Hey all!

The Saint shoot is a tribute to the cult ITC TV show starring Roger Moore from the 1960's.  It has been in the planning for 2 months and i was lucky enough to have the actual car that Roger drove in the show.  The car is a Volvo P1800, reg No: 71 DXC aka ST1.

Everything was set for the shoot, however, one week before the shoot happened i had a major epileptic seizure at the top of the stairs, i fell from the top to the bottom during my seizure.  I ended up in hospital for 2 days.  I had broken a few of my bones between my shoulder blades and neck, so serious this was, there was even talk of neurosurgery. They said i must have a saint looking over me as i was close to ending up permanently in a wheelchair.  

I never thought i would be able to fulfil this shoot, everybody suggested that i cancelled it.  However, i pride myself in being a professional and the show must go on under any circumstance, no matter how much pain i was in during the shoot.  

I did the job and i am exceptionally happy with the results :)

I did over do it on the day, thus i had a relapse for 2 days, so now i am just going to be taking it easy for a while, if i ever know what this means lol.

I hope you love the photos as much as i do.  If you haven't seen any of the original The Saint shows, i highly recommend them!  They are still available to buy from Amazon as box sets.

Here is a link to the dedicated page on my website - The Saint.

Enjoy,
Chris xx

We at O-Ten would like to wish you a very Happy New Year! We hope it will be as prosperous for you as we are hoping it will be for O-Ten too.

The latest project O-Ten is putting together is for a recreation of the 1960's series The Saint.  So very soon we shall be on the look out for a male model who could fill the shoes of Roger Moore as Simon Templar for this photo shoot.  So if you know of anybody who would like to be Simon Templar for the day please get in touch, we love to discover fresh new talent!

Also O-Ten is looking for any aspiring models who would like stunning photos for their portfolio.  If you book for more than one shoot O-Ten will give you a fantastic discount!  

O-Ten is open to all kinds of photography, whether you would like a family photo, a gift for a friend, or something more edgy, so please get in touch to book your shoot, we look forward to hearing from you :)

Happy New Year!
Chris x 

Yes i admit it, i shot McGill! Last Sunday 11th August i shot him in a pretty tranquil setting with the kind permission from City Life Now.  The evidence of this event has been captured using my Leica with a Carl Zeiss lens.  Here is a contact sheet of the story...

The story unfolds as McGill attempts to leave his love interest behind.  She isn't happy about his departure so tries to persuade him to stay.  He has so much love for her he doesn't want to hurt her but he knows that he must go as he doesn't want to betray his loyalty to his friend Max Stein who died in his arms.  She knows that this could happen to him, so throughout the photos you will see that she is trying every which way to stop him ending the same way.  If you have seen A Variation on a Million Bucks then you will know how this ends for McGill and what he is put through to keep his promise.

Also, no matter how painful this is for McGill, he lets her go to protect her so others do not give her the same fate as his friend. 
So he is left with his car and his suitcase... the only way that he knows, but knowing that she is safe and he has kept his promise to his friend.

I would like to thank everybody who helped to make this all possible.  It is true that inspiration is only 1% and 99% is perspiration! 2 months in the making which was over seen by a very good friend Sharman Towers who runs the MIAS website, truly appreciate all Sharman's help and advice.

I truly hope that these photos will inspire you to watch Man in a Suitcase as this series has inspired films and TV shows for decades and i'm sure will do so for the foreseeable future. Tom Cruise was inspired by McGill's look when he made the film Collateral and i have noticed a few scenes from MIAS cropping up in films such as The Matrix 2?! Check out the episode Man from the Dead, there is a scene on a football pitch where McGill runs across it only to be confronted by all sides by Agents running towards him until McGill disappears under all these Agents... tell me i'm wrong?! 

Would love to read your comments, please leave a comment or two would love to hear from you, especially if you are inspired to watch MIAS from my blogs and photo shoot.  
More photos are available to see in the Man in a Suitcase Page, Facebook and Twitter.

Chris
O-Ten

So it's all arranged.  The models, the make-up, the hair, the clothes, the car and a location.  We have Rob Dawson as McGill and Bessie Yeung as his love interest, as McGill often had a love interest who he had to leave due to his work being too dangerous.  This particular love interest I believe was his true love.  She is introduced to us in the 2 part episode 'A Variation on a Million Bucks', hence the name for the photo shoot.

McGills main car was a Hillman Imp, which we are borrowing from Carol, who's a member of The Hillman Imp Appreciation Society, we truly appreciate their help and Carol's car.  To coincide with this photo shoot, it is the 50th Anniversary of this Hillman, so that's a happy coincidence and bonus!  It's a very cute inconspicuous car, which is ideal for any agent who wishes to remain unnoticeable when investigating a case.  Today's alternative, if Man in a Suitcase was made now would probably be the Fiat 500.  
The car in the photos above is not the Hillman Imp, it was very rare to see McGill with another type of car, although it was probably to throw the people who were following him off guard.

I contacted Hayley Young to do the make up as I have previously worked with her on the event O-Ten Live, when she was first training to be a make up artist.  She is an exceptionally talented artist and now has her own successful business called Hayley SFX.

The hair is to be styled by Sapphire, who has her own salon called Hair by Sapphire within the City Centre of Hull.  She has worked on a number of fashion shoots with me with the results being outstanding and is an ideal hair stylist for a photographer to work with.
I know with these 2 creative artists on board these models are in safe hands.

Through lots of research I have managed to locate the very same suit that McGill wore in many of the episodes, especially on special occasions.  The suit is by a 1960's Italian Designer Petrocelli and was purchased from Faconne in the US.  To go with this suit are many vintage ties kindly supplied from the US, links are on the Links page of Oten Photography's website.  The shirt has a distinctive rounded collar, often called in the 1960's 'penny' collar, this was kindly supplied by The Savile Row Co.  
McGill never wore a watch, rings etc., apart from a pair of comedy/tragedy cufflinks. I found these on E-Bay.  
Finally, I have added a twist to the sunglasses.  The pair that Rob will be wearing are original French Renaulds sunglasses, these are the same make that were used in the opening sequence to the original film (and best) The Italian Job and Johnny Depp wears them in the film The Rum Diaries. I bought mine from Ben Leslie on E-Bay.

I have chosen Wincomlee in Hull as the location for the photo shoot.   In many episodes of MIAS, such as 'Man from the Dead' McGill is drawn into the industrial seedy locations.

My shoot is a juxtaposition between the industrial background and the very stylish suit and evening wear that the models will be wearing, giving the shoot an editorial look.  

Last but certainly not least, I would like to give Sharman Towers who runs the MIAS Society a huge thank you, as without her help, expert knowledge and enthusiasm for this re-creation, this labour of love would not of have been possible xx

Photos will be on show on this Blog and O-Ten's website in 2 weeks.

Please check out the MIAS episodes that are available to view on You Tube. 
McGill knows how to deal with the bad guys and gals!  

Also as a bonus, this series had one of the coolest opening title theme tunes ever!

Chris xx
O-Ten Photography

Here is a link to O-Ten's Gallery on Leica's Website.  From using my Leica M2.8 camera it has inspired me to be even more creative, adding more of a conceptual approach to my work.  

I understand now why Helmut Newton said "I love my Leica"  It has freed me up from the restraints of carrying around huge SLRs and huge lenses, which can be very intimidating to your clients and subjects, especially with street photography.
Leica is not just about street photography, however, it has a strong history of war correspondence and has shot many iconic film stars in history.  Marilyn Monroe being one of the prime examples.

Leica has a depth and a soul with a filmic quality that i have never come across before.  I believe Leica have a unique way of drawing you into the picture thus giving you an empathy to the situation photographed or the story being told.

Nikon and Canon capture photos, Leica capture moments.  

Also an astounding camera for fashion.  While many would automatically grab for a medium format, which let's face it, most would have to re-mortgage their home for, the Leica still delivers adding that unique look that is so synonymous with the brand.  

In comparison to Canon and Nikon, who make thousands of their products in one week on a production line, this adds up to the same amount of cameras hand built in an entire year by Leica!  Enough said :)

Please take a look at O-Ten's Gallery on Leica's website.

Chris
O-Ten

Putting together a portfolio can be a daunting task.  Looking through every photo and making a firm decision on what is 'the' shot from that particular shoot and then it has to go through the process of elimination for my portfolio.  A portfolio should take you on a journey, not knowing what will be waiting for you on the next page, keeping it alive for the viewer to want to see it again, plus also giving you an insight as to what i can do for you and how i can help to promote your business.  I have now put together a portfolio that i am taking to London in a few weeks, as i am proud to present this.  
Of course a portfolio can never be finished, but looking through what i have achieved is pushing and inspiring me for the next shoot and the next and the next.  
I would love to hear from you to arrange a shoot and have a great concept that i can capture for you.  Please check out my portfolio photos on the 'Portrait & Fine Art' page.  Below is a photo that is inspired by Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford.

Micci Lou has now updated my 'Portrait & Fine Art' page with lots of brand new pics.  More colour, more fashion and more pretty girls lol!  Lots of photographers feel the need to over process their work, i try not to, i like to enhance what is there and not force an image to be anything than what it naturally is.  Although it is good to create and be more experimental with your images, but let's not forget the human element in all this and that's what i like to capture and present more than anything else. I hope you agree.  Please check out my new photos and thank you to everyone who has sent me kind comments, it's appreciated.

Introducing Kat to my portfolio, you can see her photo also in my portrait slideshow.  Can you believe that she has never modelled before! This is why i do this work, to give lots of people the chance to be photographed and to help them fulfil their potential as this boosts their confidence. Photoshopped by Micci Lou.

Here are some pics that i took which have now appeared in 24/Seven Magazine, April 2012 edition.  These pics are for the run up to the main event which takes place on Saturday 5th May, 11am - 4pm, Holy Trinity Church, Hull (UK).