The King of Cocktails, Merlin has been a bartender and mixologist for more than 25 years and has worked all over the world.
Read MoreLondon 2 Paris 24hr Cycle 2016
It's been 12 months since I was involved in documenting this exciting cycling event and for some reason I've not written a blog post about it, so here it is now.
Starting at Greenwich the cyclists gathered to unpack bikes, register, prep and meet their new cycling mates that would be with them for the next 24 hours.
A quick brief was carried out by Sophie Radcliffe, aka Challenge Sophie, who would be leading the group to Paris and then off they went very excited leaving London behind.
Unfortunately some didn't get far before the dreaded puncture!
The support teams were very quick to help and get riders back in the saddle and on their way, time was counting down and a ferry wasn't going to wait!
In the support car I got the chance to get a few tracking shots of Sophie as she sped through the countryside.
Regular pit stops were a great way for riders to get to know each other and have a good laugh, as well as getting the essential snacks.
These were a favourite amongst the riders and myself.
And again a good time to sort out any issues with the bikes.
Riders were all smiles and in high spirits as they passed or as I passed them in the support car.
Check-in at the ferry, a quick 4-5hr crossing and a chance to rest the legs.
Even after hardly any sleep the riders were all smiles and laughter as they filed off the ferry onto French soil. Sophie gathered them around for a quick chat, checked routes, supplies and was ready for what was going to be an unexpected very cold early morning ride!
The French countryside looked beautiful as the sun came up giving the riders some lovely long roads.
Heroic gestures, silly faces and poking tongues out came as standard throughout the ride
Breakfast was in a little french town that was still asleep when we arrived. The hot food and drinks went down a treat and was enjoyed in a small patch of sunlight that provided a bit of warmth from the early morning cold.
And then back on the road...
As the sun got higher the temperature increased and turned into a glorious day for the riders and their cold hands.
A quick pit stop, with a beautiful backdrop, allowed for a refuel, change into shorts, selfies and soak up some sun before hitting Paris.
Arriving in Paris and at the Eiffel Tower brought smiles, laughter, tears of joy and celebrations from the riders.
Trying to get a group shot was tricky with lots of tourists wanting to be in the picture as well, but managed to get one.
To view more images from L2P as well as the rider portraits please go to -www.chriswinter.co.uk/london-2-paris-24hr-cycle
Surfer Girl | Lucie
Lucie is a sponsored free surfer and lovely to work with, even when the weather wasn't exactly tropical!
Some of the shoot involved wearing a bikini and then running and splashing around in the slightly 'chilly' water, she was 100% committed and with a massive smile on her face as well, a true professional.
Commercial Portraits | On Site
Working on construction site's comes with many photography challenges, they are busy places with heavy machinery moving around, Health & Safety procedures that need to be adhered to and all of this while carrying all the equipment you will need for the shoot.
Setting up lighting on site is usually not an option without a lengthy method statement and risk assessment, so harnessing natural light, using reflectors and also subtle post production is usually the only way.
The images below were taken in a variety of places, from the top of a tower crane in central London to a large site next to Wembley Stadium.
Poden Farms
I was commissioned last year by the lovely people at Poden Farms to create an image library of their beautiful horses and great staff at work for use in the UK and USA.
On the day of the shoot we were blessed with beautiful sunny weather and a light breeze, this was handy as we did some aerial footage as well.
The staff at the farm were great and really up for a laugh during the shoot, the horses were the stars of the show though, very calm with flashes going off and drones flying around, it just shows how well they have been trained, yet getting a bit cheeky when the camera was pointed at them (see pic 5)!
Below are some of my favourites images from the day.
Yes that is a treadmill for a horse!
Typical, when you want a horse to be serious.
Here is a link to more images - www.chriswinter.co.uk/poden-farms
Shot with:
Canon 1Dx
Canon 5d mk3
Canon 24-70mm f2.8L mk2
Canon 70-200mm f2.8L mk2
Profoto B1 lighting and modifiers
Red Bull Street Style
A great shoot with Andrew Henderson, Liv Cooke and Jamie Knight with Pro Direct London and Red Bull UK ahead of the Street Style competition in London.
Shot with:
Canon 5d mk3
Canon 24-70mm f2.8L mk2
Canon 70-200mm f2.8L mk2
Profoto B1 lighting and modifiers
Ducati | Panigale 959 launch | Thailand
Another great shoot with the guys at F8 Photography Hong Kong for the new Ducati Panigale 959 at the Chang International racing circuit in Buriram, Thailand.
Great fun shooting on an international racing circuit albeit very very hot.
More images can be seen here www.chriswinter.co.uk/ducati-motorbikes
Below are some of the large Canon glass we used alongside the Canon 1dx.
Equipment list:
Canon 1dx
Canon 5d mk3
Sony a7R II
Canon 16-55mm f4L IS
Canon 24-70mm f2.8L mk2
Canon 70-200mm f2.8L mk2
Canon 200mm f2L IS USM
Canon 300mm f2.8L IS USM
Canon 400mm f2.8L IS USM
Canon 600mm f4L IS USM
Profoto B1 lighting
Profoto modifiers
Pelican case and Think Tank bags used to transport equipment.
Premier Inn | Junior Hotel Inspectors
A lovely commission for Premier Inn to shoot their Junior Hotel Inspectors. A group of children were let loose on the hotel for the day to test the food, beds and staff.
A very busy, hectic day with filming and stills going on at the same time, multiple room and area shooting meant lifting and shifting lights and equipment all over the hotel. this is where having a good strong assistant comes in handy!
More pictures can be seen here www.chriswinter.co.uk/premier-inn-junior-hotel-inspectors
Commission: Premier Inn
PR: Frank
Photographer: Chris Winter
Assistant: Ben Hughes
Equipment: Profoto B1 lighting, Canon 5d mk3 and L series lenses, Sigma 'Art' lenses.
Churchill | Lollipoppers | WCRS
A great campaign to work on, 'Ohhh Yeessss' (sorry for the pun) for Churchill, Frank PR and WCRS London. I spent the day shooting the campaign stills, with Robert Webb and Churchill the Dog, and behind the scenes while the filming took place. To see all the images click here.
Agency: WCRS
PR: Frank
Photographer: Chris Winter
Photography assistant: Ben Hughes
To see more of my work click here.
Ducati Multistrada 1200S Launch Thailand
At the beginning of this year I was asked by the great guys at F8 Photography Hong Kong to shoot with them the Ducati press launch of the Multistrada 1200S in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand.
As you can imagine it didn't take me long to agree to the job! I was shooting long lens on some of the beautiful winding roads in the Chiang Rai mountains and also out of the back of the tracking car, below are some of my favourite images from the shoot, some BTS and equipment list (for the geeks out there).
Behind the scenes.
Equipment list:
Canon 1dx
Canon 5d mk3
Sony a7R II
Canon 16-55mm f4L IS
Canon 24-70mm f2.8L mk2
Canon 70-200mm f2.8L mk2
Canon 300mm f2.8L
Canon 200mm f2L IS
Profoto B1
Profoto modifiers
Pelican case and Think Tank bags used to transport equipment.
GB Triathlete | Abi Schofield
A great shoot with Triathlete Abi Schofield to capture some pictures of her training in the pool.
For more of my fitness work click here www.chriswinter.co.uk
Equipment used:
EWA-marine U-BXP100 underwater housing
Canon 5d mk3
Canon 17-40mm
Profoto B1 lighting
Women's Fitness
Here are a few women's fitness portraits I've been shooting over the last few months.
For more of my fitness work click here www.chriswinter.co.uk/fitness
BMA models | Mens fitness
A great afternoon in the studio with BMA models Jack and Karl, shooting some sports images.
You can see more of my sports and fitness work here – www.chriswinter.co.uk/menfitness
More work can be seen at www.chriswinter.co.uk
Fashion fitness
Fitness fashion while shooting with Sandra.
You can see more of my sports and fitness work here – www.chriswinter.co.uk/womenfitness
More work can be seen at www.chriswinter.co.uk
Emily | Sport & Fitness
I recently shot with Emily to create some strong striking sport and fitness images. Emily is a sprinter, ballroom dancer and personal trainer with an incredible physique and was happy to jump around for an hour to get the right poses, a great model and someone I will definitely be working with again.
More sport and fitness work can be viewed here - www.chriswinter.co.uk/womenfitness
BMA models | Anna
A lovely afternoon in Kingston upon Thames with Anna from BMA models, shooting some lifestyle and sports images.
You can see more of my sports and fitness work here – www.chriswinter.co.uk/womenfitness
Financial Times | House and Homes
I've been commissioned by The Financial Times over the last 6 months to photograph for House & Homes.
I love property and love to see inside people's houses and look at how they have styled their homes, combine this with shooting a few portraits and you have a great day.
The properties ranged from a lovely house in the Barbican, a millionaire art collectors mansion to a Tower of London residence.
Michael Squire Architect
A lovely commission to shoot some portraits of architect Michael Squire at his offices in central London. As always the brief was tight as was time, but that's where prior planning is essential.
RAC Club Magazine
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of being asked by RAC Club Magazine to photograph three classic cars and their modern counterparts. The cars were Fiat 500, Porsche 911 and Land Rover, they were all beautiful cars and I was a very jealous photographer! You can read the full article and see more owners and their cars on the link here.
Jean-Christophe Novelli | Specsavers
Here is the editorial I shot a couple of months ago for the spring/summer Specsavers hearing magazine.
Jean-Christophe was a lovely guy and very patient over the day, especially with numerous clothing and set up changes. It was a great day in a beautiful apartment, tasty food and awesome crew.
