Sony UK announces The Sony Alpha 7 Full Frame Photography Academy

From stunning landscapes to meticulous theatrical horror sets to beautifully detailed fashion portraits, Sony has brought together a diverse set of creative photography specialists to test the new, multi-award winning Sony Alpha 7 and Alpha 7R - the professional, portable 35mm full frame, interchangeable lens cameras heralded as true game changers in their field.

American photographer Joshua Hoffine’s meticulously staged images depict universal fears, from creatures lurking under the bed and in basements, to the shadowy imaginings of monsters after dark. His exclusive new commission for Sony UK, using the Sony A7, reimagines iconic monsters Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman as awkward teenagers posing for pictures with their dates at the school dance. Joshua’s work has reached cult status across the world through the hugely viral nature of his photographs. Inspired by horror films, gothic literature and fascinated by the psychology of fear, Hoffine regularly collaborates with Hollywood makeup artist J. Anthony Kosar, to produce powerfully haunting, cinematic images, using elaborate sets, props, costuming and special effects makeup.

One of the world’s most influential wide format landscape photographers, Joe Cornish will be travelling to the Lairig Ghru in the Cairngorms, Scotland, followed by a trip to Iceland, armed with the Sony Alpha 7R, to capture astounding landscapes in the beautiful light of winter moving into spring. He has previously been a judge for Wildlife Photographer of the Year, is an honorary Fellow of the RPS and hosts the Natural History Museum's Understanding Photography evenings. Celebrated for his acclaimed photography books, he owns a gallery in Northallerton, Yorkshire and has created photography commissions for the National Trust and Visit Britain to name a few.

Bay Garnett is a British freelance fashion photographer, stylist and author. She presents ‘Sunday Best’, a diverse series of portraits and people dressed up in their Sunday finery, from faces at London Fashion Week 2014 to families gathering for a Sunday Roast - all taken on the Sony Alpha 7R. Former Style Director for Matthew Williamson and consultant to Louis Vuitton, she co-founded Cheap Date magazine, is a contributing fashion editor for British Vogue and has collaborated with photographers including Juergen Teller, Bruce Webber, and David LaChapelle. Recently embarking on her own photography career, Bay Garnett’s first photographic commission was a main fashion story for British Vogue with the model Stella Tennant.

Acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Gavin Evans is renowned for his unique take on portraiture, with an extraordinary list of luminaries sitting for him, from Iggy Pop and Björk, to Dusty Springfield and Gary Oldman. In 2013 his image of David Bowie was used for the cover of the V&A's Bowie Is exhibition publication and his work has graced the pages of The New York Times to the Sunday Times. Now, with Sony’s A7 in hand, Gavin will touch the untouchables and document his forthcoming travels in India, from the slums of Kolkata, to the gypsies of Rajasthan and on to the Le Corbusier city of Chandigarh.

Sony UK is also working with a further array of acclaimed photographers as part of the Sony Alpha 7R Full Frame Photography Academy. Details to be announced.

All photography specialists will be creating images and leading workshops, bringing to life the ground-breaking and already multi-award winning new products. The commissions will take place and be released between February and April 2014.

Featuring 35mm full-frame CMOS sensors in a small and lightweight body, both the 24.3 million-pixel Sony Alpha 7 and 36.4 million-pixel Alpha 7R are truly portable cameras, allowing photographers to get the best image quality possible in a palm-sized camera body – far smaller and lighter than a bulky DSLR.

Together with the powerful new BIONZ X processor and an improved XGA OLED Tru-Finder™ with wide field of view, the interchangeable lens cameras from Sony are packed with practical features. From its dust/moisture-resistant magnesium alloy body to extensive custom controls to NFC and Wi-Fi, it is not difficult to see why these cameras are already multiple award winners.

More information on photographers:

Joe Cornish: www.joecornishgallery.co.uk

Bay Garnett: www.baygarnett.com

Joshua Hoffine: www.joshuahoffine.com

Gavin Evans: www.gavinevans.com