Shooting the Chief Constable

A member of our photographic society, Durham PS, who's not a Pentax User, is co-ordinating a major portrait project featuring leading North East people. This coming year we will be staging exhibitions of the work at several venues, starting with Alnwick Castle early in the summer (The Duchess of Northumberland is one of our subjects).
I've been involved in one or two of the shoots: This week it was the turn of Durham's Chief Constable, Mike Barton. Mike is a tough cop, formerly head of CID with Lancashire Police before promotion to ACPO rank with Durham Constabulary, but he's also a great people person who was happy to be subjected to the attention of three of us photographers on Monday.
Here's three of my images from the shoot, using the K5 and DA*16-50mm lens inside his office. I used the K3 with DA*50-135mm lens for shots of him outside Police HQ.











David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

These are good images. He looks a people person - willing to engage eye contact. Is the idea that you offer these to a central pool of images that will be sifted through to pick out the best?

Something like that Andy. We are going to feature more than 100 people, politicians, people from the worlds of the arts and entertainment, business and sport. Our team on this project will have hundreds of pictures, its going to be a major job editing them to make a meaningful exhibition.
Funny you should mention eye contact - Mike automatically locked eye contact with whichever of the three of us was photographing him at that moment.
I've done lots of portraits at events like the Whitby Goths and Edinburgh Fringe and in many cases I've had to urge the subject to give me eye contact.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

Very good images - it's good to see a friendly 'top cop'.

"Shooting the Chief Constable" I bet that's flagged up at GCHQ

Good set David.

About the eye contact, don't they have training these days for working with the Media

A very good set David. The second image nails a theme very well with the full image of the framed picture in the background.

Best regards

Thanks for the info David - here's hoping you get some in the final mix!

When in early summer? My wife and I who are from Tyneside (but not now) will be visiting Newcastle on the 1st. of July and intend to visit Alnwick Castle for one day. My wife's the gardener and I'm the Labourer/Photographer.
CHEERS Vic.

I haven't got the precise dates yet Vic but I think its earlier than July. I'll post a date when I get it.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout