It’s not long since I stopped categorising my newsletters. One of the reasons I stopped was that some shoots just didn’t fit into my most common subject matters, and therefore got left behind. For example, I sat on a folder with politicians and topical/political journalists without ever sharing these. James O’Brien was one of those shoots - shot in September 2020, when the Covid lockdowns had given us a little breather to work normally again.
This was a cover shoot with James O’Brien, the politically focused news radio presenter from LBC. I first became aware of him around the time of the Brexit vote in 2016, and ever since he has become a cornerstone of reason in the conversation about Brexit as well as other politically news orientated causes.
James turned up at the studio, forthcoming, friendly and modest. That’s it with James - he’s a hard one to disagree with, but he’s always inclusive, open to listening and friendly. People have called into his show only to be cut down by his masterful ability to argue his point. However, he only cuts people off if their arguments are badly thought through or if they have been misled. In fact, he always seems to enjoy a good discussion as long as the opposing argument is well founded.
A second part of the shoot took place at LBC radio station in Leicester Square, central London. Not the easiest place to rock up with 11 bags - especially as Covid restrictions still ruled and I was asked to come without assistant. But nice to get him in his element.
Shot for the Observer Magazine
