Back in Asia now after a whirlwind month in the States and London. Along the way I got through several meetings with photo reps and a couple of editors, one celebrity shoot, several portrait sessions, a fashion editorial, workshops , family dinners and finally a DJ set for a wine bar in Dorset. All great fun.

Now I’m back I need to get through 10 or more photo sessions and have them edited and sent out, organise the September tour of the Algerian Sahara and look into taking a small group down to the fantastic Vegetarian festival in the south of Thailand.

I loved my time away and will most likely do it again soon. stay tuned.

I worked with a brilliant team of creatives,  make up artists, Stylists and hair stylists. It was also the first time Ginger joined us for a workshop, along with a stunning  pair of female models. Really enjoyed the workshop and was proud to see some of the  fantastic work the students managed to capture.

Cool weather, great people, actors in front of my lens. great times and i hope to be back soon.

New York

In London now and have just wrapped the London workshop. Two shoots over the next two days and then it’s down to Dorset to meet family and friends.

I’m now in NYC after an amazing trip to California, met some wonderful people, shot some great people and helped some superb people.I won some cash in Vegas and experienced by fist all American baseball game what an experience! . After a short stay in downtown LA and Las Vegas we hit the very sleepy Palm Springs. Wonderful mid century modernist buildings, clean sweeping roads and dramatic mountainous backdrops. From there we used the amazing Salton Sea as a backdrop.  Having grown up with iconic images from the movies and stills, it was a real privilege to actually see some of these places and photograph them also. The Salton Sea is a huge lake formed by an accidental river diversion and it’s littered with old abandoned buildings and trailers. Buildings remain from decades back, many with furniture still intact, almost as if people had just up and left. Big thanks to Jim and his lovely wife for letting us use their property for the day.. California and the Salton were the perfect start to my trip..

]]> http://tomhoops.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=417 1 http://tomhoops.com/blog/?p=390 http://tomhoops.com/blog/?p=390#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 10:45:26 +0000 Hoops http://tomhoops.com/blog/?p=390

Martin Angerbauer

It’s been a while. So here is an update on whats been happening and whats in the pipeline. First of all I can’t ignore what’s been going on in Bangkok. Many of my good friends are out there in the firing line and it’s becoming very dangerous for photographers.The city has come to a standstill and I think it’s leaving a few of us with questions about the future. I hope things settle down but one can’t help but feel that the divisions within the country are going to be extremely difficult to repair. My good friend Olivier Sarbil shoots strong compelling work and is out on the frontlines, drop by his website and take a look, you won’t be dissapointed. He’s passionate about his photography and when I called Olly to get permission to run his picture, I could hear screams and gunshots in the background, hats off to him and the other photojournalists down there bringing back some remarkable imagery.

Bangkok

On a much brighter note some of you will recognise a familiar face in the top photo, Ginger was with us again earlier this month, again we managed to shoot some great stuff and we are really happy with the results, more to come on those. Talking of Ginger, I am pleased to say he has decided to join me on my New York and London legs of the workshops, It’s a great opportunity to shoot compelling portrait work. I only have a few spaces remaining, so contact me if you would like to attend.

Lastly plans are finalised now for a September trip into the Algerian Sahara. Myself and UNHCR photojournalist Phil Behan will be taking guests deep into the Sahara on a photographic adventure.. Feel free to email me for further details.

The next week or so I’ll be getting ready for the US and UK, I will have my book with me and will be meeting editors, art buyers and anyone else willing to give me 5 mins. Also very excited about meeting some of the lovely people who have been in contact with me over the past year or so..

See you somewhere soon..

Travel and Leisure May 2010

On magazines stands around South East Asia from May 1st. Cover and full editorial.

Thanks to everyone involved, we had great fun shooting this.

Hoops workshop

As some of you may know I’ll be in the states in June for my 2010 workshops

Here’s my itinerary for the next few months.

April: South East Asia

May 29: USA, American workshops

LA

Palm Springs 5/6 June

San Francisco 12/13 June

Miami 16/17 June

Chicago 19/20

New York. 26/27

July: London 10/11 July

August :Ko Lipe  Swimwear workshop

September: Algeria Photo tour.

I’m now taking bookings for the workshops, email me for further details.

With a number of days to spare I’ll be doing some testing also, anyone wanting to pop along for those, please contact me directly.  I will also set some time aside for portfolio reviews and private time for anyone who wants it.

Looking forward to meeting many of you.

proud to be

Calling for  subjects willing to be part of a photographic project on the subject of pride.

Are you proud of something?

Proud to be an American, proud to be gay/straight? proud to be a firefighter, proud of your toy collection, proud to hate, proud to love, proud of your plastic surgery, proud of your heritage, proud of your weird pets, proud of your religion, proud of something you made.?

I want to hear from you. It doesn’t have to be anything specific, just drop me a line and let me know.

Send me an email  and tell me your story. It does not matter what you look like, where you live or how strong you feel about something, chance are that if you are writing to me you have a passion for something.

For those I choose I’ll be along to shoot your portrait, time and distance permitting. I’ll be in the States and Europe this summer.

The project will eventually form an exhibition and everyone participating will receive a signed print.

email: Iamproudtobe(at)gmail.com

So why do some photographers feel the urge to plagiarise?  Some think it will help them learn, others think they won’t get caught, some would just like to be able to shoot something similar to their favorite photographer, the vast majority don’t do it for financial gain and probably mean no harm.

Ultimately though the more you copy the less you’ll become your own person. The less likely you are to stand out from the crowd. You wont generate your own ideas, you wont experiment, you’ll look to others to do it for you and in the end you’ll never achieve what you probably set out to do when you picked up your first camera.

Tom Hoops

Unknown

print,limited edition, poster,portrait,thailand

Have added several more prints to the print site.  Hoopsprints

Thanks to those of you who have bought prints,both poster and limited editions.

More to come in the following weeks. If you have any questions, please do drop us a line.

You will, I’m sure notice a major difference between this post and those on my previous blog. You can now do all sort of exciting things like subscribe to RSS feeds etc. it’s a proper functioning blog. So comment away, add me and do your best. A huge thanks to noostyle design for helping me get this off the ground.
Plans on my side include, updating more often, interviews with photographers,editors etc, showcase of local talent. the odd tutorial and whatever else i can think of, so do please subscribe and keep me on your radar.
If there is anything you would like to see in particular, please let me know. looking forward to pushing interesting and useful information your way.