It’s with a slight tear in my eye that I write this post…

Over the course of the years, our photographic adventures have brought us into contact with many wonderful, delightful and some downright-spankin’-fabulous people. We’ve shot some; shot with others; and even more again we’ve shot for. Hell, some of these people we’d take a bullet for, or very possibly go Polar Bear wrestling™ (again). It’s nice to think that, in return, we’ve also managed to touch the lives of some of these people, be that with our words, or our images, or possibly by introducing them to the magical wonder that is the game of Buffalo™. It stands to reason that when your kids grow up and find responsibility, you can’t help but feel a bloom of photo-paternal pride as they spread their wings.

So step forward Mandy and “Meandering” Paul Charlton. Friends, colleagues, teammates, informants, drinking buddies and partners in crime, the pair of them! Tomorrow afternoon, Mandy & Paul celebrate ten blissfully happy years of marriage together by renewing their vows in front of family and friends. In recognition of the fact and also in recognition of our friendship, Mandy & Paul have asked the 4 Togs to step up to the plate and bat the photographic events of the day right out of the park. We pondered such a request long and hard… “But Mandy”, we said, “We’re not sure the universe is capable of containing the sheer levels of awesome sauce that the four of us, firing in unison, might produce.”. Thereupon, Mandy turned to us with large, liquid-filling eyes and pleaded with us on her very knees to make sure that even if our awesomeness was to cause the end of the world; she wanted it to be at her very own vow renewal.

Faced with such a dilemma, between the devil and the deep blue sea; between a rock and a hard place; between the Real Mark Scholey™ and his favourite tilt-shift lens – what could we do? There are none more loyal than we to our friends and rising as one we told the Charltons that we would accept the task, even if it proved to be the undoing of the very fabric of the universe.

Alas, almost immediately, tragedy struck and Ade was struck down with a case of the Scholeys. Being unable to fulfil his pre-ordained role, we searched for someone magnificent enough to return our number to the nearly-magic foursome. Rising from the flames, like a veritable phoenix of photographic philanthropy, arose none other than Jamie Emerson – a talent so deadly that even Chuck Norris fears him.

Tomorrow, dear friends, the (nearly) 4 Togs fight, photograph and drink, as one. What will occur? Can the world survive such a monsterous outpouring of talent? Will anybody ever know?

There’s only one place to find out. Right here, when the 4 Togs come to town on bizz-nizz. Mandy & Paul: We who are about to shoot, salute YOU!

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Following our recent trip to Newquay, along with another weekend of photo-related shenanigans with our friends, the 4TogsBlog is pleased to announce some very exciting news… We’ve secured our very own movie contract to tell the story of the one who got away.

That’s right! 4TogsBlog, in association with Bearded Productions (Scholey Division) Ltd, are soon to release a new epic: “The Many Faces of Scholey“, in cinemas this summer. It’s going to be an action-packed thriller full of low-speed chases, big waves, hot sun and cold cyder. It’ll be the most fun that you’ve never had.

To whet your appetite, it gives me enormous pleasure to bring you a sneak preview of this awesome cinematic experience. Please sit back in your seats, pump up your volume and take a hold of your bladder!

(Please also note, that due to the size of the movie, and the crap-ness of our server, this may take a while to load!)

The Many Faces of Scholey (Trailer) from James Burns on Vimeo.

Edited to add: I’ve just noticed the poor audio quality during the first half of the trailer… I’ll fix that tonight… Sorry!

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Always on the lookout for inspiration, Mark has recently perfected a new lens, whilst not on holiday in Cornwall:

Tilt-Shift Lens from James Burns on Vimeo.

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Yes, yes, I’m still alive and back from the dead… :p

It’s that time of year when the 4Togs (well, the 3 least-hairy 4Togs, anyway) like to pack up their bags and head for pastures new.

So, whilst Mark is chained to his desk (which he quite enjoys, apparently), the rest of us are upping sticks and heading to Newquay for some sun, sea, surf and shandies. You can expect a variety of daftness over the course of the next week as we share our adventures with you all.

We welcome audience participation, as always, so if you have any suggestions on where to go, what (or who) to see, or adventures to have – please let us have them. So far, all I’ve managed to come up with is a day out as the Pyrites of Penzance

Watch this space… The frolics start Sunday!

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Three of the 4Togs have shown extreme concern over the whereabouts of Monty, he was last seen a long time ago following a can of lager on a string, and has not been seen since. If you know where he is, or have a lead that may help us find him; please do not hesitate to contact any of the three remaining 4Togs.

His return is important to us, as without Monty, the 4Togs are one quarter less awesome than before…

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We may enjoy the odd shandy or two at 4Togs Towers, but we want you to know that we are concerned for the environment as well. Therefore we always recycle the empties!

p.s. We still have more to empty yet…

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"Is this the real life?....."

I did a wedding at the end of March last year, that was rained off and I had to shoot indoors with limited space and lots of people trying to barge past… 

12 months on and I did another at the end of march, and this time it’s ideal kite flying weather! Hats blowing everywhere, so we had to go inside again!

I got them on the stairs of this lovely old hall, had a strobe up the top of the stairs pointing down onto everyone, and one to the left filling the faces…. which was fine most of the time, but the 580EX 2 seems to have a power-off setting and when I’d set a shot up with lots of people in, like this, the bloody thing had powered itself down!

Still, I got quite a few Bohemian Rhapsody style shots like this, which may even find their way into their book for a laugh!

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Following my own earlier article on getting the best from your HDR shots, I’ve subsequently found another article, that describes HDR in an easy-to-follow formula, on the Photographer’s Math blog.

Check out their article on HDR photography here!

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