Thatcher Rock - Torquay

This shot is of one of Torquay’s most beautiful landmarks, Thatcher Rock. I make no bones about it, the rock was shot in February last year and the sky during the previous summer. This photograph cost me £12,000 to produce. How? Then just consider this. My Mini Clubman is relatively inexpensive to run but (including depreciation) it probably cost around £10 to make the short return trip to the Rock.   I used a camera costing £3500 and a lens costing £1500. My tripod and other accessories added another £1000 to the equipment cost I needed to get a shot of this quality.

Back in the studio I use a MacPro computer with two calibrated Apple Cinema Displays costing almost £4000. Software not only has to be purchased new but upgraded regularly. For a composition like this I used four independent programs which cost from new at least £1500 (and time to learn how to use them proficiently). I have to insure my equipment and pay for broadband access and rental for my online storage and delivery system at www.colincadle.co.uk.

Add this lot up and it comes to almost £12,000 and that doesn’t take into account the time it takes to process the image – oh, and did i mention 40 years experience? What price do you put on that?

So if you’re a magazine, website, corporation, sports team, or advertiser who wishes to use this photo or any other of my work, please don’t come and ask to use it for free, or in exchange for a simple photographer’s credit or “exposure”. You found my photo online so obviously I must have an element of ‘exposure’ already. You have an advertising budget, and this is what it’s for. You obviously don’t expect your writers to work for free, or your secretary, or your boss and no one is going to publish it for free. Just because the picture is digital doesn’t mean it was free to make. As you will of course deduce the Thatcher Rock example didn’t actually cost me £12,000 but if you wanted to create it, from scratch, that is the cost which would be involved. So if it’s stolen this is the amount I consider the replacement value to be, or how much my lawyer will send you a bill for if it’s found being used without my permission.

So, unless you are a charity I support please don’t ask to use my work in exchange for a credit.  Try this… next time you’re at dinner in a restaurant, tell your waiter you’ll tell all your friends how good the service was if he gives you dinner for free.

The idea for this post was adapted from photographer John B Mueller’s recent article and re-written to reflect my own expenses and situation. Thank you John for giving permission to adapt your piece.

Jan’s sister Suzy, her husband Laurie and our niece and nephew Gemma and Alex are normally far apart from each other. Suzy and Laurie have their homes and business based in Panama whilst Alex and Gemma are studying in Edinburgh and Cambridge. This Christmas, however, they are all staying in a lovely cottage on the north edge of Dartmoor and we will be joining them for Christmas lunch.

Gemma is studying to become an actress and needless to say we have arranged a photo session on the day we visit them so that Gemma can add to her portfolio. I must say that when you have looks like Gemma it is not hard as a photographer to achieve stunning results!

Back again this week to ace interior designer and stylist Holly Keeling to cover some of her offerings at her two day Christmas Fair. Holly has two barns chock full of interior goodies, accessories and furniture for the chic home. The barns nestle on the west side of Denbury in the grounds of Holly’s beautiful Georgian house. We took advantage of her delicious mulled wine and gorgeous mince pies whilst waiting for ‘people free’ gaps when we could shoot the goodies without customers in shot. The fair was so well supported we had to choose our moments quickly! You can see more about what Holly has to offer at www.hollykeeling.co.uk (Her new website will be online Monday 12th December). Here are a few of the results:-

Some of the 'Pluckers' range of precision tweezers

What an absolutely inspired brand name! Thought up by the lovely Anne Marie Mitchell for her internet sales company More Beauty, Pluckers and Little Pluckers are the brand names on a range of amazingly good tweezers for ladies. We had the pleasure of shooting the whole range which are now on sale through her Amazon outlet.

Whilst shooting this job I quickly discovered that the tweezers are brilliant for manipulating our ever growing collection of ‘Tiny People’ which we are using to create miniature tableau. These minute people are made in Germany and are so small they often need to be kept in place by ‘pin-head’ size pieces of Blu-Tac. The Pluckers tweezers are ideal for accurately positioning these tiny figures. I guess Anne Marie didn’t envisage these very ladylike tools would be used in this way, but we are very grateful to have found a secondary use for them.

Pink Pluckers from More Beauty

This is an example of one of our tiny family busily at work in the Marshmallow Mines (at a secret location)….

'Another Hard Day at the Marshmallow Mines'

See a few more of our ‘Tiny People’ range on my website right HERE.

Back in the summer Holly opened her fabulous ShowBarn at Heathfield Farm in Denbury which is chock full of lovely accessories and interior goodies for the home along with an eclectic mix of one off pieces of furniture from her speciality  ’shabby chic’ to 1950s contemporary. The opening day was a total success and Jan and I had the pleasure to shoot a few frames to record the event and some of these will feature on her new site along with the work of other local photographers.  With around 1000 photographs and press cuttings to choose from the final selection was not easy but our time spent ‘choosing with Holly’ was a total pleasure. We wish her every success with the new website.

Holly’s ShowBarn will have two special Christmas Open Days on the 7th & 8th December 2011. Holly can be contacted on 01803 814107 or 07835 100577.

Jane, who studied at the Chelsea School of Art and whose workshop is in Newlyn, frequently sells out at craft fairs and judging by today’s interest at this event which finishes tomorrow, it will be no exception. I am pleased that we shot these pieces early on today as shortly after our session it would have been impossible to get a clear view of her stand for all the interest her quirky art was generating. Jane has been making superb wooden toys and automata for many years and each time we see her work it just seems to get better and better. Thank you Jane for giving us the opportunity to shoot your work today and as always we look forward to seeing you next year at the Bovey Contemporary Craft Fair in June!

Please click to enlarge images:

Bob Corrick at the 'Threadbearz Shoot'

One thing photographers must always try do when shooting is to keep very still at the point they release the shutter. Listening to Bob Corrick’s sublime saxophone playing on a warm November morning in a muddy field and I found it almost impossible not to move along with the rhythm!  We had complete cloud cover for most of the shoot but after an hour or so playing with the pixels Bob appears against a lovely sunset background to match his music.

Becky Brine and Threadbearz - Dartington

Such a great shoot today. Lovely people, terrific props, a great location just north of Totnes. The gorgeous local jazz singer Becky Brine organised the shoot to get some great images together to publicise her brand new boogie band The Threadbearz. The shot being taken here may well end up as part of their new poster campaign. If not there will be plenty more to choose from. With a fantastic old Cadillac, recently used in the latest Comic Strip film ‘The Hunt for Tony Blair’, Becky looking the star she is as always and all the lads (well almost all) taking their direction very well indeed, the whole shoot went without a hitch. Now the hard work back in the edit suite!

'The Threadbearz' - Shoot - © Jan Cadle

Here’s some of my favourites from the day:

Becky Brine

Bob Martin - will play trombone in the new band

Becky - taking a short break

Jan snaps the boy at work!

And this is the result!

Becky Brine and Jason Baxter

Jim Alford, Jason Baxter, Becky Brine, Bob Corrick, Bob Martin

I just couldn't resist getting the spray gun out!

Becky's lovely retro mike