JO UNDERHILL / STRUCTURALEYE

I love the photography of Martien Mulder and was very excited to see she had started a blog posting images that aren't from a specific project or have been shot for any other reason then because she has a great passion for photography. This got me thinking about my own photography. Recently I have found I have really only been shooting for a specific reason, either a client project or my own project which I hope to get published or be used in some other way. Within the projects there have been images I love but haven't been chosen or don't sit in with the brief and so they get forgotten. The idea of showing them here and also photographing just because, is really appealing, not thinking about the end result or location of where the images will end up is quite liberating. So I will start photographing again, just because, and sharing the left over images from projects here. Martien Mulder's blog can be found here

I have just complied all the best images of the construction of the new Art and Design Building, the Grove, at Middlesex University, Hendon on my Flickr page which can be found here I have been visiting the site every month for the last 2 years capturing progress shots of the construction of the building. The building is now open and in use, I have one more visit to photograph the finished exterior of the building and the project will be finished! Can't believe how quickly the last 2 years have gone...

Made the most of the amazing weather and light we have been having recently and photographed at Buzzworks' sister garden Honeyworks. The bee keeepers were busy making sure the hives had enough food and big enough to keep warm over winter. The Queen's were also marked and a wing clipped.

Some images from my Beautiful Brutalist project have this week been featured on withinthissilence blog WTS The blog is a great new resource for photographers and definitely worth checking out! Just want to thanks the guys at WTS, the images look fantastic and thanks for the great comments too. Wish them well for the future! The rest of the project can be seen here

In May I was fortunate enough to visit Ceramicist Julian Stair in a Brick Factory in Walsall to photograph him and his assistants working on new work for an exhibition due to open next year. His new ceramics are very large scale pieces addressing the containment of the human body in death. The title of the work is Quietus and the exhibition will include artist made funerary works, from cinerary jars to contain the body's ashes after cremation, to life size sarcophagi for the burial of the fully extended body. It was a great experience to watch and photograph them at work and Julian invited me to his London studio later on in the year to document some of the smaller pieces being made which I'm really looking forward to. I posted a few images back in June but have uploaded more images from this project to my website- Quietus

I started a new personal project at the weekend on a local community garden for bee's called Buzzworks. It's aim is to encourage more bee friendly gardens, educate the local community how vital bee's are to our ecosystem and also teach bee-keeping skills. This is a project I have wanted to do for a while so looking forward to more shoots, hopefully with some late autumn sun and learning a bit more about this amazing creatures. Below are just a few images from the shoot-

A new online magazine for photographers to showcase their work for free has been set up. Take a look at - WTS Great site if you need inspiration or want to promote your own work. The work of Rob Baker Ashton is definitely worth a look.

The judges have chosen the winning shot, well done Ading Audah. You can view the comments made by the judges here

Found out last week one of my images has made the last 16 in the I won the t-shirt! Printspace competition! Very chuffed about it, you can see my image and the rest here

I have just launched my new portrait and location website! Very excited about this relaunch, the new website can be seen here

Sorry for the lack of new blog posts recently, we are working on a new website and updating the blog so look out for new posts in September to coincide with the launch of the new website! Hope you have a lovely summer and see you in September!

Owen Wall has just completed a range of olive bowls for restaurant chain Zizzi. More information can be found on his website OwenWall I photographed Owen last year at his new studio and the images can be found in my archive under June.

Ceramicist Hitomi Hosono has been shortlisted for the Arts Foundation Ceramic Award. I was lucky enough to photograph her in her studio last year (photos can be seen on this blog in 2010 under February), so fingers crossed she wins as her work was very beautiful and so decorative. More information can be found here