Bridget Bailey
Richard Hoare
Julie Ayton
Debra Sweeney
Detta Fane
Peter Matthews
McCollin Bryan
Prudence Maltby
Henny Burnett
Ruth Dresman
Roger Stephens
H E Smith
Based in central Bristol
We are close to Broadmead and the People's Republic of Stokes Croft next to the end of the M32
Ground floor studio
We have garage door access for large items, good ceiling height, and a shooting distance of 10 metres
Medium format digital files
We capture at approx 9000 x 7000 pixels on a 6 x 4.5 cm sensor, more than 60 million pixels per shot
The right experience
Our knowledge of the gallery environment gives us insights into what's best for our artists
The right format
We can output your images optimised for any destination, from high quality print to web use
Colour editing in pro software
Good colour and tone reproduction isn't automatic so we have controls for selective colour
Our Services
We photograph flat artwork and three-dimensional artefacts for catalogues and reproduction. Our studio is based in central Bristol, but we will travel and work on location when necessary.
Two-dimensional artwork is normally photographed under even lighting conditions, but there are many conditions where this is not optimal. Textures, whether in paint or in textiles, will often need to new rendered as if in display conditions. This calls for natural and pleasing shadows not attainable by conventional means.
When photographing three-dimensional artefacts, we feel it is important to understand the artist’s or maker’s intentions while lighting the work. We do not take the view that one approach suits all, although there are certain qualities that are both accepted and expected by art professionals.
Camera system
We have been using Phase One digital imaging systems since 2007. Phase One provides a comprehensive imaging system comprising both hardware and software and has been a leading innovator in the field since 1998. Our current system employs more than 60 million pixels on a large sensor to capture images. This is used with both Hasselblad and Mamiya medium format cameras and lenses to provide a native reproduction size approximately A1 (76 cm x 57 cm) at 300 dots per inch. Phase One provides dedicated software to process the RAW images, offering a range of controls over colour, tone, image structure and edge sharpness.
Our History
Martin Urmson is a trained professional photography who first photographed painting and sculpture for museums in 1982. He turned freelance in 1988 and worked in the Midlands for advertising and marketing agencies producing images for clients including Barclaycard, Scottish & Newcastle and Ideal Home.
In 2003 he moved to London where he joined Clockwork Studios in Camberwell, and began working on more personal projects, at the same time developing new skills in photographing artwork.
The founding of the Urmson-Burnett Gallery & Studio in Salisbury in 2011 provided extra insights into the issue of artists’ image and presentation. The gallery presented themed exhibitions by artists using a variety of media including painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, tapestry and photography, and made no distinction between fine art and craft work. The previous gallery web site can be accessed by a link at the bottom of this page.
Bristol
The move to Bristol meant a (perhaps temporary) end of the gallery project, but offers a great deal of extra studio space. This is important in both width and length, meaning more control over lighting and extra shooting distance which flattens perspective if needed.
Access to the ground floor studio from the street is easy, and there are also wide and tall garage doors for the largest works.
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