I had a photo shoot with Zebra and Giraffe at the end of November last year and it’s been a really crazy busy time since then but their guitarist, Alan Shenton filmed and edited a short video of our time together on his iPhone 3GS.

This is the video. Hope you are all well. Marcus

I had a really good photo shoot with the band Zebra and Giraffe during December in South Africa and as always it was a pleasure working with them. We shot at a dam during mid day so the sun was as strong as it could be so thank goodness for sun glasses and Profoto-7b kits to fill in.

I was assisted by my buddy Ravi Panchia who’s work is definitely worth checking out and my dad came and joined in to take some behind the scene shots (“Thanks dad”) so I thought I would get a few of these up as well as a photo or two from the shoot. You can see more of these on my music photography blog.

On my recent trip back to South Africa, I was lucky enough to spend the day with my good friend Brad (also known as Ballnut). He is busy finishing off his commercial pilots license so we spend the morning flying around the beautiful sky from Rand Airport in Germiston to Sun City for a good breakfast at a place full of special memories. Brad and I always have a super time hanging out and normally act like “mullets” so I thought that I had to be nervous flying with him but he was super focused and it really was one of the nicest flights I have ever had.

The sky was amazing and it was the perfect day to be up and after our breakfast I decided to shoot a quick portrait or two with him in front of our mini aircraft just before taking off again. The sun at this time was now super harsh and it was hot like hell but I made a plan and really like the way these came out. The first is my favourite because it reminds me exactly of how Brad is.

Good times.

So I have been working like crazy lately which is a good thing but I hate that I have so much new work to show and no where to show it. I mean, I really liked the way my old website looked but it really just was too much distraction as apposed to just showing off the photographs. It’s always hard to think of the best way to showcase online because I do not like Flash based websites purely because I have seen so many people having issues using them and in the end I think I wanted to make sure that mine would be as user friendly as possible. The website I had also never allowed me to put the photos up at a decent size so with all this in mind I have created a new one from scratch and although I am still filtering through photographs and updating the content, there is a good amount up so that I can release it.

If you have a chance, make sure to check out www.marcusmaschwitz.co.uk and have a look. As I said I am still busy uploading content so keep checking back.

This is a screen grab of the home page, hope you like.

Earlier this year I was introduced to a band called We Are The Ocean and since that day I think I have become one of their biggest fans. Their music is amazing and I get it perfectly, their live show is incredible and the guys in person are just really down to earth and it’s always clear that they are doing this purely because they love it. They have come a long way this year having just signed a record deal which will bring the release of their OVER waited full length album and they start their headline UK tour next week which is going to be one that you cannot miss out on.

Anyway I worked with they guys not so long ago and although our time together to shoot was quite short because of things running off time, we managed to get some pretty good portraits. The guys were really happy with them and will be using the one below for a poster on their up coming tour. It will be good to see it large.

The main reason for this post though is because I was just sent the link to their new music video for “Look Alive” which is the first single on their album. It was done in collaboration with the guys at Criminal Damage and it’s bound to get anyone excited about the stuff they are doing. What’s not to like? Liam and Dan’s voices are so different but so complementary in the stuff they do together and the rest of the band have an amazing input to their sound. I like it lots.

Check out the video below and make sure to check out their stuff when the album launches in January. I have a feeling it is going to become one of my favourites.

Earlier this month I was booked to shoot Bloc Party’s live show in Brighton and seeing as they are one of her favourite bands we decided to make a day of it. We rented a smart car (which ended up being a ton of fun on its own) and then drove down for a day in a place that we really love a lot. Later that afternoon we made our way to the venue for one of the best shows that I have worked at this year. It was a good time.

Below is a photo of my girl with our smart car in Devils Dyke and then 3 of my most liked images from the show.

I hope you are all well. Marcus

A few weeks ago I photographed a bunch of really nice guys from the band Chromatone for them to market their new EP which has just been released. It was a pleasure working with them and their music is really exciting and something I am sure we will all hear more of in the future.

I just received a copy of their EP in the mail and it came out really well. They worked with the crew at Three 29 Design on the artwork and they did a super job.

My friend Andrea is an incredible writer and I have been a huge fan of her work for a long time now. She started up a personal blog earlier this year where she went by the name of Rant Chick and used the blog to rant her ideas and it is always a pleasure to read. Since then she has also reviewed live music shows, band albums, restaurants, movies and other general things of interest and now she has decided to go freelance. I think it is about time and really back her up all the way because of the quality and truth behind her writing.

If you are in any need of writing that is fresh, honest and entertaining then you should keep her in mind and check out her personal website on andreazanin.co.uk

It’s been a while since I posted some personal stuff so this is my attempt and a start of more to come.

My Friends Jude and Trysie had a beautiful little boy together (Kane) and that was just over a month ago. He is amazing and just too cool. I have wanted to shoot photos of him since he was born but things have obviously been a little crazy as they adjust to having him around and making sure to keep him safe. We decided to try shoot some quick spontaneously at probably the worst time because he was ready to sleep and his big sister was really not happy that he was getting all the attention. Anyway, I shot a few that came out alright but I hate posting stuff that I am not really happy with so I am going to make sure to do this again soon and then get some really good ones up although I do think that these are cute.

I wish my friends all the best in being his new parents. We love you guys so much and are really here if you need anything.

The boys from the amazing Zebra and Giraffe just did an online interview and one of my portraits for Greg was used. I really love this photograph so I have decided to post it on here. I shot this at the end of last year (2008) just before I moved to the UK. We were shooting their music video for Oxymoron and during scene changes I shot a few portraits of the guys through my Yashica. Basically I set up my Yashica Mat-124G Camera on a tripod and focused it as I normally would and then I took my nikon D3 with my 60mm Micro lens attached and photographed the viewfinder of the Yashica. So essentially this is a photo of what was I could see through the set up old amazing medium format camera.

Anyway, this is a grab of the interview but you can see the actual one on here so check it out. The boys are on their way to Kenya this weekend for the MTV Africa Music Awards so I am holding thumbs that they take over there.

Currently listening to : Alexisonfire – Born and Raised.