_drewforsyth

🚁 Kate, New York, 2024 🚁 . You might remember me posting a video of my helicopter shoot… well today, I thought I’d share a few of the final images. . When I was brainstorming ideas for shoots I could do on my trip to NYC, this one was definitely in the “are you mad” column… but as my trip got closer and closer, I couldn’t shake the idea of shooting something so thrilling. A Russian supermodel in a helicopter with no doors? Come on. You’d be mad NOT to do it. . When you’re a photographer you’re encouraged to shoot personal work - which is work that’s not paid, but that you do off your own back in order to improve your skills, express yourself artistically, and push yourself outside your comfort z one. And this checked all three boxes. . Finally, to answer your question “was it scary?”: No. When I’m shooting, I’m not thinking about anything else… I’m only thinking about the shot. So when I was looking out the side of the chopper down at the water 5000 feet below me, I’m not thinking “oh my god I hope I don’t fall” I’m thinking “I wish it wasn’t so windy, it’s really shaking the camera.” So no. The scariest thing about the shoot was the idea I’d run out of space on my SD card. . CREDITS: . * Photography & Direction: Drew Forsyth @_drewforsyth * Model: Kate Smolianinova @thesmolkate * Agency: Q Models @qmodels * HMUA: Elena Sharandak @BeautyByVespa * Assistants: Anna Sneed & Sam Zauscher @_anna_sneed & @samanthazausch * Additional Retouching: Alena @aretouch.a * Shoes: Tom Ford @tomford * Drew’s Jacket: Boda Skins @bodaskins * Helicopter: FlyNyon @flynyon . #environmentalportraiture #portraitphotography #newyorknewyork

🗽JESSICA🗽 . Jessica Pinkett, photographed on location in Brooklyn, New York, earlier this year. . I’m so pleased to finally share these images with you today - this is Jessica (@Jessica.A.Pinkett), of the world-renowned and highly prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (@AlvinAiley), who I had the pleasure of photographing on my trip to New York in September. Jessica has been with Ailey since 2018, and in that time has performed a string of incredible works. When I met her, she had been performing the previous night at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Amazing. . What I wanted with these shots was to showcase Jessica’s strength, power, and poise. In every shot I wanted you to feel just how amazing she is, and marvel at her incredible focus. 2024 marks ten years since I photographed a dancer on a rooftop in NYC - and that was the amazing @Cammybodia. So this was a very acute, emotional moment for me. I can’t wait to share more images from the shoot, including the ones I shot on film! . In the meantime, let me thank some people without whom the shoot wouldn’t have been possible. Once again, huge, enormous thanks go to @samanthazausch & @_anna_sneed for BTS, assisting, moral support, and pizza supply. Susan (@susan_ely) at @Profoto for the support and help pulling this off, as well as @jphazon for making me feel so welcome and intro-ing me to @fredatfotocare & @fotocarenyc. @photobyphe for her amazing production support and booking skills, and finally Alena (@aretouch.a) for helping with the retouching once I’d done the grade. It takes a village ha! . #newyorknewyork #drewontour #portraitphotography #adventure #worldwideballet

📷 I WON!!!! 📷  . HOLY SMOKES! You know that thing I was banging on about allll last week, about having to join a Facebook group and vote for me? WELL GUESS WHAT! You guys really pulled through for me and I WON!!!!!! . Thank you so much to everyone who signed up and voted for me!!! I so appreciate all your support. And thanks to @Profoto and @ProfotoShareTheLight for nominating me in the first place! . But Drew! What did you win! Well @profoto have said they’re going to send me a package with some mystery stuff in there — so when it arrives I’ll open it right here on insta. . Picture credit for the shot of me goes to @_anna_sneed! . This is the shot what won it — from a test shoot I did with @operaballetvlaanderen Principal Dancer, Nancy Osbaldeston (@DanceNancyDance). . This was my first properly creative shoot after the trauma of Lockdown 3 (remember that?!) in January 21, and it was delightful making work in such a beautiful location. . Big thanks to @AliceMarieMUA for amazing makeup, @ItsNaomiKane for assisting / moral support, the team at @SeeSawSpace and @86princessstreet for the amazing location and finally @JennaLeeChoreographer with Movement Direction. . #petapixel #profoto #profotosharethelight #sharethelight #manchesterphotographer #worldwideballet #worldwidedance #loveofballet #balletpost #instagramfordancers #ballet_a #worldballetproject #pointe #futureofballet #balletclub #apinkballerina #ballerinaproject

🟥 YEARLY ROUNDUP: SEPTEMBER 🟥 . You get it - I’m doing my yearly roundup! We’re up to September! . Good GRIEF what a month September was. I feel like I’m losing my mind when i look back at the shots. Dancers from the greatest dancers on Earth! Models from the most prestigious agencies! And a helicopter over Manhattan! What a life. . Up next: October! . #portraitphotography #manchester

🟥 YEARLY ROUNDUP: AUGUST 🟥 . You get it - I’m doing my yearly roundup! We’re up to August! . Highlights from August include: The King’s Trust! Professor Brian Cox! Budpaest on film! . August is normally one of my quieter months. My clients are all on holiday, so it’s a nice chance for me to get a break, relax, and put my feet up. NOT THIS TIME. ,. .August saw me shooting some very high profile stuff, including Professor Brian Cox backstage at the Royal Opera House - WOW (thanks Amy!). I also shot some really nice photo-story style stuff for the Kings Trust (thanks Chloe!), and then, finally, managed to put my feet up for a long weekend in Budapest - where I couldn’t resist putting 5 rolls of film through my camera. . Wonderful. . Up next: September! . #portraitphotography #manchester

🟥 YEARLY ROUNDUP: JULY 🟥 . The biggest month of my career. So far. . Highlights from July include: Photographing the (then) Prime Minister! The BBC Philharmonic! Phoenix Dance Theatre! John’s Boys! And trying to maintain some kind of social life! . I cannot fully put into words the emotions I feel when I look back at July. Why don’t we start with being asked to photograph Rishi Sunak, two days before the election. One of the strangest, most intense days of life. And there’s been a few! Or the BBC Philharmonic - one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world - on location in an abandoned fire station. Or Phoenix Dance - one of the most critically acclaimed modern dance companies - working with their dancers to create imagery for their latest show. And how about yeah - we shot all of that in the space of a week. . I’m gonna be posting loads more about the BBC Phil, and I can’t actually share the images just yet - but when I do, it’ll not only be here, but on my website too, so you can see the shots nice and big. . Up next: August! . #portraitphotography #manchester

🟥 YEARLY ROUNDUP: JUNE 🟥 . Where did the time go! Wow! Well folks it’s that time again, where I look back at everything I’ve been up to this year. Now for June! . Highlights from June include: Harewood House! Shoots on the 40th floor! Ballet Central! And the Eras Tour! (that last one was not for work). . June was relentless (not as much as July, but still), and alongside work, peppered with some amazing live events that I manage to score tickets to. For work, I was back at Harewood House, photographing artists for the Biennial. I love stuff like this - shooting amazing people in front of what they’ve created, and the 12 or so artists at the Biennial were so kind to give up their time in the final prep days to have their portraits taken. I also spent some time on the 40th floor photographing the senior leadership team at Urban Bubble, which was absolutely wild. What a location. I had my portfolio reviewed at PhotoMeet ’24, which was equal parts invigorating, reassuring, and educational. I also went to the end of year show for the photography degree at Bolton Uni, and as well, photographed some of the curatorial team at the Science & Industry Museum as they restored a hot steam engine. JAM PACKED. . Up next: July… and it’s a biggie! . #portraitphotography #manchester

🟥 YEARLY ROUNDUP: MAY 🟥 . Where did the time go! Wow! Well folks it’s that time again, where I look back at everything I’ve been up to this year. Now for May! . Highlights from May include: Backstage with All Killa No Filla! Back at the Science & Industry Museum with Dr. Chris & Dr. Ronx! Ballet Central! Yet more meetings! . May was a vibrant, exciting time for me this year, spending time backstage with the fabulous Kiri Pritchard-Mclean and Rachel Fairburn as they performed All Killa No Filla: LIVE. That first shot you see was shot on 35mm film on my Dad’s old camera from the 90s… just a wonderful (if temperamental) piece of equipment! . As well as the BTS stuff, I also shot some live performance of Ballet Central’s end of year show, as well as being on assignment back at the Science & Industry Museum photographing Dr. Chris, and Dr. Ronx. . Up next: June! . #portraitphotography #manchester

🟥 YEARLY ROUNDUP: APRIL 🟥 . Where did the time go! Wow! Well folks it’s that time again, where I look back at everything I’ve been up to this year. Now for April! . Highlights from April include: The New Principal Conductor of the Halle Orchestra! More meetings! And spending time with Princess Anne’s husband! . Things were starting to heat up in April, but one assignment in particular stood out - being asked to photograph the new Principal Conductor of the Halle Orchestra: Kahchun Wong. This assignment was right in my wheelhouse - photographing someone performing at an incredibly high level, on location, battling the elements, with an amazing team around me. For the creative, we really wanted to ‘place’ Kahchun in Manchester - so we picked a rooftop overlooking the Bridgewater Hall (Kahchun’s new home), showcased the Manchester skyline, and as well, included the cranes - which speak to the new beginnings and change that Kahchun brings. Before him, Sir Mark Elder held the role for 25 years - and so being trusted with such a prestigious assignment really was a highlight in my year of highlights. . As well as Kahchun, I thought I’d throw in a snap of my sister’s dog Bowie, and as well, a nice pic of Sir Tim Lawrence, on location, at the Science & Industry Museum. You might have seen Tim in The Crown on Netflix (well, not him, but like… someone playing him), and he was just so polite and friendly. In the 30 seconds or so I spoke to him, I asked him if he and his wife (Princess Anne) had enjoyed the Six Nations, and watching Scotland win the Calcutta Cup a couple of weeks earlier at Twickenham - he said he really enjoyed the match even though it was a bit cold. So that’s nice. . Up next: May! . #portraitphotography #worldwideballet #manchester

🟥YEARLY ROUNDUP: MARCH🟥 . Where did the time go! Wow! Well folks it’s that time again, where I look back at everything I’ve been up to this year. Now for March! . Highlights from March include: Comedians! Comedians! Comedians! Bolton Uni! Harewood House! Pints! And the biggest enquiry of my career! . March is normally when things tend to heat up for me, calendar-wise, and this year was no exception. I started the month working with the amazing Tom Lawrinson, and then two days later, the wonderful Rachel Fairburn. Next up we had TikTok sensation Karl Porter alongside the hilarious Ben Silver, and by that point I was exhausted… and only a week in! Other highlights include shooting some really lovely stills for the fine folks at Harewood House. I loved that assignment so much… portraits in beautiful locations? YES PLEASE. I also managed to hit up the Photography Show and hang out with some awesome people, and as well, I received an email for an assignment which dominated my Summer… . Up next: April! . #portraitphotography #worldwideballet #manchester

🟥YEARLY ROUNDUP: FEBRUARY🟥 . Where did the time go! Wow! Well folks it’s that time again, where I look back at everything I’ve been up to this year. On to February. . Highlights include: shooting performance stills for Phoenix Dance Theatre, as well as leading a photography workshop for a women’s group in Greater Manchester! . Shooting for Phoenix is always great, and this show was no exception. Shooting mast movement in low light is always a challenge, but I think it was this year that Lightroom introduced it’s Noise Reduction using AI filter, and as a result, the images look so clean, even though they were shot around 6400 ISO! The women’s group workshop was also so much fun, and something a little different for me. I was asked to come in, teach the participants how to shoot, and then leave them to it - which was really fun! And they shot some really nice images, shown here. . Up next: March! . #portraitphotography #worldwideballet #manchester

🟥YEARLY ROUNDUP: JANUARY🟥 . Where did the time go! Wow! Well folks it’s that time again, where I look back at everything I’ve been up to this year. Let’s start with January. Two assignments loom large in Jan, and that was shooting for Shades Dancewear, and the Science & Industry Museum. . Shades was a fun (if a little intense!) assignment in Birmingham, photographing young dancers in dancewear designed for different skin tones. Working with the students was so fun, and I think the shots turned out great. The other shots were for shot on assignment for the Science & Industry Museum, who asked me to come in and document some demolition taking place on site, which was AWESOME. The guys in the cherry picker let me get real close and I almost got set on fire. GREAT START TO THE YEAR. . #portraitphotography #worldwideballet #manchester