Behind-the-scenes on First Generation project
ABOUT US
Hi, we are Darrin and Sharon Henry.
Capricorn Studios is our multi-media production and design company, based on our home island of St Helena.
From VHS Tapes…
In 1994 we produced our first video; a documentary called ‘Ascension Island – Living On The Rock,’ and with it our original business name, ‘Capricorn Video’ was born.
Photography and videography up to that point was mostly just a hobby, a fun side-line pursuit while working on Ascension.
Fast forward 11 years, we were now self-employed entrepreneurs on St Helena, offering services in photography, videography and IT. We were also opening Jasper’s Cards & Gifts, a small high street shop in Jamestown.
At this point, Capricorn Video was renamed, ‘Capricorn Studios.’
In the years since, the buzz of developing new business ideas has never gone away.
A Small Market Place
St Helena is tiny, with a tiny population to match, just 4,450, give or take a flight or two.
It’s an extremely limited customer-base to establish any sort of business on, and more so for one like ours centred around non-traditional type services.
This makes it difficult to specialise in one area too much. Developing a range of skillsets and embracing an open, flexible and adaptive approach to opportunities has been essential to remaining viable.
It does mean an interesting and diverse assortment of jobs over the years, which is a major part of what has made the Capricorn adventure so much fun.
The Things We Do
Photography is still the underlying passion driving everything we do.
Videography, or filmmaking, is making a comeback in our portfolio of services.
What The Saints Did Next, is our photography blog, launched in 2015. It’s where we share our ‘Adventures in Photography’ and includes our social media channels which are quite active.
In 2019 we designed an app for the first time – called Inside St Helena. It’s a combined interactive business directory and tourist guide book, a first for the island, which is free to download.
Graphic Design is a capability and an enjoyment that’s evolved organically from hundreds of hours photo and video editing. Today we utilise a range of creative software tools that includes the powerful Adobe line-up, including Photo Shop, Illustrator, InDesign and Premiere Pro.
Website design & maintenance – we offer a complete service, including international domain purchase, site design and build, hosting and annual maintenance. Samples of sites we’ve built already include the St Helena Public Service Jobs, for the HR department of St Helena Government, the Audit St Helena site, the Travel St Helena holiday accommodation booking website and Fowler’s Townhouse self-catering accommodation.
T-shirts and baseball caps. Souvenir design was something we started in our shop, Jasper’s, (2005-2010). Today we supply these items wholesale to local outlets and also via mail order in Capricorn Studios online shop.
Big Picture Tours is our photography workshop-themed hiking tours. We also provide a more traditional, sightseeing tour guide experience for small groups which can be customised to suit particular interests.
Cultural Changes
As photographers and videographers, we have grown to appreciate the opportunity and contribution our skills can bring towards documenting and sharing the island’s history and its people. This has probably become the most enjoyable element of the various things we do.
Much of this can be seen within many of the blog stories posted on, What The Saints Did Next.
Over recent years we have organised three significant photography exhibitions on St Helena:
- Roots & Shoots (2009)
- Labour Take-On Time (2016)
- First Generation (2018)
We’ve observed how wonderfully engaging and effective exhibitions can be. How to make a fourth exhibition a reality is a constant discussion, with no shortage of ideas for themes and content. Ongoing impacts from the Covid-19 crisis, however, makes this even more of a viability challenge for now.
Collaborating
We are always keen to work on project ideas that make use of the Capricorn Studios services, both locally and internationally.
We have supplied stock photographs and also been commissioned for specific shoots, for magazines and newspapers around the world.
Our photo and videography capability has included a drone since the end of 2020.
Do get in touch if you are interested in any of our services.