Photo news for Cambridge Photographer Phil Mynott over 30 years of Professional experience producing quality photo imaging

A few shots from my role as host photographer at this week's royal visit to Children in Wisbech by the Duchess of Cornwall. Her Royal Highness, patron of The National Literacy Trust, visited Wisbech & Fenland Museum to celebrate the wealth of local activity that is taking place to improve the literacy skills of children and families here in Cambridgeshire.

With camera in hand I'm continually drawn to water. To be more precise, it's the visual distortion of light on water that is the main attraction. Over the years I've slowly learned to note the various visual effects and patterns created by the light on water. On first glance, it's easy to assume that there are big dissimilarities in how light behaves on, for example, a wide ocean compared with the surface of the smallest of ponds. However, there is much in common. This image, shot from Southwold Pier in Suffolk, is of a "glitter path" - the reflection of a light source (in this case, the sun) - an effect created by the the ever-changing sizes of all the individual waves and ripples. The many individual shards of 'glitters' of various sizes all amalgamate to create this dramatic distorted reflection on the water surface.

Portrait I've taken of former athlete Mary Twitchett who competed at international level and recently, this summer, a cancer patient. Mary, a nurse practitioner, is encouraging people affected by cancer to remain active. Mary talks candidly about her personal cancer experience and explains how cancer patients can reap the health benefits of a '5K your way' supportive friendly group at a 5km parkrun - on Coldham's Common, Cambridge. You can listen to Mary here.

It was a great honour to be commissioned to photograph the celebration ceremony for the completion of Dojima Sake Brewery, at the stunning Fordham Abbey, Cambridge UK. The Hashimoto family who have been brewing sake in Japan since the 1800s, are busy transforming Fordham Abbey to create a destination to showcase the best of Japanese sake, food, culture and arts.

Whenever I’m asked to photograph people in their working environment, my first lighting preference is to use any available light the location offers. I believe this approach to lighting results in a far more natural feel to the image. The portrait posted here is a great example of why such an approach to lighting works well. It’s a shot of Sunil Shah, CEO of life science-enabling business o2h, based at the historic Hauxton water Mill. His plan is to transform the mill into the o2h SciTech Park to nurture life science, technology and social enterprise. By making the most of the soft available daylight, I was able to create a simple, atmospheric, yet striking portrait of Sunil. You can learn about Sunil’s career to date and plans for the heritage site near Cambridge by clicking here.

Photo tips for sun, sea and sand and the great British summer season- (July 23rd) with Jeremy Sallis on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

With all this #Brexit shenanigans going on in #Parliament I expect you need the patience of a saint to be an #MP I just had to take this shot of Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner stood under a skylight. You can take the photographer out of the press but not the press man out of the photograher.

Photo shows Swavesey Village college student 'work experience' Joe with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire presenters Jeremy Sallis and Dotty McLeod. This week I've had the pleasure of being shadowed by Joe, so a big thank you to my clients who kindly allowed Joe access to their premises during this week's photo shoots including a Norwich based Wholesaler, Academia, Aerospace engineers and the BBC. Joe has summed up his week here -

Monday. Awoken by the early morning alarm and squinting and ambling my way through the kitchen trying to get to the cereal, I had already seen why they say schooldays are your best days. Before I knew it I was dressed in my best clothes and out the door, off to begin my first day of work experience. My place of ‘employment’ for the week was at a small photography business and was headed by my new ‘boss’, Phil.

To be honest, I was on countdown the minute I arrived. Maybe that was the voice inside of me saying “Well done mate you’ve got another eight hours of this” or the fact that I hadn’t grasped what it was like to do what my parents have done for years. As soon as I had entered then door I was straight back out again and ferried off to the first job of the day: a local international boarding school for people my age. My first challenge arose when conversation came my way. An adult? Wanting to talk to me? I froze for a moment and then came out with a somewhat intelligent response. Yet I didn’t feel stupid and the person I talked to looked as if what I was saying made sense and that’s when my first lesson hit me. In the workplace it seemed that I was treated as an equal unlike being at school with teachers. That block was gone and - as the week went on - I even instigated conversations and became involved in what was occurring as if I had been doing it for years.

I came out of my shell more and more each day. I even began to get up less groggy and miserable than the day before. People I met were no longer strangers or people I would avoid. Also, my mentor was more than keen to pass his knowledge on. Not only the challenges of running a small business, but how important it is to involve yourself with others and the key fundamentals to succeed. I understood that I had to be less like Day One me, the clock-watching misery, and more like the following days. Optimism, positivity and confidence are the key fundamentals I’ve learned in the short time I’ve spent at the business. These are attributes I can bring forward with me for years to come … and to think, I had started the week thinking that I preferred school!

*Stretch!* *YAWN!* "Wake up, Philip! You're on in five!" - i took this shot of author Philip Ardagh at this weekend's Wimpole History festival - a fantastic festival of books , more books, authors and re-enactments. My cameras and I were kept very busy on the sunday capturing portraits many of the authors and general shots of all the activity set in the stunning setting of national trust property Wimpole Hall and Estate.
Photo by @PhotoMynott Beard by @PhilipArdagh.

I'm so looking forward to this coming weekend's Wimpole History Festival (June 22nd to 24th 2018) - here's a photo flashback to share a taste of last year's 2017 festival: more info and ticket detail here.

Professor Michael Hall, microbiologist, world-renowned pioneer in the fields of TOR signalling and cell growth control, presenting 'Paradigm Shift in Biology', the 2018 Clare Hall annual King Lecture, at Robinson College, Cambridge.

Judy Murray visits David Lloyd Cambridge as Coach Consultant to teach tennis skills to young people and coaches alike.

A selection of shots to mark the end of era... Cambridge Mill Road depot, in use since 1905, is changing purpose. Current and former staff got together to share fond memories including a few who had started their careers as young apprentices and all these years later are still working hard on the front line at keeping Cambridge clean and in tip top condition. Extra points if you can spot ,in the montage, Allan Brigham former road sweeper, one time winner of the Golden Broom, local historian par excellence and University of Cambridge Hon degree recipient.

The President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, visited Cambridge to meet Panamanian students currently enrolled on the Panama Bilingue programme at Anglia Ruskin University.

One of the world’s largest teaching projects, the Panama Bilingue programme, which was established by the Panamanian government aims to equip students to become English language teachers and teach other subjects in English, as well as provide them with vital leadership skills.

It was a fun and cheerful assignment to cover with my camera - to witness enthusiasm and zest when photographing any VIP event is a great bonus and helps create interaction between the participants resulting in images far more pleasing than the usual formal handshakes.

Cambridge charity Power2Inspire promoted a new Super Sensory 1k event as part of the annual Impington Festival of Running. The event celebrates inclusion and getting disabled and non-disabled people participating in physical activity together.

It was the first event of its kind in Cambridge and the Eastern Region and its aim was to challenge preconceptions that disability and mainstream sport and physical activity must be kept separate. The event was open to all – young, old, disabled, non-disabled, walkers, runners, parents, carers and siblings.

The 1km course around the perimeter of the recreation ground had sensory stations along the route which included touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell. It was a great honour to have been engaged as official photographer for this boundary-pushing sporting event.

As photo assignments go, it doesn't get much more fun, or as long a working day, than a two-day shoot in and around Rome that I've just returned from - complete wth an impressive team organising location logistics. The shoot was a big investment of resources by my client so I appreciate the trust they continue to place in me.

This month's unexpected and unseasonal balmy heatwave may well have inspired you to grab your camera and spring into photo mode. Today I was a guest on The Jeremy Sallis show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, where I shared photo tips and answered questions from some of his many listeners about how best to capture the season of spring with a camera and a range of other photography related topics. You can listen to our conversation on BBC iplayer, which starts at approx 23mins - by clicking here.

I've learned today that the portrait photograph I took of Prof Stephen Hawking RIP, used as the author's photo in his autobiography, has now been included on the back cover of the updated edition of the 'phenomenal international bestseller' A Brief History of Time'. To say I'm feeling 'over the moon' is an understatement. I like to think that Mr Buscombe, my one-time enthusiastic physics teacher, is feeling chuffed and somewhat bemused.

The colours of any city scene can be transformed when you photograph them at night. A camera, when used correctly, is able to capture a wide spectrum and vividness of colours. It can turn an everyday scene into a shot which may well surpass your original reckoning of how effective the final shot is. Ideally I prefer to use a tripod when photographing any architectural scene at dusk or night but for this shot it was hand-held as I spotted its potential whilst on a street level-bound subway escalator in Munich Germany. I was on a deadline to catch a flight home so there was time only to see it, compose, then shoot.

Bright start on this Spring morning, a visually upbeat cycle commute into Cambridge for first diary job of the week- vibrant colours abound.