August 2009 - Taking to the Skies

Can it really be August? It can and it is.

We'd been commissioned by a number of clients to undertake aerial photography for them. One week passed without a break in the clouds. Another week went by. The tension built. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the clouds parted and we made the call to the airfield.

Matt has flown twice in a week and captured some amazing images. Crystal clear. Light is an important part of photography, we all know that. But when shooting from a few thousand feet up it is so important that it's a bright, clear and slightly breezy day.

Elsewhere at Dupe, work continues on the long term project with Sean Orford. Take a look at his site here in the knowledge that every facet was designed, built and maintained by us. It's growing daily.

Speak to you all very soon.

Brock Carmicheal.

Hello, what's this? A second blog post in as many weeks? Damn right.

Some images hot off the press. We've been waiting for just the right conditions to shoot this building (Liverpool Hope Uni in Childwall, Liverpool). Finally, those conditions arrived last night. Visit the website of Brock Carmichael for more details.

May & June: Photography goes loco

It's been an incredible couple of months in business.

It began with a number of jobs for regular clients ICE (Government Healthy Schools) and Kenyon Fraser (various jobs).Brock Carmichael Architects have also played a major part in our continued success after they commissioned us to shoot and catalogue a number of their past projects. A huge thanks go to each and every one of the individuals we've been working with within these fine organisations.

We've done a few jobs for solicitors Brown Turner Ross. Personal Injury stuff which is not the kind of thing we'll be putting on the site but should give you idea that we'll tackle anything.

That alone would have been enough to keep us happy. But we recently had the news that we are now the preferred supplier to Liverpool PCT. This is a massive deal for us. We've already been working flat out for them and hope to show you examples of the architectural, portraiture and events shots that we've been working on. Combine this with work for Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology and Liverpool Broadgreen Hospital and you'll find that we're definite healthcare professionals.

Design-wise, work continues unabated for Sean Orford. His '10 Steps to Change your Life Forever' course will be launching on a much larger scale in September and Dupe will be playing a major part in this. Watch this space. I have been on the course twice already and can say, hand on heart, that the lessons learned have had a massive impact on my life - both in terms of how I approach matters of business and how I conduct myself in general.

We have also been given the opportunity to re-develop the Locker Freight website. It is not far off completion so, again, check back soon for the final design. We've done a couple of posters for the WSBPS and even a banner for Paul McCartney look-a-like, Neil Tudor. How about that for a varied selection of clients?

Our site has had a little tweak too - we've now a section which proudly shows off our clients list, as well as a newly updated photographic portfolio.

That's all folks!

April Showers

We've gone and done it again, haven't we? Almost a full month without an update. But fear not. We haven't fallen in to the black hole of a recession that has been the focus of so much media interest of late (in fact, we have paid very little attention to it at all - surely the best weapon against a 'financial downturn'?).

We passed a momentous date recently - we've officially been in business a year now. So, now that we've negotiated that tricky first year we're free to grow, thrive and build on all of our achievements. 'What's your secret?', I hear you shout? Well, no real secret. We've just tried to meet as many people as possible and, once they've been convinced that we're the right company to help them, treat the as well as we possibly can. Easy.

On the design side of things we've been working closely with companies such as Deep Tek, Total Reclaim and Sean Orford on a huge variety of projects. There should be an explosion of work in our updated portfolio in the coming weeks. The current crop does not really reflect what we're capable of so stay tuned for some gorgeous stuff.

Our commercial photography department goes from strength to strength with April and May proving exceptionally promising in terms of attracting new business and cementing our reputation with existing clients.

Here's a snapshot of our latest work. I'll be in touch again soon with yet more - some of which we're incredibly excited about.

D-Myst Event Shoot - March 31st 2009

D-MYST is a smokefree movement led by and for young people in Liverpool.

Dupe were invited to a ceremony held in Liverpool where D-MYST members received a special award by the WHO. The ceremony featured special guest Carley Stenson who plays Steph Cunningham in Hollyoaks.

The organisation, provides young people with an opportunity to air their views and concerns on tobacco and to take action to de-normalise and de-glamorise smoking by:

• Raising the awareness of the dangers of tobacco and exposure to second-hand smoke amongst other young people
• Campaigning for and promoting smokefree environments for all
• Campaigning to get rid of smoking and the placement of tobacco products in the media that is predominantly targeted at young people.

For more information about D-Myst visit their website. For further examples of top notch event photography, visit ours ;)

Liverpool One at Sundown

The last few days of November saw Dupe Creative photographing the recently completed One Park West development for our client, architects Brock Carmichael.

Having shot the site a couple of months ago the change is quite striking - mainly due to the completion and opening of Liverpool One to the public.

After negotiating his way to the top of the John Lewis building, Matt Goodfellow then sat patiently as the sun dropped below the apartment block (and, eventually, the horizon). The resulting shots are, I hope you agree, quite stunning.

See our new architectural photography section for a panoramic stitch of the scene.

The Big Picture

A toddler gets a drink of water from her mother as they and a dozen other residents of the North Kivu town of Nyanzale gather in front of a UN peacekeepers base in the town of Rwindi on November 19, 2008. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images).

The Big Picture is surely the most fascinating, beautiful and thought provoking place to go for photography at the moment. If you have any interest in a) photography, b) current affairs or c) life itself, then be sure to bookmark it.

Awe-inspiring stuff. Often a bit of a reality check too.

SmokeFree Zombies at Liverpool One

Dupe Creative were on hand to capture a scary sight in Liverpool City Centre last week.

Leading North West marketing consultancy Kenyon Fraser organised the event on behalf of SmokeFree Liverpool.A 70-strong group of dancers and members of the SmokeFree youth group, D-Myst, marched through the city in scary costumes to raise awareness of smoking in youth rated movies.

Smoking in movies is believed to be the biggest single influence on young people to start smoking. SmokeFree Liverpool are asking UK film regulators BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) to keep smoking out of all future films which can be seen by under-18s.

Our photographer, Matt Goodfellow, did his best to keep up with the group as they dashed from street to street, terrifying shoppers as they went (the dancers that it, not Matt).

For more information about the event, visit the Kenyon Fraser and SmokeFree Liverpool websites.

For further examples of our PR and Events photography visit our portfolio.

Field Trip - NYC

One half of Dupe Creative ventured west across the Atlantic last week for some much needed recuperation and photographic invigoration.

Aside from taking in the usual wondrous sights and smells, Matt grabbed a few epic shots on his 5mp pocket camera. Proof positive that form is temporary, class is permanent ;).

We'll be uploading a couple more to our commercial photography portfolio and flickr site over the coming days.

One Park West - Brock Carmichael Architects

Dupe Creative were in Liverpool city centre this week to photograph the near-complete One Park West and surrounding area (Liverpool One) on behalf of Brock Carmichael.

Established in 1974, the architects have over 30 years of experience working across all building sectors and for a wide range of clients. Working with developers Grosvenor Ltd on the £1 billion Paradise Project, the largest city regeneration project in Europe, they have helped create a new retail and residential heart for the city.

The 17 storey building will comprise 326 apartments, offices, parking, restaurants and cafes, topped off with stunning waterfront, park and city views.

For further examples of the types of stunning commercial photography we can offer visit our portfolio.

September at Dupe

The nights are getting longer and there's a slight chill in the air, but far from gearing up for hibernation, we're ready for the long hard winter ahead. Economic decline? Recession? Yesterday's news. A busy month ahead for Dupe. Places to go and people to meet.

Event Photography, Barnston Dale

First of all, apologies for the lack of updates recently. Summer has been and gone for Dupe, expect far more updates over the coming weeks.

This week saw Dupe head to The Barnstondale Centre to shoot for a recent launch event. I have particularly fond memories of the centre having spent a weekend there many moons ago whilst at primary school.

Things have really moved on there of late. They offer the opportunity to experience a wide range of moral building outdoor pursuits offsite such as canoeing, rock climbing, orienteering and problem solving to children of all areas and backgrounds.

For more information about the centre, click here. A few more images from the day can be found in our events photography portfolio.

Liverpool Vision PR Photography

Dupe Creative were on hand in Liverpool last night to shoot an event organised by Liverpool Vision.

Over 70 delegates were invited to the launch of a publication produced by English Heritage and the city's new economic development company. The company will enable Liverpool to complete and accelerate the economic recovery and growth of the last decade and build a sustainable economy - one which can compete more effectively in international markets.

If you have an upcoming event that needs capturing, you'll find that our PR Photography service is second to none.

Aerial Photography - Parade of Sail

Monday July 21st saw Matt Goodfellow taking to the skies to capture the spectacular Parade of Sail on the River Mersey - the highlight of the weekends Tall Ships Event. A client commissioned shoot, perfect weather conditions allowed us to provide some stunning images.

As you can see from the image above, we were fortunate enough to have one of our shots published in todays Liverpool Echo - pick up a copy, if you can.



The weekend has surely been the most enjoyable of Liverpool's Capital of Culture programme so far, with thousands of people taking to the streets across the 3 days to see the 70+ magnificent vessels.

To see a good selection of Matt's shots, visit out Parade of Sail aerial photograph page. You can now also view a much wider selection of aerial photographs of the North West on our portfolio page.



Think we can help your business/organisation? Then get in touch!

Sean Orford

Dupe Creative are proud and excited to announce that work has begun on yet another major design project.

Sean Orford is a highly experienced practicing psychotherapist working in the north west of England. He helps groups and individuals for a range of organisations - both private and public sector.

In the months to come Sean will be given the full Dupe treatment. Complete corporate identity design, web design and marketing as well as the occasional splash of photography.

Like Dupe, Sean is very ambitious with a plan for near world domination over the next 10 years. Our aim is help Sean achieve every one of his goals with a combination of good design and carefully selected marketing techniques.

Watch this space for updates.

HDR Photography

This is our first attempt at a HDR photo. Taken during my trip to Rome last week, this famous building looks over a square containing one of the most incredible buildings of the world. Built circa 125 AD, the Pantheon is one of those structures which defies the time of it's creation.

HDR photography first grabbed my attention about a year ago when the work of Stuck in Customs was presented to me via Flickr.

Anyway, after finally downloading a copy of Photomatix and taking an appropriate RAW file I jumped into the process (helped largely by a tutorial on Wirral based photographer, Pete Carr).

Whilst I am pleased with my first effort, I'm very keen to become even more knowledgeable on the subject - we at Dupe are confident that there is a commercial opportunity for the technique and hope to utilise our new found knowledge on an upcoming project.