Seamus uncovered!

Had the pleasure of being interviewed by the very pleasant Suzanne Kentish for The Photography Parlour, a nicely put together photography blog aimed at professionals and keen amateurs. To read the piece and discover more about the blog, please click here.

Downton Abbey Spoof for Comic Relief

A wonderful couple of days spent with the cast and crew of Comic Relief's hilarious take on hit period drama Downton Abbey.  Uptown Downstairs Abbey airs this Friday night as part of Red Nose Day on BBC1. To recreate the poster I had the privilege of photographing, among talented others, Harry Enfield, Jennifer Saunders, Victoria Wood, Kim Cattrall, Joanna Lumley, Tim Vine and Simon Callow. A good day to be a photographer.

Samantha Womack

A Reader's Digest cover shoot with a very nice person, Samantha Womack. Samantha had just returned from Kibera in Kenya (Africa's largest slum) where she had been filming a fundraising documentary for Comic Relief. She had also just announced her departure from Eastenders.

The Pies have it

Four charming chaps shot for the new Ginsters campaign. Actors Gareth Farr, Keir Charles, Samual Anderson and Tom Kane piled on their best smooth and smarmy expressions to win over the ladies in their lives. Agency: Grey London. Creatives: Nick Rowland and Giles Montgomery.

Boys and Girls

A crazy day helping to launch new kids clothing brand Boys & Girls. When not on set the kids enjoyed their own freestyle shoot in one of Boothnation's booths. A great set of images from a very cool bunch of kids.

Giving it large

My hard working agents, Morgan Lockyer, have just revamped their website so that all the work can be viewed full screen. They have a hugely talented stable of photographers (present company excluded of course) so well worth a visit. Click here to see the lush site.

Erin O Conner alive and well

Supermodel Erin O'Conner spent the day at the studio in one of our booths creating the coolest of shots for her new venture 'She Died of Beauty". Teaming up with  stylist to the stars Kate Halfpenny, the talented duo have created an ethically produced range of t shirts and bags each bearing a tongue in cheek fashion statement. Click here to see the results.

The Little People

Adults tend to deal with having their portrait taken in a number of ways, the most common being; abject fear, a fixed smile, or their own version of Blue Steel.  Capturing something of their true character can at times be something of an ordeal. Children, and in particular toddlers, are a joy. Blissfully unaware of society's insistence that we must always look fabulous they are just themselves. Relaxed, bored, happy or sad, it's all good. These are just a few of the hundreds of little people it's been my privilege to photograph at the Sunday Shoots.

Dita Von Teese- A Pop Up Shoot

A really enjoyable shoot in the company of Dita Von Teese at the launch party of Cointreau's 'My Private Coffret' held in Selfidges Personal Shopping area.  Everyone enjoyed posing in Dita's set and instant colour accented and branded black and white photographs were presented to all those who took part. To find out more about our Pop Up Shoots please contact Boothnation.

The Emeco Navy 111 launch at Conran

At Conran's invitation I helped launch the Navy 111, a modern take on Emeco's classic chair on September 23rd. The chair is made from 111 recycled Coca Cola bottles and comes in six fetching colours. Our shoot was a multi media affair involving a rotating set, three stills and one video camera. Production on a short film of the event has begun. Watch this space for updates. Images from the rotating set are already online and can be viewed here.

It's all a Blur!

A lovely day away from the Big Smoke to shoot Alex James for a Readers Digest cover. His 'very big house in the country' is simply stunning, a rural idyll filled with small children and countless outbuildings. Alex was charm itself, happily hauling his bass across the landscape for the shoot.

Leaves a bad taste....

The brief was to photograph two children who look like they had just put a foul bug in their mouth. Despite their undoubted acting prowess the youngsters struggled to communicate real disgust. Enter devious art director Paul Ray from agency Rees Bradley Hepburn with a small bag of what must surely be the worst tasting sweets ever created. They come from Sweden and can only be bought in Leicester for some reason. They taste like rotten herring. I tried one and almost gagged. The children lasted longer and produced a range of suitably appalled expressions. They really did suffer for their art.

The shoot was to advertise the Natural History Museum's 'Eating Creepy Crawlies Exhibition' at Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester which runs from July 30th to Auguest 29th.

Charm itself!

This is Charming Baker , one of my favourite artists who has just had a hugely successful show in New York. I took this shot and others in early May one week before the opening. Charming had just emerged from months of self enforced exile in his studio and seemed happy to be  back in society. Click here to read a great review from the Telegraph. To see his website, click here. I can testify that his name is not a misnomer.

Empire Awards

Coming just after the Oscars and the Baftas (which also featured Boothnation) the Jameson Empire Film Awards are widely regarded by film buffs to be the movie award ceremony of choice. Empire Magazine asked Boothnation to add an element of fun in the VIP area using our retro futuristic Photostream booth. Stars including Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Stephen Merchant and Simon Pegg showed their creativity in a great series of images. Images from the booth then formed part of Empire Magazine's  Awards feature in the June 2010 issue. Click here to see more stars from the night on the Empire site.

Toon Army!

I have always had a soft spot for Newcastle and the Geordies. A beautiful city, full of character. I spent an interesting few days as a visiting lecturer to the talented students of Newcastle College.  This is the image the students came up in one of our studio sessions. The threatening man holding the birdcage is Graham Stouph, one of the dedicated course leaders. The escapees are the students. All the images were shot and retouched by the students themselves. Creativity is alive and well in the North East.

Many thanks to top lecturer Jacky Longstaff for getting me out of London and for her warm hospitality.

Table Talk

Last week's Sunday Shoot, not very imaginatively titled 'Table Top Portraits' was both fun and sombre in equal measure. I enjoyed it so much I may repeat the theme next Sunday. Many thanks to all who took part. To see more of the project please click here.

Keep Mum!

If there's one person we all listen to, it's our Mum. Whatever her size a mother can strike fear in even the toughest of people. Ad agency St. Lukes came up with this clever solution to their client Centrica's  need to communicate to their staff the importance of protecting client data. Their masterstroke was to use actual mothers of members of the Centrica workforce in the campaign. The images were used as posters, notepads, mousemats and even life sized cut outs in the offices. Mums were sent to me from around the country for their shoot. We had a lot of fun on set and the campaign, by all accounts, has already had a marked effect on awareness among staff. many thanks to the spirited mums who took part. Hats off to creative team Jamil Bhatti and Natalia Frizzi for another corker.

Kerrygold

All hail the new Nancy! This is the latest poster from my recent shoot with Kerry Ellis who takes over the role of Nancy from Jody Prenger on March 29th.  Kerry has just finished two years playing the role of 'Elphaba' in the London production of "Wicked' and has a huge following.

I was lucky to see Jody's last show the other night. Suffice to say she really put her heart and soul into her final performance. Her curtain call was very touching with a warm tribute from Griff Rhys Jones.

The Oliver website has some videos from my shoot with Jody, Griff and Steven Hartley. Click here to view.

Timber Post

After many weeks of trying I finally managed to restart my Sunday Shoots projects. This one is called Timber!!! for obvious reasons. Once more, I'm blown away by the amazing subjects who turn up on any given Sunday. Click here to see this week's weekend wonders.

Boothnation in Style

The Sunday Times Style Magazine ran a four page fashion/beauty feature last weekend shot entirely in one of Boothnation's booths. Five of Storm Models finest spent a day in the studio getting into the party spirit. Everyone, including me, seemed to enjoy the freedom of shooting this way. Beauty lighting, no photographer and a curtain seems to do the trick. Stunning styling by Sharon Ridoynauth with hair by Lydell Mansfield and make up deftly applied by Andrew Gallimore. To see a larger version of the spread please click here.

Paper Portraits

In last Sunday's shoot I inadvertently did my bit for the environment. It's an age old dilemma for photographers everywhere. What to do with those giant rolls of paper once they have reached the end of their life. Out with the Stanley knife and on with a shoot. The red colour is a blatant nod towards the forthcoming festivities. Mouths to feed and all that. A fun shoot. To see the project please click here.

Not the nine o clock news

My second Fagin this year! How wonderful to have the cast and crew of the West End's finest in my East End den once more. As a long time fan of Griff Rhys Jones it was a deep pleasure to see him emerge from make up as an utterly convincing Fagin. He stayed in character throughout the shoot which created a very edgy atmosphere in the studio. Griff brings an incredible intensity to the role while at the same time being very, very funny. I'm no theatre critic but I will eat my hanky if he doesn't get the best reviews of his career. Griff takes over the role from Omid Djalili on December 14th. Click here for more information.

Don't cry for me...

Often when people hear I give up my Sundays to hold my open shoots there is a palpable air of sympathy in their response. 'Oh, poor you' they say. Sometimes, I'll admit, I play along with the sentiment as all attention is gratefully received. My enormous Catholic guilt, however, dictates that I must once and for all admit that I am actually having the time of my life each Sunday. Although very happily married I have chosen this set of images, shot over an hour or two, to illustrate what I may have missed had I been brunching with the snooze papers a few Sundays ago. These shots come from a project titled 'Stars on Sunday'. To see more, including men and children click here.

Claude-Michel not miserable

Claude-Michel Schonberg is a living legend in musical circles. Along with lyricist Alain Boublil he is responsible for creating, among others, Les Miserables, Martin Guerre and Miss Saigon. Together they have played a major part in the revival of musical theatre. As he prepares for a new worldwide tour of Les Miserables (starting in Cardiff) Claude-Michel thought it was time for a new shot. His last one had served for no less than fifteen years. An involved yet enjoyable shoot with a man of obvious sensitivity. As someone who can't even play a tin whistle I am always a little in awe of those who really understand music.

Eyes wide shut

Yesterday saw the launch of the RNIB's new campaign which calls on all of us to contemplate the question, 'What would you lose from your life if you lost your sight?'. In the UK each day one hundred people are told they will lose their sight, only eight of whom can be given support. The RNIB want to increase awareness of the situation and need a great deal more funding to help many more people in coping with such devastating news.

Despite the sombre subject matter, the shoot was a great pleasure to do. All the subjects are real people (i.e. not models or actors) who gave up their time for a very worthy cause. Special thanks to the rugby players from Hampstead RFC who happily put up with hours of mud splattering and press ups.

As a portrait photographer I am conditioned to concentrating on eye contact in my subjects. Removing the eyes from the equation presented a new and fascinating challenge. It says a lot of the subjects that they could still communicate so well without seeing.

Working with agency St Lukes and the committed team at RNIB made this a dream job for an old snapper. To find out more about the campaign and to get involved please click here.

Beth the Boxer

Butter wouldn't melt in Beth Chalmers' mouth. Her honeyed Home Counties voice has guaranteed her a career in radio and in voicing audio books. Her acting credits include Midsummer Murders and a range of comedies. She is every inch the broadcast professional not to mention a fun girl to be around.

After work, however, things are a little bit different. A few years ago Beth took up boxing to keep fit. Spotted by trainer Pieter Vodden, Beth was encouraged to move from punching bags to people. It turned out she was rather good. Beth recently fought her first competitive fight in London's studio Valbonne. As a witness I can testify she is a terrifying opponent. She lost the fight by a mere point.

My brief, for the Readers' Digest, was to show the two sides of Beth, as it were. I'm a big fan of both!

Loving Squeeze

Another wonderful discovery from my Sunday Shoots; the amazing Liz Wilson and her lovely family. Liz, together with husband, Wellington and their two gorgeous children Marvin and Larissa were unwittingly recommended by me as the perfect family for an advertising commission I received. They got the job.

The brief, for the Vauxhall Zafira through agency Draft FCB, involved showing how cramped our family are in their existing car. Squashing everyone up against a huge sheet of perspex would be difficult at the best of times. Including a tiny baby and her toddler brother was asking for trouble. In spite of all this the family rose to the challenge showing endless patience and good spirit.

Liz, by the way is a very talented jewellery designer. Click here to see her work.

Malfoy not a baddie!

Poor Tom Fenton, best known as Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, is a much maligned man. I say man as he has come of age and is now ready for roles that don't necessarily turn an audience against him. Apparently small children still cower in his presence.

This shoot, for a piece in Reader's Digest, was one of the most pleasant I can remember. Tom is warm, bright and has a great sense of humour. Chillax kids!

Harry Patch

I was saddened this week to hear of the passing of Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches of the Western Front in World War 1. He had reached the age of 111 and was briefly Europe's oldest man. I had the pleasure of photographing him in 2003 in his nursing home in Wells. Aged 105 at the time he was sprightly and entertaining and, if memory serves me, quite a hit with the ladies.

As a centurian Harry became something of a celebrity. He had a cider, Patch’s Pride, named after him, and was awarded an honorary degree by Bristol University, where he had worked on the Wills memorial 80 years earlier. He also received the Legion d’Honneur from the French government.

Harry became Britain's oldest author in 2007 when he published " The Last Tommy Standing". Radiohead paid tribute to him this week with a beautiful track entitled "Harry Patch (IN Memory Of)". All proceeds from the track go to the British Legion.

To find out more about Harry's life click here.

The Photostream has landed

This must rank as one of my all time wackiest ideas. Drawing inspiration from the moon landings (yo Buzz), the Jetsons, Marvel comics and  the Airstream caravan,  I am now the proud owner of what must surely be the world's most over designed (in a nice way) photobooth. The 'Photostream' is a celebration of the  retro-future design styles of the 50s and 60s, a time when modernity always came clad in aluminium and rivets. 

Grappling with the compound curves and design headaches were ace modemakers Applied Arts. Their patience and skill is a testament to their 'can do' attitude. So refreshing in an age of negativity.

The interior of the booth, which I have yet to photograph, continues the theme with moulds from 1950s tv screens forming the light sources and a number of other surprises. 

In keeping with Boothnation's tradition, 'beauty lighting' and a wind machine are there to ensure that the pictures are out of this world (sorry, very corny I know).