To continue with our series of shoots with artisan food producers & craftsmen we thought we would share a recent shoot that Mark did with a Thatcher down in rural Wiltshire.
Whilst we have been searching for suitable projects for Mark so much has been through word-of-mouth, twitter & chance meetings with people. Recently Mark spent a day teaching photography to small businesses in Wiltshire for use on their websites etc. On the day he chatted to a lady who mentioned that her husband was a thatcher & may be looking for new images for his website. Now, never one to rest on his laurels the next day when he was back at his desk Mark called Adam & later the same week he found himself atop a thatched roof!
Mark spent the day with them whilst they thatched the beautiful thatched cottage. He captured images of them using the traditional tools such as the legget which is used to force the blunt ends of the reeds inwards to bring them into line & shearing hook which looks like a left-handed scythe, except it’s right-handed and is used to shear the ears off the reeds. Mark got some fantastic shots of the tools, the skills & the craftsmen themselves. Thatching truly is an ancient craft; the first thatch was in the Bronze age – 4,500 years ago. Thatched cottages and farm buildings were the norm in rural Britain for a millennium or more.
Adam Nash, who Mark spent the day with, is a Master Thatcher & is based in Crockerton, Wiltshire and thatches in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset. You will see examples of his thatching scattered around the counties including Salisbury, Amesbury, Andover, Heytesbury, Tisbury, Shaftesbury & Warminster www.adamnashthatcher.co.uk
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Photography Shoot with Chiltern Charcuterie
As we promised earlier in the week, a blog about Mark’s recent visit to a charcuterie producer. When we were looking for local artisan food producers we thought a charcuterier would be an interesting project so put our snouts to the ground & found a fabulous local company producing wonderful air dried ham, pancetta, salami & chorizo. Chiltern Charcuterie was born in the summer of 2014, by two amateur cooks; Ross and Catherine, who both have a passion for good food. Their current products include: Air-dried Beef (Bresaola) and Lamb, Pancetta, Salami and Chorizo. All their produce is handmade, and hangs for a minimum of 28 days to develop flavour. You can purchase online here or there are lots of local places you can purchase such as Just Cooking in Thame. Last week Mark visited them to capture some shots of them making their fine produce & some images of the finished product.
Photography Shoot with Hobbs House Bakery
This year Mark has been photographing lots of projects for a British stock library who sell worldwide. They are all about capturing images about living healthily, well and sustainably. Their images reflect artisan & small business. As you can imagine this type of photography is right up Mark’s street. He has had a great time photographing some really interesting projects & some really talented artisans; from fine furniture makers & thatchers to a traditional sign writer & a local charcuterie producer. I even took part in a shoot myself with Mark’s Mum & Dad cocklepicking on the Helford in Cornwall. I’m sure that we will be posting some more projects in the next few months but last week Mark had a rather exciting photo shoot.
Hobbs House Bakery was established in the Cotswolds in the 1920’s and they are a true family business with five generations of baking experience. Mark has met them previously at the fabulous Gloucester Services & contacted them in the hope of organising a shoot. Born with flour on their fingers, 5th generation bakers Tom & Henry, known to many as The Fabulous Baker Brothers, were so generous in giving Mark their time & the results were fab!
Mark visited them at The Hobbs House Cookery School in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol & photographed them doing all things bread. The combination of the neutral light-filled room, a couple of handsome chaps & a fantastic photographer has resulted in some great images.
Hobbs House Bakery’s beautiful sourdough & artisan loaves, cakes & baked loveliness, baking equipment including your own sourdough starter can be purchased from their website. They also have a selection of Bakeries where you can purchase the old fashioned way in person in Chipping Sodbury, Nailsworth, Tetbury & Malmesbury. You can even learn how to bake yourself at Hobbs House Cookery School.
Mark Lord Photography 