PastyGuy

I thought I'd let you know where else you can find my work and keep up to date with me and my musings online.

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Hello All,

It's been a long time since I last wrote a journal, 12 months to be exact and many things have happened. I am now working as a Graphic Designer / Photographer for a local company and to finally find work in that field is such a relief and it's something I can now build on and progress in my career. Due to my work commitments and constraints my photography has been a little inconstant over the past 18 months but recently I have been getting back out into the field and pushing my work further. I hope to plan a photo trip in the near future and I am very much looking forward to capture this winter like never before!

While I've been away I passed a 6 year milestone of being a member of dA (unfortunately I didn't get anything for it) however from when I first joined and submitted pieces of design and illustration work I had nothing but praise for this site and owe a lot to dA in my early years of photography. It's also introduced me to some good friends too.

Lastly I am proud to announce one of my entrants to this years Landscape Photographer of the Year has been Highly Commended and will appear in the annual book www.amazon.co.uk/Landscape-Pho… and displayed at the London National Theatre from the 5th December - 28th January. I will also be attending the private viewing on the 6th and hope to meet some of you there.

I am pleased to announce I had two images short listed for LPOTY, even if they were ones I didn't expect to do as well as others but over the moon as this is the first serious photography competition I have taken part in.

Well as many of you know I have just returned from a short photography mission to the mountains of Snowdonia with Alex37 Since the last trip we both made to the Isle of Skye almost 2 years ago, we were eager to get images just as iconic and powerful as before. Because we were camping and hiking, we relied upon the weather conditions much more than our previous trip where we spent more time in the car and hostels. The majority of the time we were lucky with the weather and had a few great days of sunshine and skies however these things don't always last. So by the end of the week we called it a day and came home.

Long time no speak. As many of you know who followed me up to the beginning to 2009 I left the UK for the open oceans to work onboard a cruise line as a photographer. I returned home just over a month ago and have been reflecting on my time away and the experiences I have gained.

Struggling with work after leaving University I was applying for everything left right and centre I had a few odd jobs here and there but nothing solid. During one long job search online I stumbled across a blog which stated a company where looking for photographers to work as crew on board cruise ships. I tentatively applied for the position not really knowing what I was going to let myself in for. Nearly 2 months after I applied I got a reply with a date for an interview and an insight into life at sea. After securing the position I was given a ship and a date which was later changed but I soon learnt this happens a lot…

On the 29th April I joined my new home in Civitavecchia (Rome) Italy. the ms Noordam en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Noord… part of the Holland America Line fleet was to be my place of work, living, socialising and general debauchery over the following 9 months. I was to travel around the Mediterranean in two alternative 10 day cruises visiting numerous ports

To cut a long story short the job consisted of photographing passengers in various locations in and off the ship and then trying to sell the prints to them, sounds easier than it is…

A typical working 10 day cruise would include approx. 1 embarkation day, 5 gangways, 3 formal nights and 3 casual nights. Embarkation day would be one of our most busiest days in which we attempt to photograph around 2000 passengers as they trundle through the terminal with their luggage (its not a pretty sight) We then make sure everything is printed and displayed in the gallery ready to sell between 5-11pm an additional white studio is also set up and manned during the evening to catch any guests for photographs.

At each port we are expected to stand on the end of the gangway either with our cameras or in the local attire of the port… you never really had a choice. This part of the job is where you had to push the most, trying to stop people as they scramble for a place on one of the coaches in blazing heat isn't easy.


During almost all cruise ships there are Formal/Gala nights where the guests dress there best for a night of great food and dazzling entertainment which meant a very busy night for all of the crew. Our team would set up around 5 studios with either a coloured backdrop or part of the ships interior prior to the evening. At 5pm we would start a long shift working none stop until everything we photographed through the evening would be printed and displayed.

Near half way through my contract I was promoted to Lab/Assistant Manager which gave me the responsibilities of senior photographer and printer. This was a great opportunity and I loved having control over all the printing, advertising, design work and assistant head to the photographic team although the pay increased so did the work load and my own time was replaced with cleaning or maintenance.

Life at sea was an amazing experience but it is an acquired taste. we shared cabins with fellow photographers however the manager has his own cabin which makes a lot of difference, however if you play your cards right you can stay in any cabin you like There was a total of around 800 crew onboard my ship about 80% of which are Filipino or Indonesian who actually worked as HAL employees i.e. Bar staff, dining stewards, cabin stewards etc. The photo, spa, casino and shops are all concessioners and are controlled by companies either in the US or UK these workers nationalities ranged from all over the world. The deck and engine department where either Dutch or British. Considering its an american company the only US crew onboard were in the entertainment department which took up around 5% of the overall crew. Anyway one thing I did learn is that everyone knows how to have a good time, if thats out in port or the majority of the time in the crew bar...

I met some incredible people and made some amazing life time friends while I was away and miss those people so very much however people come and go all the time and its hard when the group of friends you have been spending all your time with disappear and you might never see them again. I have the invite to go back however its a big decision to make and 8 months is a long time away from home. However I don't regret it one bit and can say its one of the best choices I have ever made going and I would recommend it to anyone willing.


I have tonnes of photos to get through the bulk of it being travel photography however landscape photography was limited but I do have a few bits here and there but I am looking forward to getting back into the groove…

Many thanks for reading my post and if you have any questions about my experiences or interested in applying for a job at sea don't hesitate to contact me or visit these sites.

www.ocean-images.co.uk (The company I worked for)
www.image.com (If you want to work your ass into the ground)
www.theshipsphotographer.com (P&O and Ocean village Cruises inhouse photography)
www.princess.com/employment/info (Princess Cruises inhouse photography)

All images are copyright to Guy Richardson Do not use without permission.