Dawn French

Comedian Dawn French photographed in Plymouth

Photographed for Saga Magazine

Johnny Knoxville

The dude of dudes - Johnny Knoxville!!!  I personally think that a picture of Johnny in the dictionary next to the word ‘dude’ is appropriate.  

You know it’s a great day when you get to meet the man himself, even if we were restricted to a hotel room in Central London.

When I had the chance to photograph Knoxville, I thought I’d get to use some of my more edgy ideas - however, they were turned down ahead of the shoot.  So I livened up to the shoot with a few milder ideas that I hadn’t pitched up ahead.  Lastly, I left my iron, that I had brought to iron out a fabric backdrop, lying visible next to the set.  When I started shooting Johnny I suggested more things.  He said no to some of them, but came back with some crazy Johnny poses.  Then he spotted the iron and picked it up - just as I had hoped - Johnny continued by Ironing his bum and crotch - classic Knoxville style!

Shot for G2 

Joe Lycett

Joe Lycett is not only a funny comedian, but he has a great ability to turn the aggressors into victims.  Many big companies, parking enforcement offices, fraudsters and even the government have been on the receiving end of Joe’s sharp wit and ability to turn the tables. His latest letter was a fake leak of the Sue Grey report - the report that is supposed to shed light on the many parties held by the government offices during Covid lockdown. So - to show how Joe turns the tide around and make the aggressors the victim, I chose to have him photograph me whilst I photograph him.  I found that to be a representation of the kind of humour that Joe is known for.  I also wanted to create a setup that hinted to the Sue Grey/Partygate incident.  I had an idea of writing letters on balloons and having them turn into an anagram of, for example “Downing Street Party”.  However, the anagrams for this and many other things I tried weren’t really relevant.  In Joe’s fake report leak he referred to ‘Downing Street’ as ‘Down It Street’ - and this became what I tried to show instead.  By taking the ‘ing’ off ‘Downing’, popping the ‘g’ and turning the ’N’ into a ’T’ - Joe had successfully turned ‘Downing’ into ‘Down it’.  And the street balloons remained.  

Lastly, I just wanted to create fun, interesting and colourful images that didn’t have any concepts connected to them.

Joe was brilliant!  Fun, down to earth, easy to talk to and followed and contributed to my instructions.

Shot for Observer Magazine

Munya Chawawa

The world of lockdown has seen the emergeance of comedians whom have actively used social media and online platforms.  Munya Chawawa is one of these comedians.  He’s best known for his portrayal of the posh rapper called “Unknown P” and the chef “Jonny Oliver”.  Now - Munya is not only online but also the star of TV programs such as “Complaints Welcome”.

As soon as Munya came to the shoot it was evident that music is of great importance to him.  He took over the Spotify playlist and started playing one tune after the other.  

A few set poses but also the freedom to move and jump created the images I wanted.  

Shot for Observer Magazine

Flashback!

The Guardian Weekend Magazine has just had a redesign and relaunched under the new name Guardian Saturday Magazine. With the new redesign they have introduced the weekly feature ‘Flashback’. This weekly feature is about celebrities contributing a picture from the old days and they tell a story about that picture and that time in their lives. I have been been commissioned to do most of these shoots and so far it’s been very challenging but also really fun. Here are the first 4 shoots in the series that I have been involved in, with the help of Andie Redman who is responsible for the props and set:

• Sophie Elis Bextor and mum Janet Ellis

• Pepsi and Shirley

• Sindhu Vee and her dad

• Jamie Lang

Shot for The Guardian Saturday Magazine

Isy Suttie

I knew Isy best for her part as Dobby in the brilliant sit com show Peep Show.  So before this shoot I thought I’d arm myself with some additional Isy Suttie knowledge.  She’s brilliant at combining music and comedy - one of the hardest things to do well in the world of comedy.  Some of her best live performances is exactly this - Isy with a guitar, armed with comedy gold lyrics.  

Isy was very sweet on the day.  The ideas I had came organically, using what I had to hand at the studio and Isy’s willingness to play ball.  We also lucked out as her Paul Smith top made her totally merge into a screen that was at the studio.  Nothing wrong with a bit of luck!

Shot for Observer New Review

Rafe Spall

A while back I did a shoot with the brilliant actor Timothy Spall on the roof of a car park.  A very different setting from this shoot with his son, Rafe Spall, in the slightly more slick Big Sky studios.  The rumour was that Rafe didn’t like having his photograph taken much, something I am used to, and is often the case amongst actors.  I had prepared for someone who wasn’t too keen on being there, posing in front of the camera.  I prepared by relying on colours to brighten up the shoot and creating settings that didn’t demand the talent to be hugely active.  However, who I met was a jovial, fun and relaxed Rafe -  Jokey and stylish.  Fun guy with the most perfect South East London accent.  (The kind of accent, that as a foreigner, I find cool and quintessential London.  The kind of accent you only have if you’ve got a pearly king suit to match.)

Rafe is acting in the series ‘Trying” - a light, fun series dealing with the difficult subject of trying for a child, but not succeeding.  In fact - it looks like the filming of a third series is in the pipeline, which is always a sign of a good series with great appeal.

Shot for Observer Magazine

Nish Kumar

The British have always been good at political comedy and political satire.  I remember being in the UK as a teenager and my granddad always watched Have I Got News For You - (a program that hasn’t changed in over 30 years and is still very good).  There have been many other programs finding the humour in the news and politics especially, and one of the current ones is the Mash Report with Nish Kumar.  Nish is known for Mash Report, but also his stand up comedy and other comedy performances often dealing with politics and news.  

So for this shoot with Nish I started thinking about what I could do to include a bit of humour and visually show that Nish deals with current events, news and politics in his humour.  I started thinking down the lines of using newspapers as props.  We all know the classic newspaper hats - but how about newspaper flowers, newspaper wigs, newspaper chairs and a newspaper cape?!  I spent an evening looking into how to make it all.  Emptied cupboards for tape and glue, found a good arts and crafts shop to get other bits and pieces, and lastly emptied my magazine stand for old newspapers.  

I had planned to have a boys drinks and catchup session with my friends from Norway over zoom.  Instead, I sat there, half chatting on zoom, whilst swearing over the newspaper roses for not doing what I wanted them to do.  I got there in the end, but instead of taking 30 minutes which I had at first thought would be the case, it took 5 hours. (Anyway - now I am an expert in case anyone is looking for someone to create newspaper props.)

Armed with my newspaper props I turned up at the south London studio to prepare the final things.  Nish turned up and we were ready to kick off.  Nice guy!  Just as you see him on TV.  We talked about his A-list friends whom I have worked with (James Acaster and Joel Dommet especially), the cricket club incident - (a live show at the cricket club where he was pelted with bread rolls - and they missed,) and his up and coming comedy show.  All to the backdrop of some slow dance country music.  

Shot for Observer Magazine

Stephen K Amos

Stephen K Amos is part of British comedy establishment. He has been at the forefront of the British comedy scene for as long as I can remember, and he is still funny!  I collaborated with Stephen on this shoot to get some press and marketing images for him. A tall guy, friendly, and packed with style, turned up at the shoot in east London. A friendly chat to start with, then we hit the streets to get some outdoor images before the rain. We moved up and down an alleyway before heading back into the studio again.  Change of clothes and backdrops before we managed to get Stephen moving like a Salsa God!  

Not many shoots you break up half way to enjoy Jerk Chicken, Rice and Peas.  (Certainly a first for our French groomer Celine who was also on the shoot,) only to continue the shoot with ‘belly full’ and sticky fingers.  

Shot for Stephen K Amos

Bill Nighy

Bill Nighy is one of those people you know will be good to shoot.  You can easily imagine his tall, lanky body breaking into many different moves, like Elastigirl on a disco dance floor.  His characteristic glasses are not to be mistaken and always looks immaculate in a perfectly tailored suit.  

Bill was fully engaged and involved in each set up with how he composed himself.  He told me that he, (although 70 years old,) would always be the first and last on the dance floor at any party.  That comes as no surprise as the shoot itself was almost like a dance, filled with moves and struts.

Shot for Sunday Times Culture

James Acaster

It still surprises me that some people have not yet heard about James Acaster.  I have, in the last couple of months introduced this comedy genius to at least 10 people, and that is without going from door to door selling him like a Jehovah.  He is in my eyes one of the funniest guys around, with his non offensive, quirky, off the wall stand up shows, his nonsensical presence at panel shows, creative humour at it’s best, and dare I say - literary comedy genius.  (I am of course only saying this as I have shot his two book covers and hope to have the book go down in history as literary milestone).  

Reading James’ Wikipedia, especially the section under Music Career, reads like a part of James’ comedy, and probably is.  James has turned his real life happenings into comedy gold and first came to my consciousness as a guest on the Josh Widdicombe show, where he told stories of incidents in his life.  This later also became his first book, ‘Classic Scrapes’.  For that first book cover, James brought in a lettuce head, something he used to get sent to him by fans relating to something he had mentioned on his podcast.  This latter book cover went all out and created a window space for James.  This was to give a nod to Leonard Cohen’s last album cover.  And in this book - ‘Perfect Sound Whatever’ - James talks of unfortunate incidents in his life and the power of musical a tool of comfort. 

Lastly, James is just a brilliant guy to work with.  Chilled, funny, genuine and quirky - a perfect mix.  You just can’t imagine him not being everyone’s best friend.  

Shot for Headline Publishing

Aisling Bea

I remember photographing Aisling Bea as a part of a bigger group of people just under a decade ago.  It was for a feature about people to look out for in different creative industries.  Aisling was the comedian to look out for.  Many years later, with a few comedy shows under her belt and having been an LOL creator on a few of Britain’s best panel shows, Aisling is now the supporting act in the new Netflix comedy drama “Living with Yourself”.  We met up at the Corinthia hotel where she was promoting her new show.  Admittedly, we didn’t have the most comfortable shoot planned for her.  The first section was to look casual in an empty bath.  Whilst the second involved her putting her head and arms through some pre-existing holes in my backdrop, all at slightly misjudged heights.  Aisling has either not got accustomed to the high life of celebrity to know she can complain about any discomfort she may experience, or she enjoyed the exercise that came with contorting herself into awkward positions.  In any case, she kept the mood up with good old Irish banter and an “anything goes” attitude.  One thing’s sure - Aisling totally rocks!   

Shot for Grazia Magazine

Russell Kane

If there’s a new energy drink company out there looking for a name for their product then I’d recommend ‘Russell Kane’.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with Russell on a couple of occasions and he never holds back.  It is evident in his stand up comedy as well, but the energy doesn’t stop on stage.  For this shoot we were going to create a cover for his book “Russell Kane, Son of a Silverback”.  Russell Kane’s book looks at what it is to be alpha male, gamma male (self-proclaimed), and the relationship between the two.  It’s a moving book filled with irony and plenty of laughs.  Serious and entertaining at the same time - as only Russell can do.  

(Note to London Zoo: Thanks for the loan of the Silverback.  We returned him to Sub-Saharan Africa.)

Shot for Transworld Publishers

Romesh Ranganathan

Every December there are always a few features that come my way addressing wellbeing and health, ready to be published in January the following year.  2019 was no different.  But instead of the normal feature that makes you feel bad about all the self improvement memberships you haven’t signed up for in the New Year, or for those who fell at the ‘will-strength hurdle’ as soon as your friends asked you out for a drink, burger and chips - Romesh Ranganathan tells the story of all the self improvement he has tried but failed at.  And maybe it isn’t so bad.  So - I took Romesh on a workout in a photography studio. He posed as personal trainer, exerciser, dietician and dieter.  A few handfuls of poses in around 4 hours.  It might not do much to prevent a heart attack, for talent or photographer, but a shoot like this is bound to release a few beads of sweat.

Shot for The Guardian Weekend Magazine  

Stephen Mangan

As I walk into this North London studio where the shoot with Stephen Mangan was to take place I was struck by studio envy. The studio in question had been an old stable, right on the doorstep of Camden and Regents Park. We were met with was a sizeable reception. This led into two large studio spaces which we walked through to get to the last room, a snooker room on level 1, with an adjacent kitchen. Park Village Studios is the studio of Peter Webb. Evidence of his work with among others, The Rolling Stones, was exhibited on the walls. The studio was cool, had a roughness to it, character, but what made me jealous was the knowledge that this studio had been Peter Webb’s, and his alone for many years. Only in the last few years had he opened the doors for others to rent the space. It’s a photographer’s dream. Without devaluing the quality of Peter’s work I have to say that a space like this would only be available exclusively to one photographer today if he was born into money, won the lottery or is amongst a very few elite advertisement photographers. It was a different time and I am sure Peter Webb can point the finger at many advantageous things of being a photographer today, but space is something that we don’t own anymore.

After I had shrugged off the feeling of jealousy I focused on the shoot. I wanted to use the space but also create a cleaner space that would led itself better to a cover. I set up a nice green colorama and looked around the space for other options. Stephen is one of those actors/comedians in the UK that has a perfect balance on exposure. He selects his involvement perfectly and his humour is understated and poignant. If I ever met him at a party I imagine him in the kitchen with Armando Ianucci, Tamsin Greg, Steve Coogan and maybe Simon Amstell, half hanging out the kitchen window, sharing a bottle of red wine whilst unraveling world politics and conflicts with funny one liners.

Stephen has written and starred in the television sitcom Hang Ups, so having him ‘hung up’ by some helium filled balloons seemed appropriate. It would also give a little nod to his recent performance in the Harold Pinter play The Birthday Party. The balloons would also work as a good prop and a great way to inject colour into the set. The rest of the shoot I chose to use the room we were in, snooker table and all. Stephen was good to work with; understated but fun in real life, much like how you see him in his films. He contributed with the sets and ideas and helped make the shoot a collaborative one, just the way I like it. I’m now peaking into every kitchen when I go to parties, just in case Stephen and friends are hanging out sharing stories.

Shot for Sunday Times Culture

Toni Collette

Toni Collette is the lead in the newest must see horror film Hereditary. If you want to wind down off the coffee and still not sleep for a few days, then this is the film you should see. I am not big on horror films because I often find them to be a little too far fetched, tacky and often bad acting. They don’t tend to trigger into my own fear. However, this sounds like a film that will scare the living ‘bejesus’ out of me. The kind of film that plays with your psyche, the unknown, the things we don’t see. This is the film I’d bring a spare pair of pants to see. It’s the kind of film where I’d check the seat before I sit if it’s the second screening of the day.

The shoot with Toni was down in a basement room at Covent Garden Hotel. A room with a little too much character to carry off a whole shoot, so a backdrop was brought out. It was the last thing on Toni’s schedule of the day before being rushed off to the Graham Norton show. It was evident that she’d had a full day already, mixed with a heavy jet lag, so I tried to keep the conversation to trivial non-sense that demanded little in return. First an acknowledgement of her being only 8 days older than me, followed by my amusement that we were both able to mimic a horse trotting by clapping and snapping our fingers. The amazement on both our parts of how similar we therefor must be was undisputed and agreed to - over a laugh…

Often when people suffer from such a schedule and jet lag it is hard to hit the note. However, between the occasional yawn, her Australian, chilled and fun way of being, came shining through… I can only hope that I will one day work with Toni when she is full of energy and fully rested - if I can keep up?

Graham Norton

Graham Norton is definitely a national treasure. Or, as he’s Irish, international treasure. He is perhaps currently most known for The Graham Norton show. It’s the show where all the biggest names turn up for a chat with the man himself. Graham is that very likeable guy that everyone confides in and everyone drops their guard and allow themselves to have fun. Graham is able to relate to most people. You know that if you don’t get along with Graham, then that’s not due to him, but rather because there is something wrong with you.

Graham is also the presenter of the Eurovision Song contest. He’s the natural successor to the great Sir Terry Wogan. And much like Sir Terry, Graham is able to find the fun, bizarre and tacky in most of the acts and is able to comment on it freely.

The man I photographed was as warm and welcoming as the man we see on TV. He rocked upon at the studio on a chain-less bike. Maybe he was a little more modest than I had expected, but modesty is a character trait I think we should all have more of. Graham is also perhaps one of the few men who would allow us to go for a full red pallet on a shoot without batting an eye. A brave move some may say, but it is a colour that hides the modesty and suits the man.

Shot for The Observer Magazine

Bill Bailey

Some comedians should come with a warning sign and some come with a sign saying “does what is says on the tin”. Bill is the latter. Bill is a man that’s just naturally interested and inquisitive. He is smarter than Einstein on an Omega 3 overdose, funnier than a pie in the face, and has more musical talent than a Mozart with 4 hands. Unfair really that all the talents have gone to one man when so many people have nothing at all.

This shoot was at his office, a home converted into a make shift storage/office space. It's hard to miss the larger than life cardboard cutouts of Bill, books, paintings, a couple of birdcages that are big enough to hold an albatross, plenty of plastic flowers and plastic trees, instruments, staff taking bookings for his upcoming tour, bicycle and many more things. Bill is a true hoarder, but a hoarder of the weird and wonderful. The place was a good representation of what it must be like to be in Bill’s mind; busy, filled with plenty of knowledge about everything unusual and fun…. and birds.

Shot for The Observer Magazine

Russel Brand

Russell Brand is hard to summarise in one sentence. He is a comedian for sure, but his opinions, writings, podcasts extend far beyond the comedy. The issues he deals with often have a comedy angle to them but the undertone has a more serious message. He exposes his personal life, problems, addictions and fears along side his political views and social conscious.Never are the issues dealt with in a subtle and diplomatic way, but his opinions are blatantly clear and he gets his messages across using comedy.

I turned up to the shoot expecting a man who’s personality would make be hard to control during a shoot. Russell has a very big presence. Big hair, tall and a highly visible presence. I remember seeing him at an exhibition opening a few years ago and you could easily spot him across the room. Everyone looked around the room, and as they glanced towards where he was standing, everyone raised their head as if their glance was passing some speed bump (his head) towering over everybody else’s), to avoid glancing right at him, trying to pretend not to look in order to allow him his personal space.

The initial introduction was met with a firm handshake and a direct eye contact with a very polite and well mannered introduction, not forced, but a genuine ‘a pleasure to meet you’. The rest of the shoot I experienced a relaxed and fun Russell who seemed genuinely interested in everybody around him. It is not hard to see how this man can get everyone around him to feel relaxed.

Russell has a new book out now dealing with his addictions, ’Recovery, Freedom from our addictions’. I am sure this will be an honest, hard hitting read, using humour with a few words thrown in, that may be hard to digest for the faint hearted.

James Acaster

Hilarious comedian James Acaster is someone to watch out for. He maybe well known to many of you already, but if you haven’t heard of him then please check out Josh Widdicombe’s podcast where he has made several appearances telling many of his own embarrassing stories. Or, you could pick up his book “James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes”, (from which this cover shoot was for,) where he will reveal many of his most embarrassing moments and go into detail about his experience with a cabbage. Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this slightly brown chord’esque photoshoot, aimed at capturing the more misfortunate James Acaster. (I have to admit that his colour palette as far as his clothes are concerned much resembles what I am myself wearing today. A firm favourite for many of us children of the 70’s, although I suspect that James is a little younger than that.)