Cook's Christmas Dinner

It is always a pleasure getting to work with the team from Cook Magazine in Italy.  We have been on many trips and photographed many of the world’s best chefs together.  However, this time I was commissioned to photograph the team behind the magazine having Christmas dinner.  The dinner consisted of a meal that each member of the magazine associated with Christmas.  

For this shoot I arrived in Milan late on the Sunday, Monday morning, bright and early, we took over a section of the exclusive Ginori Chinaware store and got to work dressing the Christmas table.  A full team of set designers, flower arrangers, hair and makeup and food stylists were there to help create this feast.  

Everyone sat down and I started to photograph.  I wanted to suggest that they all raised their glasses and said ‘cheers’ - and I got some blank expressions back.  I repeated myself a couple of times before I realised that they all thought I was saying ‘cheese’.  The look of disappointment, ‘What has this pandemic done to the photographer - reverting to the good old classic cheese phrase?!’  A look of relief came across everyone’s faces when they realised that I was just trying to get everyone to raise their glasses.  Glasses were raised and laughter washed over the uncomfortable quiet caused by the one minute confusion.   

A large group shot, 6 individual portraits and 6 plates later - I jumped in the taxi and headed for the airport, back to London….

Shot for Cook Magazine, Corriere Della Sera

Ravneet Gill - Diwali

First time I worked with Rav was for a mothers-day shoot.  I was commissioned to photograph her, her mum and her grandma in one shot.  When they turned up I did not only meet very nice, fun and friendly Rav, but her mum and grandma were great characters too.  Such a great trio!  I have to admit that there was a slight language barrier between Rav’s grandma and me - but somehow the humour and a sense of understanding each other was definitely there. 

So - it was with great pleasure that I received a commission to photograph the trio again.  This time to coincide with Rav’s new book release - as well as the celebration of light day, Diwali.  Rav had also brought some friends over to help enhance the feeling of festivity. 

In order to give an impression of us celebrating Diwali - I wanted to create a dark and atmospheric room with candles and food decoration.  I was sent props to use and the shoot was to take place in Rav’s place. I was given 2 hours to setup and shoot, but Rav was happy to extend the time a little when I got there.  2 hours was tight, but especially as I got there to see a 3 meter diameter glass dome above the room we were shooting in, and it was a bright sunny day.  One thing is to expose the daylight away with flash, but I also needed to bring some atmosphere out with the candles.  I took what blankets I had, ripped off the paper backdrop and got ready to cover as much of the glass dome as I could.  However - the glass dome was 6 meters above me so the only way to get to it was to climb through a tiny window, in the top end of Rav’s bedroom window, to get to the roof.  I am already not a very flexible with my almost 2 meter height, seeing me climb through that window was a sight to behold.  (I never knew I could get my knee behind my ears - a move I had to perfect to get out.). I covered what I could of the window and got on with setting up the grand Diwali celebration table with the props I had.  We managed to create a setting that had some of the intended atmosphere.  Rav’s friends and family were not only lovely to work with, but managed to look and act relaxed and festive.

Rav comes across as a nice and friendly person when on TV. Having met Rav on several occasions now, I can truly vouch for her being the friendly, fun, and a sparkly, kind person.  Having met her friends and especially her family, also gives a depth to understanding who Rav is, and she is exactly as you would hope from seeing her on TV.  

I hope to work with Rav again, and if her mum and grandma is there too then that’s a-ok with me.  Maybe next time we’ll get them all posing as Charlie’s Angels.  I can especially see Rav’s grandma Biji getting into that…

Shot for Waitrose Food Magazine

Naturists

The issue of being nude in a public space is still something most people would frown upon.  I grew up in Norway where, when on cabin holiday somewhere remote, we would sometimes just jump in the lake naked.  The women at the beach would normally not wear a bikini top and this was all normal.  (I would say that it is probably less normal for women to be topless in Norway now for some reason.  A case of being a Scandinavian child of the 70’s I suspect).  

The UK has become more relaxed on the other hand. Although being naked publicly is restricted to certain areas, often sections of a beach for example, it has become excepted by many as an alternative and acceptable choice.  This project, to photograph people who embrace nudity in public spaces, people had to be subtly covered up not to reveal anything.  I can of course completely understand it, as completely nude images in a non pornographic magazine, would be deemed as offensive to many.   However, the idea of covering up the nude body in order to show the freedom enjoyed by people who like to be nude publicly, is a little contradictory.  In fact, it was a conversation that came up in the beginning of this shoot with one of the naturists.  One man who took part rightly enough said that the idea of being nude publicly is to desexualise the body and enjoy it as something natural.  The body, in all its different sizes and shapes, should not be hidden.  Everyone should be proud of their unique shape and sizes.   However, when trying to cover up boobs and ‘bits’ (as we so politely refer to sexual organs,) we sensor it as it is something ‘sexual’, and therefor the message of being a naturist is further confused.  

However, this is not a battle I would win on a four portraits feature, so onwards and upwards.  The props were brought out and we started by shooting one couple - Fiona and Michael - at the nudist holiday campsite in West Sussex, one couple - Simon and Helen - in a garden like setting, an other couple - Jan and Alena - in a kitchen environment and lastly, in deepest, darkest Herefordshire, a girl - Beatrice - who likes to be nude alone, in the forest and fields near where she lives.  Glasses carefully placed, ping pong ball thrown in to cover a nipple, a tomato being cut on a kitchen bench to cover a penis, Apples in an apple orchard to cover both breasts and genitalia, I even tried (less successfully I have to admit) bubbles to cover up the nudity in a subtle way. 

Finally - how to create a feel and look when you work at different locations and are not sure what the weather will do. I decided to create a hazy summery feel to give the feeling of some 70’s style summer. In that way we would have consistency and a look that was appropriate throughout.

A fun challenge indeed.

Shot for You Magazine

John Robins and Elis James

After having hosted the Elis James and John Robins show on Radio X, Elis and John got offered a show on Radio 5 Live, carrying over many of the same features from their show on Radio X.  The two presenters turned up, adamant not get styled by the magazine and they had set ideas of what they did not want to do in front of the camera.  Both issues that are not so relevant on a radio show, but makes all the difference in a magazine.  We talked, negotiated and achieved.  Everyone is happy!

Shot for Observer Magazine