Explore Independent Cambridge - Perry Hastings

With the help of Independent Cambridge - the community of ‘real’ Cambridge - Cambridge Network continues its weekly exploration of the best independent shops, cafés, restaurants, people, businesses, venues and events in Cambridge and the surrounding area. This week: photographer Perry Hastings.

Perry Hastings has been capturing life through a lens since he was just 10 years old, inspired by both his big brother’s passion for photography and the dark room his father built in the family cellar. When he wasn’t printing old negatives of aeroplanes, he’d be out and about with his father’s old Finetti camera, taking shots of his pals playing football. And so the foundations were laid for a remarkable career.

Today, working from his Cambridge studio – established back in 1984 – Perry describes himself as ‘a Jack of all trades, and a master of photography’. Certainly his portfolio is incredibly diverse, featuring everything from mouth-watering food and flamboyant fashion, to inspiring architecture and commercial shots for pharmaceutical companies, taken all over the UK and Europe. And of course Cambridge, with its timeless beauty and iconic buildings, provides constant inspiration and a plethora of clients from the world of science and technology. Eight years ago, Perry – who works alongside graphic designer Eloise Varin – branched out into video, and has filmed various shorts, enjoying the way that video adds a dimension of storytelling to his craft.

Always in demand, the secret to Perry’s success, he believes, is his ability to problem solve, which can conjure up stunning images, like the time he sprayed oven chips with WD-40 to give them an appetising lustre (it worked a treat, apparently!). With a role so varied, one day can involve hanging out of the back of a fast-moving car to photograph a motorbike courier, and the next scaling St Paul’s Cathedral to picture a structural engineer at work in the dome, it’s no wonder that Perry remains as enamoured today as he was aged just 10, watching watery pictures come to life on glossy paper. What’s not to love?

Perry Hastings Photography & Video
Tel: 01223 244999
www.perryhastings.co.uk

Discover unique boutiques and boutique hotels mingled with communities of artists and craftspeople. Sample an award-winning restaurant or thriving little café tucked away in a back street – all easy to locate via the comprehensive Independent Cambridge directory.  It features hundreds of local traders, artists, makers, producers, venues and events – all of which play a part in the real life of the city and local area. Run by long-term residents with a true passion for all things indie, the site is packed with valuable insider knowledge of the local scene. And whoever you are - resident or visitor; whatever you search for, read about and choose to visit, you can be sure it’s independent!



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