Photography by Scot Baston

Tango on the lawn – Tamsin & Jonathan’s Engagement Shoot

Posted June 9, 2013 By Scot (Admin) and has 43 comments.

I must confess, it has been a little while since my last blog.. but I’m back once again and sharing the lovely couple that is Jonathan and Tamsin.

I still struggle with how to name a shoot of this kind, but regardless of the name a pre-wedding photoshoot is a fun way for both the couple and photographer to build rapport and trust. Also, in a typical wedding the couple and photographer meet, discuss and book the wedding photography up to 18-24 months before the wedding date itself.

So a pre wedding photoshoot a month or two before the wedding allows everyone to become reacquainted before the big day.

(more…)

Categories: Clients, Devon, engagement shoot, Kingsbridge, Weddings

Tags: couples, Devon, East Prawle, Engagement shoot, Kingsbridge, South Hams, Wedding

A Study of Light

Posted March 19, 2013 By Scot (Admin) and has 12 comments.

Today, the light was amazing changing from moment to moment.. Sunshine, Cloud, Rain, Hail and back to sunshine all within a few hours. Devon is a wonderful place that never fails to inspire.

Here are a few from my walk today

(more…)

Categories: Devon, Inspiration, Photowalk

Tags: Clouds, Light, Lighthouse, Photowalk, Rain, Sea, Seascapes, Start Point

A Little Birthday Walkabout – Torcross, Devon

Posted March 18, 2013 By Scot (Admin) and has 12 comments.

Not a very wordy post today.. just a few images from my walkabout at one of my favourite beaches in South Devon.. Torcross

It was my birthday and it has been ages since I’ve been out for a shoot for the pure pleasure of it, rather than shooting for a job.

Rock Pool

(more…)

Categories: Devon, Inspiration, Photowalk

Tags: Birthday, Devon, Photowalk, South Hams, Torcross

The Gong Fu of Photography

Posted March 10, 2013 By Scot (Admin) and has 16 comments.

I have been pondering the meaning of this post on and off for the better part of a decade and thought it was about time that I tried to put my thoughts down on virtual paper. What this blog post is not: This is not about Kung Fu martial arts, it is not even about martial arts in general… it is about the original meaning of gōngfu and how it relates to learning the craft of photography.

Obviously, with my passion for Martial Arts and my Photography, there will be an quite a lot of cross over. My Martial Arts flavours my approach to photography and my photography helps me see my martial arts in a new light.

Silat Melayu Lok Sembilan

(more…)

Categories: Inspiration, Learning, Martial Arts, Zooming Feet

Tags: Gung Fu, Learning, Martial Arts, Photography, Practice, Skill, Theory

Let’s get retrospective – review of the ThinkTank Photo Retro 50

Posted February 2, 2013 By Scot (Admin) and has 4 comments.

How many times have you read a review of a product and the review reads like the spec sheet? You know the type, filled with all the information you could have picked up from Amazon. This review aims to be a little different to that.. I have used this bag every week for the last 3 months so I have a fair idea of its strengths and weaknesses (There is no perfect bag, even if there is a perfect bag for a certain situation).

A little of my history with Think Tank Photo.. I’ve been a user of their photo bags since 2008/9, starting with the Modular system and then the Airport Accelarator. Both the bag and the modular kit are still in regular use and although they have been worked hard, they still look and function great!

So having established that I am a bit of a fan of ThinkTank bags, lets see if the Retrospective 50 lives up to my high expectations

ThinkTANKPhoto Retrospective 50

My first impressions of the Retro 50.. were twofold

1) Damn it is BIG

2) and oh so pretty! (more…)

Categories: Gear, Reviews

Tags: Camera Bag, Gear, Retro 50, Retrospective, Review, Think Tank Photo

Proof that Dentists are fun

Posted September 5, 2012 By Scot (Admin) and has 26 comments.

When Absolute Dental of Kingsbridge asked me to do a commercial photo shoot for them I had images of cliche shiny white smiles and tools of torture. Fortunately the lovely people at Absolute Dental are more forward thinking than my antiquated thoughts of pliers and pain. Emma and the rest of the team are more into promoting the benefits and lifestyle choices that oral hygiene can offer.

Walking in to Absolute Dental is more like entering a Health Spa than any dentist I’ve previously visited.. (more…)

Categories: Clients, Devon, Zooming Feet

Tags: Beach, Client, Coast, Commercial, Dentist, Fun, humour, Kingsbridge, Photography, South Hams, Waterfront

Mel and Glenn get hitched

Posted August 26, 2012 By Scot (Admin) and has 42 comments.

When my best mate’s sister asked if I would shoot her wedding, I was thrilled! I’ve know Melissa now since 2004 and even lived at her folks’ house for a few months before my round the world travels in 2004/5.

Wedding Rings

I think it is fair to say that a Wedding Photographer’s job is so much easier when there is a rapport with the Bride & Groom.. Which is one of the reasons why a good photographer will always try to meet the happy couple before their wedding day and even arrange a pre-shoot.

(more…)

Categories: Weddings, Zooming Feet

Tags: Birmingham, Bridal Preparation, Bride, Groom, Sutton Coldfield, Wedding Photography

Wedding in a Teepee

Posted June 25, 2012 By Scot (Admin) and has 17 comments.

The happy couple and the Mewstone

Quite simply, when my friend and fellow photographer, Claire Sloane, asked if wanted to help her shoot a Teepee Wedding.. I was at first confused, intrigued and then very very keen. When it comes to unusual weddings, I get all excited.. I love it when a couple put their own stamp on their special day.

Emma and Paul certainly did that.. from the beautiful location for the ceremony at Wembury, Devon.. to their love (almost obsession) for all things Vintage Volkswagon.. to their choice of (more…)

Categories: Clients, Devon, Weddings

Tags: Beetle, Bluebells, Bride, Campervan, Devon, Groom, humour, Mewstone, Modbury, Teepee, Volkswagon, VW, Wedding, Weddings, Wembury

Olympic flame in Plymouth

Posted June 18, 2012 By Scot (Admin) and has 19 comments.

Last month I was contacted by the Odd Fellows Society to shoot Odd Fellows member, George Phillips carrying the Olympic Torch on its relay through Plymouth on 19th May 2012.

You may have heard of George, Aged 87, as this is the second time that he has been chosen to bear the Olympic Torch. The first time was for the first Olympic Games after the end of World War II in 1948.

George Phillips, Olympic Torch Bearer

(more…)

Categories: Charity, Clients, Devon, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Tags: Odd Fellows, Olympics, Plymouth, Relay, Torch

HDR or Speedlites

Posted June 1, 2012 By Scot (Admin) and has 26 comments.

This is a very quick post just to voice some thoughts I’ve been having on commercial property shoots using either HDR Techniques or lighting via strobes.

I am not expert when it comes to HDR, but I am open minded as to its uses. In the I hate/love HDR camp, I probably fall in the ‘what can it do for me’ camp.

I’ve been in discussions with another friendly photographer regarding the usefulness of HDR for commercial property shoots.. So I thought I’d give it a go to see if it could be added to my toolbox. The claim from my friend was that HDR was a quicker way to get the look that I am after. The look being both the indoors and view from windows being exposed correctly.

Technique 1: HDR

The idea here is to take multiple exposures from a fixed position and combine them in Adobe Photoshop in the perfect exposure. In the example below, I took 7 images at 1 stop increments. These were combined into a 32bit Tiff file using HDR Pro in Photoshop and then edited in LR4.1. The latest version of both Adobe Camera Raw & Lightroom allow editing of a 32bit HDR file.