When visiting the Cayman Islands there are a few “must-do’s” such as visiting Starfish Point, seeing the Blue Iguana’s at the Botanical Gardens or visiting the Sister Islands, but usually the most recommended attraction is of course Stingray City. Before this photo trip I had visited the Stingrays several times, usually to photograph visitors touching these strange creatures for the first time and giving them a kiss for an apparent 7 years good luck! As fun as it is to visit with friends and capturing fun photos for the visitors, I never got shots of the Stingrays themselves that I was ever satisfied with.

This trip involved setting off before sunrise and capturing the golden light as the sun rises over the horizon. As it was only a small group visiting it was beautifully quiet, and the stingrays seemed less shy than usual, often brushing against me as they swam by. They would also swim right up to my camera, where as usually they veer off to avoid me. 

Even if you’re not a photographer I would say if you’re going to visit Stingray City in Grand Cayman, try and arrange a trip for Sunrise. You’ll avoid the crowd and the scenery is truly breathtaking. Big thanks to Cayman Turtle Divers for organising the boat trip.

Outside of my life as a people photographer – covering, families, portraits, events and weddings, I love spending time scuba diving in the Cayman Islands, and of course, underwater photography! Underwater Photography is very different to out of water photography, and is a whole new challenge in itself. I was quite wary of starting scuba diving, being type-1 diabetic and a history of asthma, but now that I’ve started diving I haven’t had any problems, and try to go diving every weekend.

Myself and Luxi Zhou had been photographing our marine discoveries for several months before we started doing something different with our images. With a lot of manipulation, we started transforming our underwater photographs into striking modern art. We already love scuba diving, but having this new project has given us even more reasons to continue diving and practicing underwater photography.

We have our artworks printed on high-quality canvas, available for purchase to decorate your home or office. Check out our full portfolio at CaymanChromatic.com

We were also fortunate to be featured in InsideOut Magazine, see the article here:

Magical Marine Life – Inside Out

One massive pro to moving away from the city and to a small Caribbean Island is the opportunity to have a pretty good view of the stars. Although there is still some light pollution, Grand Cayman is still a very small place and so the night sky is a lot clearer than anywhere I ever lived in the UK.

The Cayman islands Astronomical Society regularly held gatherings to educate and illustrate the night sky. Every time I visited I would simply set up my camera and tripod and get a timelapse of the stars.

All timelapses were captured using the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm lens.

(Link to original blog piece)

I’m approaching the 8 month mark at my new role as Cinematographer at Picture This Studios,  I hadn’t previously used the title Cinematographer before working here; I used to use the title of film producer, video editor or videographer. When I first met Picture This Studios they really emphasized to me how important it was that what they produce is Cinematography, rather than Videography or Video Production.

I previously thought of Cinematography as simply something that would be shown in a Cinema, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Wikipedia describes Cinematography as “the science or art of motion-picture photography by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as film stock.” So I guess that would define what I do in a scientific manner, but surely the same would apply to video production?

In the case with Picture This Studios, their use of the term Cinematography isn’t just to grab your attention, it is the foundation of what we produce for our clients in the art of storytelling.

So I did a bit more research on what defines Cinematography against Videography or video/film production. Much of how I previously worked applies to the definition of Cinematography, as a passionate visual producer I’ve always strived to make something that’s interesting to watch no matter the subject.

Traditionally cinematography used be shot using film with massively expensive cameras that your average Joe couldn’t get their hands on, and videography was done on more affordable cameras to document family events and happenings, either with VHS tapes or on a very low resolution digital format. Now as retail cameras and the choice is rapidly improving, the line between cinematography and videography has blurred.

Nowadays someone who would refer to him or herself as a videographer as their profession would usually cover jobs such as seminar coverage, corporate events, instructional videos and even weddings. A cinematographer may do many of those jobs as well, but the process from the beginning has a different philosophy, and involves more creative freedom.

A Cinematographer treats whatever project they’re working on with creativity and an excitement to capture a story. A cinematographer should consider the end product when they’re filming, as this can influence how the story is shot and help direct the creative process.

Slightly to the contrary of considering the end production, a cinematographer also seeks out visual opportunities that weren’t part of the plan to film. Rather than simply documenting your subjects, be it a bride and groom, a product or an event, cinematography should include unexpected visuals that make it more interesting to watch.

As for the process of camera work, one way to undeniably make your shots look impressive and much more cinematic is to add movement. We love using this method with our productions at Picture This Studios, using sliders and camera stabilizers to move around our subjects, or to reveal something in shot. These methods are most definitely used in cinema frequently, and that’s probably why we associate the smooth camera movements with cinematic productions.

With all this in mind I would like to conclude with our new Wedding Cinematography showreel. I wanted to create something that not only showcased our camera work, but is a cinematic piece in itself. Taking influence from film directors Salomon Ligthelm and Khalid Mohtaseb who use a lot of fast cuts and old voice over recordings, I wanted to create something with a lot of emotion and to show our passion for film making and cinematography.

When I shared my first hyperlapse/timelapse film I didn’t expect the reception it received. The Leeds community is very passionate about their city and I guess my hyperlapse film did a good job of representing the diversity and beauty of the cityscape.

After reaching over 3 million views on Facebook, and decent attention on Vimeo and Youtube, I was getting a lot of inquires about how I made the hyperlapse film. I also had Yorkshire Evening Post get in touch wanting to shine some light on the project.

All this happened the week before I moved out of Leeds after living there for 10 years to move to the Cayman Islands. As it was the first timelapse/hyperlapse film that I had produced it took me months to get the technique right and gradually gather enough timelapses on the city, and I felt it was a good way to say farewell to the place I lived and developed as a person for the past decade. I was blown away by the reception and stoked that Yorkshire Evening Post wanted to learn about the project. See the article here:

Watch: Photographer’s incredible hyperlapse film of Leeds