alun callender's blog

Good Housekeeping magazine commissioned me for a great day in the studio, to photograph some inspiring women with some wonderful stories as to why this Christmas will be so special to them.

It was an all day party on the shoot, and an enjoyable day was had.

Top homemaker and blogger Cherry Menlove, will be with her family

Maria Rocker has won her battle with cancer

Carlette and daughter Anaya celebrating as a family

Judith Philip loves volunteering over Christmas

Ole Hansen is a Norwegian living in London creating the most exquisite Smoked Salmon, the fourth generation of fish smokers in his family using the traditional process past down from his great-grandfather.

His smoke house is no more than a brick lean-to behind an old factory, in the borough of Hackney but his work is sold to some of the finest restaurants in London.

From tasting it I can vouch that it’s a gastronomic pleasure!

The feature is out now in this month’s Homes & Gardens magazine.

http://hansen-lydersen.com/

It’s that time of year already when those peparations for the Christmas season are almost upon us.

This year I have been busy working for Country Living magazine with Sarah Moore on a monthly series of crafting makes at her home in West Sussex.

This is part three in a year long series and we have now reached the December issue.

I think it’s now time for a Mince Pie!

Lots more on Sarah’s Fantastic website: http://www.sarahmoorevintage.com 

I found myself last month in the South London warehouse and then showroom of Chesney’s, renowned for their splendid fireplaces and wood burners.

Paul Chesney set up his business in 1984 after discovering a Victorian fireplace in a skip, it ignited a passion that now sells fireplaces around the globe.

You can read more in the December issue of Homes & Gardens.

chesneys.co.uk

I am almost half way through my current personal portrait project photographing the creative talent of this South Coast county and I thought it was time for a review of what I’ve done and who I’ve meet so far.

I am really excited about completing the next half, adding a few videos to the mix then getting an exhibition and book together.

Roland Jarvis

Phillip Oakley

Peter Quinnell

Nick Bodimeade

Melissa White

Martin O’Neill

Louise Body

Leigh Dyer

Laura Oakes

Judith Rowe

Jo Sweeting

Wales & Wales

Joc Hare

Roas Diaz

Susan Elliot

Jessica Zoob

Shuby

Jeffery Louis-Reed

Gus Cummings RA

Fiona Geilinger

Elizabeth Ockford

Ptolemy Mann

Victor Stuart-Graham

Ed Kluz

Andrew and Eden Kotting

Deb Bowness

Claire Fletcher

Christine Kowal-Post

Christian Funnell

Chris Elsey and Geoff Aldred – The Stone Carving and Lettering Studio

Chris Milton

Chris McHugh

Angie Braven

Lesley & Pea – Aardvark Press

Wycliffe Stutchbury

It was almost eight years now that I turned up early one morning at the Royal Ballet with my now retired Nikon FM2′s and a pro pack of Tri-x pan (the best black and white film ever) to take some images of Darcy Bussell to compliment an at home feature I had made the previous day for Red magazine.

It was a most exhilarating and inspiring hour and a real pleasure to photograph her as she flew about the studio with such beauty and grace.

Christian Funnell is an artist and sculptor based in Newhaven.

He is already famed in the area for his previous Cormorant sculpture that had stood in the river for the past 12 years.

This year he was commissioned by the local council to create a new one to replace it.

Now the impressive figure of a Cormorant sits proudly at the gateway to this industrial port and should hopefully watch over its long due regeneration.

www.christianfunnell.com

During the Summer Homes & Gardens magazine commissioned me to head West into the beautiful Pembrokeshire landscape for a return visit to Melin Tregwynt.

The Mill is now run by Eifion Griffiths the third generation of his family to run the mill, he is renowned for having re-invented the tradition of weaving Welsh double cloth and produces fabric with bold colourful designs.

It was a day well spent with people who are passionate about the mill and a product that is embedded in its locality and provenance but looks to compete on a national and international stage.

www.melintregwynt.co.uk

“If Peter Blake is the Paul McCartney of collage, then O’Neill is its Tom Waits, a pre-digital artist for a post-digital age.”

I met up with Martin O’Neill last month while he was getting ready to open his studio on the sea front for Hastings and St Leonard’s Coastal Currents arts festival.

The studio was full of fascinating collections of airfix models, toy ambulances and 1970′s magazines, which reflects in his work which is a fusion of nostalgia, kitsch and the surreal to create something that is at the cutting edge of art.

http://cutitout.co.uk

Christine Kowal-Post creates stunning, totemic sculptures from single pieces of wood.

Her work focuses on the female form and is an exploration of women’s lives, in which she expresses with a directness that can at times shock but always inspire.

I photographed her in her converted cow shed and now studio in the Cuckmere valley for my East Sussex Artists project, it was a fascinating couple of hours spent with her.

http://www.christinekowalpost.com