of a working bee. And most importantly, I got to bring my visions to life – from concept to fruition – and push myself to achieve shots and images I just wouldn’t have been able to achieve six months ago.

I’ve loved every minute of working with Kit and Matt – two of the nicest people you could hope to meet, with wonderful and supportive families – and it’s been great diving deeper into my journey of shooting and creating for local brands and businesses!

One last thing – I’d highly recommend the rhubarb or ginger sparkling mead!

Cheers!

Wye Valley Meadery owners; Kit and Matt, stood smiling behind the bar with Hive Mind cans sat next to them and brand signage behind.
Product shot of a jar of beer that's overflowed onto the bar stood next to a beehive and a yellow can of Hive Mind Nectar
Aerial shot of jars of golden honey with rich, moody lighting
Two woman sat on a bench with a dog at Green Gathering Festival having fun and holding cans of Hive Mind mead
Close up of a colony of honey bees swarming and crawling around a beehive
Black and white shot of bee keeper inspecting a honey hive
Man at summer festival juggling four cans of mead on a sunny blue day
Close up oh hands dispensing golden honey into a glass jar
Two yellow cans of Hive Mind Nectar sat on top of a beehive
A tower of six colourful cans stood on a table with som eblurry festival flags in the background
Portriat of a hipster looking man sat drinking a can of Hive Mind mead at Green Gathering Festival 2023

In January I spent the day shooting a bank of marketing images for James at Caldicot Painting and Decorating, a local business that has recently starting to attract a lot of work. As part of my goal to spend more time this year shooting for brands and businesses, this seemed a great place to start!

James wanted some action shots of him on the job, but also wanted to capture some of the finer detail of his work with a more ‘arty’ feel to the images. Essentially he wanted to stand out from his competitors and project a professional vibe that was also friendly and welcoming.

It was impressive watching him work and witnesses his attention to detail (I can totally relate!), and made for some great visuals! The man’s a ninja with the paint roller and makes a decent brew too!

Thanks for having me, James!

Decorator knelt smiling at camera while holding a yellow paint tub and brush
Close up of decorator drilling
Decorator sanding down door frames with motion blur on hands
Black and white shot of decorator using an electric sander above his head
Close up of a gloved hand wiping down a window sil with the light reflecting off it
Black and white close up of hands opening a tin of Johnstone's paint with screwdriver
Arty close up shot of white paint dripping from a paint mixer
Close up of hands poruing white paint into a yellow bucket
close up of blurry fireplace with decorator painting in the background
Paint brush running along skirting board with blue tape underneath
Decorator stood up loaqding up a big roller with paint surrounded by tools
Decorator's feet stood on a dirty blue work ladder
Colourful shot of dirty paint brushes sat in a storage box
Close up of shirt with company logo on a shirt wih blurry hands holding blue tape in the foreground

What a crazy one this was! In June 2022 I entered a competition to win a commission shooting a marketing project for FOR Cardiff to promote all of the shopping arcades around Cardiff city centre. All that was required was to take an abstract photograph that captured the energy and vibrancy of Cardiff. The competition was open to anyone of any ability, and could simply be taken on a phone. Not expecting to win, I entered with the intention of a free bit of publicity and marketing exposure to a broader audience.

Three weeks later and before I knew it, my phone started going bananas with alerts and messages notifying me that I’d been shortlisted into the top five after 600+ submissions. I was contacted by the organisers and asked to write a short piece about the image (which was actually taken 3 years previously – see below!).

After a lot of love and support, my image was eventually voted the favourite and I won the commission. Two weeks later and I’d received the project brief and the final images were delivered shortly after, much to the satisfaction of FOR Cardiff. Below is a small selection of snaps that were captured during the shoot. Thank you to Emma and the team for the brief and for having me a long for the ride!

You’ve got to be in it to win it!

Cardiff Castle with Castle Street opposite, reflected in a passing bus
The winning submission
A brief rationale and explanation of the winning photograph on a red background, in keeping with the TDI branding
The story behind the photograph

Some of the final images delivered for the commission:

The front of High Street Arcade in Cardiff with people walking past
Candid shot of a barber cutting a clients' hair with client's face reflected in a mirror
Exterior shot of people sat outisde of Castle Arcade in Cardiff
Tall portrait image of a busy Morgan Arcade with colourful flags draped from the roof with people shopping below
Abstract shot of the Morgan Arcade sign taken through some greenery, giving a sense of depth
Two female friends sat at a table in Morgan Arcade in black and white
Friendly female manager of the Talking Shop stood smiling inside of Castle Arcade
Portrait of a female barista making a coffee, backlit by a warm yellow sign