Kenneth Branagh

Sir Kenneth Branagh, a face and name known to most.  He’s won awards for his acting as well as his directing.  Now - with a film loosely based on his own upbringing in Belfast, he’s topping this year’s award nominations for his writing and directing.  

This shoot with Kenneth was done at the House of St Barnabas in central London.  Sir Kenneth turned out to be the real gentleman I was hoping he was.  Genuine, interesting, with a quiet and gentle demeanour.  It became evident to me that this film was truly something special to him. The way he was talking about the film and the way he talked about finding someone to play himself it felt like he had put his hart and soul into it.  Now that the awards season in upon us it is great to see that a film with such personal meaning from a director such as Kenneth has made it to the top of the nomination bill.  


Shot for Sunday Times Culture

Anna Jones

This Anna Jones shoot took place about a year ago, but I never got around to posting it before now.  As we’re in January, all struggling through the New Years resolution to get a little healthier and help the environment, I thought there would be no better person to start the year off with than Anna Jones.  As far as I am concerned, Anna has written the bible of vegetarian cooking “A Modern Way to Eat”, a book she has followed with her “One Pot, Pan, Planet”.  The latter is a book that does not only encourage vegetarian cooking but also how we can cook in a more environmentally friendly way. This shoot was to support an OFM article about Anna Jones and her work as one of UK’s most cherished vegetarian cook book writers.

Shot for OFM

Lauren Laverne

Our radio DJs have been saviours for many of us people during lockdown.  This shoot with Lauren Laverne was shot in true Covid lockdown fashion; outside and socially distanced.  Just outside the BBC Radio broadcast building in Central London, we waited,  ready to photograph Lauren as she finished her breakfast show for BBC6 Music.  It was requested that I took some shots of her with the iconic BBC entrance behind her, but when I looked across the street, I saw a building site that made for a much more interesting image.  Especially in contrast with Lauren’s flowery dress.  

Shot for Observer New Review

 
 

Asma Khan

The first time I met Asma was when I sat down for delicious lunch at Sabrina Ghayour’s place, after having completed a shoot with Sabrina. I remember clearly that Sabrina was boasting about how good a chef Asma was, and told me of her pop up restaurant in Soho.  A few years later, Asma has not only got her own restaurant in the middle of Covent Garden, a restaurant that is packed full every day, but she is also the first British chef to have appeared on the popular Netflix TV series  ‘Chef’s Table’.  Not a bad undertaking at all!

I have since worked with Asma a couple of times, but this shoot for ‘Cook’, Corriere della Sera’s food magazine, was the best one.  We had two days with Asma, eating at her restaurant, being introduced to her flat where her dinner club dining experiences all started, but best of all - experiencing Asma!  Asma is warm, genuine and very funny.  Her restaurant is made up of a team of chefs that she is personally connected to, all women whom lived in London but missed a community and a connection with their home countries.  Asma gave them a community in the kitchen and they together created a cultural experience through their food.  

My biggest regret with the shoot was that I had a massive cold, so I could not get the full experience of the food.  So it’s now a case of queuing up in a line with celebrities such as Keira Knightley, David Schwimmer and more to get the full experience again.  Unless - (“Asma - are you reading this??? - nudge, nudge…”)

Shot for Cook Magazine