Penelope Cruz

“Hi Pal, are you free to do a shoot with Penelope Cruz tomorrow?”

“What!?”

“Are you free to shoot Penelope Cruz tomorrow?”

“You’re joking right?!”

“No, we have a shoot lined up at L’Agent Provocateur tomorrow.”

“You’re taking the piss?!”

“No!”

“She’s my favourite actress, and you want me to shoot her at L’Agent Provocateur?”

…

That was pretty much how the conversation went as I got the commission to shoot Penelope Cruz. It is of course never as good as it sounds as the shoot was only 20 minutes and shooting her at L’Agent Provocateur really only meant that we have very little space to work in. Never the less, I was about to meet my all time favourite actress, (apart from maybe Audrey Hepburn, but I hear she’s a little cold now a days.) It was a shoot that could have been so much more, with a more spacious venue and a little more time perhaps. But still I feel I managed to capture a Penelope Cruz that has not been overly stylised, a Penelope that holds the beauty as a person as well as a model and actress. I am of course very objective! They say ‘never meet your idols’ - and although the word idol is one I should use with more care, I did find that meeting Penelope was something I walked away from smiling. But don’t get me wrong, these ‘idols’ belong to a fantasy, and I have to admit, coming home to my wife later that day made me smile that little bit more.

Bruce Dickinson

Ask a boy what he wants to be when he grows up and most will answer either a pilot or a rock musician (if not Police and fireman). So it is hard not to be jealous when you meet Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer of Iron Maiden (one of the world’s most successful heavy metal bands in history with over 90 million album sales worldwide) and who also owns Cardiff Aviation Ltd, an aircraft maintenance company that also trains pilots and contracts out flights for different assignments or to other airlines. He has flown the band on tour, one tour which was filmed where he flew the band between continents on flight 666 (the name of the tour and documentary film was “Iron Maiden: Flight 666”). Yes - it sure does seem like Bruce Dickinson has lived the dream of most boys.

The band have just released a new album which was delayed due to Bruce having been diagnosed with mouth cancer, at the back of his tongue. He underwent seven weeks of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and was given the all clear in May 2015.

I met an upbeat, lively and fun Bruce at Cardiff airport. (We were supposed to fly out to Cardiff in a small plane, and Bruce was going to be the pilot, but due to weather I had a 4 hour drive each way instead.) He showed us around his hanger and three flight simulators, spread between Cardiff airport and the military airport next door. An impressive setup and Bruce was full of enthusiasm. I am not sure if this is the enthusiasm that comes with fame, success and the ability to follow your dream, or if it is the enthusiasm of a man who has recovered from one of the most scary diagnosis you can have and is now breathing fresh air with new optimism again. I suspect it’s a little of both.

So when the day was over, after having hung around in big hangars, sat in jet engines and made paper airplanes we found our way to the pub, for a 30 min chill and a pint before all going our own ways. Which brings me to an other significant creation of Bruce - his collaboration with Robinsons to make their fastest and best selling beer ‘Trooper’. Not one they had on tap where we were but still an other arrow to the ‘Man’s man’ bow.

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer is the hottest comedy act on the circuit at the moment. Her 10 minute acceptance speech at the Glamour awards caused belly aches from laughter and even saw Jennifer Saunders in the background cracking up. She sure doesn’t pull any punches as far as graphic content is concerned and sees no need to hold anything back or polish the truth in any way.  She comes across as completely genuine, as if it’s her uncensored mind that rambles on without quite knowing that her mouth is vocalising her thoughts. 

My shoot was a part of a press junket in Soho Hotel. She had back to back interviews and shoots for 2 days, promoting her new film Trainwreck. And that was only the UK part of the junket. I was looking forward to an uncensored Amy, giving me poses that would probably not be fit for publication. Any other day I am sure that would have been the case, but as she was in the middle of a row of shoots and interviews I had the feeling that she had had enough of striking poses or retorting with hard hitting comments during interviews.  I did however feel that her poses were struck in the same way as much of her humour. Her moves were somewhat unconscious and automatic, as if it was a move she had thought of but she was not quite aware of doing.  A few face expressions before gravity got hold of her and she again found herself lying the floor, (something she became known for having done on the red carpet in front of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian). She continued by crawling out of the room which left the whole room silent, but not shocked. With Amy we just have to expect the unexpected.

Chvrches

A long trip up to Glasgow but all worth it to meet the Indie band Chvrches. Their last album was a great success and no doubt this will be a great follow up.

We were to meet at their studio, a small basement flat in an old victorian building, right in the middle of an eclectic industrial area of Glasgow. Not an easy place to squeeze in to do a studio like cover shoot, but we made it work after having moved a few items around. The second half of the shoot was a little easier as we had a few blocks of industrial buildings and some greenery to use as backdrop.

The band were themselves very low key and chilled. That they were happy to wander the streets with me and do the shoot in such a calm fashion was especially surprising as they had just received the masters from the new album a few minutes before my arrival. I am sure they would rather sit and soak in every note of the album instead of wandering the local streets with me and imposing on local businesses in order to get good backdrops.

Chvrches feels like one of those bands that will always have their feet firmly planted on the ground. Maybe that’s the Scottish thing or maybe it’s just that they are the types that don’t let their heads expand with fame and success. I have always had a soft spot for the Scottish and it’s for exactly this reason. If you see a Scott that’s got a big ego then you know his or her fellow country men/women will soon let them know otherwise. They have a nice way of keeping everyone on the same level.

John Goodman

It was with excitement and great pleasure that I got the chance to meet the legendary John Goodman. He stars in one of my all time favourite films, The Big Labowsky. he is one of the Coen Brother’s most frequently used actors and has become known for great monologues in almost every film he appears in. At a young age I saw him in comedies such as Roseanne and King Ralph but his rediscovery and close relationship with the Coen Brothers has given him a cult status.

John is now in London to appear on stage, a theatre production of American Buffalo. I caught him at the end of a full day of rehearsals and managed to squeeze the last bit of energy out of him before the day was over. In 30 minutes I managed to get a smile fit for Mr Flintstone, a fearful expression that puts him in a “position of Fuck You” (quote from The Gambler) and a flexible pose I never thought I’d see him come out of.

As the shoot was coming to an end, I saw that the long day rehearsing, the interview and the shoot had all taken its toll so I had to call it a day, just in case the beast was unleashed and I was told I had “stepped over the fucking line man!” (Big Lebowsky).

Thea Gilmore

There is no one nicer in the music industry than Thea. She is loved by many artists, a prolific song writer (with 15 albums in 17 years) and she’s only 35 years old. Her music is about creating quality and finds itself reflecting a lot of traditional roots. Her most recent album is a collaborative album where she has brought in talents such as Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, The Waterboys, Joan As Policewoman, John Cooper Clarke, King Creosote and I Am Kloot. This girl is like the musician’s musician, even Bruce Springsteen is supposedly a fan!

We found ourself in a location house in North London, tucked in the back of some small industrial estate. I have admittedly photographed Thea before but that was just a 30 minute shoot in the centre of town. This time we had the luxury of time and a location with plenty of options. We were able to achieve lots of different results that are to be used on her album’s art work, Thea’s website and press for the up and coming tour. It is easy to see how Thea can produce so much music and not be on the top of the charts all the time. It’s reflected in her personality. She is not into music for its fame, she doesn’t create albums to sell millions of them, she doesn’t stand on stage or have a photo shoot done in order to have her ego boost. Thea is into music because she loves it, she creates albums because she loves it and she’s on stage to share what she has created with likeminded people. Surely this is what music is about, the tradition of music is to share and to involve, and as far as I can tell that is what Thea is all about too.

Jim Parsons

I knew little about Jim Parsons before I got the commission to shoot him. A fast Google-search informed me that he’s one of the main men in the big hit series ‘The Big Bang Theory’. Parsons has also become known for his many Broadway appearances in feature length films. His current film, for which this shoot was pegged to was ‘Home’, where he is the voice of ‘Oh’.

I met a slightly jet lagged Jim at Claridges who was in the middle of a big press day. My shoot was squeezed in between a twitter answer session and Blue Peter appearance. Jim has experienced great success with his work and is critically acclaimed but I cannot help but think that his greatest appearance to date is still to come. When I asked him what he’s got in the pipeline he answered ‘Broadway!’. When I asked ‘what on Broadway?’ he answered ‘A monologue play and I’m playing GOD’. This is truly a man with all the right answers…

John Cleese

The fact is that there are not many of my generation who would not hail John Cleese as a comedy hero. It therefore comes as a surprise to hear that John Cleese is by his own admittance is an introvert, someone who doesn’t like the stage, big audience and has problems with his own self image. It was exactly this that became the basis of the shoot with John as well. We were crammed into a small room at his book publishers, spread the props out on the floor and said ‘take your pick’… It became an exercise of expression exhaustion, inspired by prop overload. John is still one of my comedy heroes and his autobiography out now is bound to be a very good read and a Christmas best seller. Oh - and let’s not forget that now you can also get an app called ‘The Ministry of Silly Walks’… I think I may wait for the dead parrot app instead.

Paul Thomas Anderson

One of my current favourite directors is probably Paul Thomas Anderson. His films have a style, coolness and humour that is hard to combine with a strong story line. Paul however, manages it. The shoot with Paul was a 10 min job at Soho Hotel and he suffered from jet-lag (mixed with a little hangover from the night before). Not many people can carry off that look without one hour of hair and makeup but Paul did. It gave his slightly ruffled look an extra dimension which suited him well. The tired rub of his eye even looked good in a shot.

His new film ‘Inherent Vice’, looks to be a classic Paul Thomas Anderson film and I can’t wait to see it. Never before has anyone been given the permission to dramatise a Thomas Pynchon book before now and that in itself is a testament to Paul’s creative vision and execution.

Grayson Perry

It’s now the 6th time I have had the pleasure of working with Grayson Perry. And this time it was so good that I did it twice. This shoot with Grayson was looking at the issue of identity. He’s presenting the program for Channel 4 on the issue of Identity as well as curating the exhibition on the same theme currently on at the National Portrait Gallery. What better person to ask about identity than the Turner prize winner, also known for occasionally cross dressing. The series has come off to a great start and is well worth the watch.

The idea for the shoot was to shoot Grayson on two different days with comparable poses. One day dressed as Claire and the other as Grayson. The issue with this is of course to try to get the light to be the exact same and exact same but mirrored. It was never to be 100% accurate but I like the small differences as well as it makes it slightly more genuine and reveals that the images are not just ‘flipped’.

My previous shoots with Grayson (http://palhansen.com/index.php/whos-that-girl/) have all been different. I have to admit that when I first met Grayson I was not sure what I thought of him, but like the best music, the best food, the best art and the best friends I have - they warm to you more and more each time and eventually become one of my favourites.

Massimo Bottura

There is nothing more inspiring than an enthusiastic Italian. It’s been proved to me time and time again. A true enthusiastic Italian has the ability to project his/her excitement, to involve you, and in the end you will feel as passionate about the subject as they do. Furthermore they have the ability to seem genuinely interested in you and your wellbeing, you walk away feeling that you have made a new true friend.  This is very much the case with Massimo Bottura. A warm and welcoming man with an enormous passion for food, art and life. The passion was reflected in a kind of boisterous behaviour, the kind of behaviour that us in Northern Europe have learned to control as it is of course not cool to show too much emotion and enthusiasm. 

I had the pleasure of spending 3 days around the Modena area with Massimo and the editor of OFM, Allan Jenkins. A little road trip to soak up where his inspirations come from and to get a feel of his childhood district.  

The greatest experience was of course to be able to dine at Massimo’s 3 star Micheline restaurant Osteria Francescana. His legendary dishes ‘5 ages of Parmesan’ and of course the world’s best Tortellini (undisputed) were like having ballerinas dancing on my tongue. But second to that experience was meeting a lady who has been working closely with Massimo since the beginning. An old lady who taught Massimo everything there is to know about traditional Italian cooking and helped keep him on the straight and narrow in those early days.  We had listened to Massimo tell us of her importance in his life for hours before we were eventually brought to her house, a stones throw away from Massimo’s first restaurant. To witness the closeness, playfulness and the warmth between them was enough to give all of us goosebumps, and dare I say a tear in our eyes. A feeling of envy for the Mediterranean way of being where emotions are being worn on the sleeves and a warm hearted tickle is a friendly gesture that’s made between people of any age as a gesture of affection, on display for everyone to see.

Alt-J

I remember hearing about the band Alt J a few years back. A genius name as it really get’s everybody thinking what it stands for and then trying it out on the keyboard (quietly hoping that it doesn’t erase all content on your computer for good). Buttons pressed, a slight sigh of relief as everything on the screen is as it was but at the same time a slight disappointment to find out that it only produced a small symbol which is not far from a capital A without the legs: ‘∆’

I then looked up what it meant and found out it’s a delta symbol meaning ‘change’ or ‘difference’. The name had again become something unusual and interesting, but maybe not destructive.

The guys have just come out with a second album and it is just as good, if not better than the first one. The second album is always the hardest one if the first one has succeeded but the 3 guys in Alt-J have managed to prove to us all that it was not just beginners luck.

They turned up at my office and the idea was to walk around Hackney for an hour or 2 before setting up for a possible cover shoot inside. The guys were fresh back from holidays and nice and relaxed. A kind of quiet before the big storm which we are now in the middle of, with Alt-J playing on all radio stations and playlists.

The idea of using paint for the cover shot came from seeing the artwork of the new album. The cover is a white cover with some primary colour paint marks on it. The guys were happy to play ball and we we had some fun with paint like we were all Tom Hanks in BIG. The guys didn’t hold back and gave it all.

Joe, Gus and Thom, the members which make up the band Alt-J were surprisingly different. It’s not a likely combination of guys but maybe that’s the magic, maybe that’s what makes Alt-J work so well. As the name indicates too - ‘difference’ is what’s made this triangle of guys into a perfect fit.

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan is a girl that comes with a few warning signs. She has a reputation and has made a few mistakes through her time. I suppose this will always be a problem for a child star, there really is no place to hide as you are growing up, and therefore everything you do will become public knowledge. Unfortunate for Lindsay a few of her mistakes became world news and she developed a bit of a reputation due to this. I made plenty of mistakes growing up but fortunate for me I didn’t have the world press camped outside my house in Norway.

Marianne Faithful

It was a little sad to see Marianne at first when I arrived at her Paris flat.  When I met her 2 years ago she was up and about, whilst this time she was slightly less able after having broken her hip a while back.  However, my sadness was short lived as we were met with a sharp mind and quick witted woman with no punches pulled. The flat was new for Marianne and she hadn’t fully moved in yet. She’s been horizontal for several of months which she claims is the reason for her best album in a long time.  (It gave her time to think without interruption.) Francois, Marianne's manager who was also there at the time of the shoot, put the album on, volume up and Marianne’s coarse voice and protesting lyrics did give me a feeling of listening to an album from the 70’s that will last the test of time.  The blues was present both in her voice, lyrics and rhythm.  

When it was time to start the shoot Marianne asked, no - told me!: ‘Be fast and not to faff around’.  Her cane was present and although for many this would be a sign of a disability it worked the opposite way for Marianne.  The cane gave Marianne a stronger presence, a feeling of dominance - the exact feeling you get as soon as Marianne opens her mouth to talk to you.  When Marianne talks - you listen.  Not in a bad way but in an inquisitive, intrigued and fascinated way - for Marianne has many stories and a way of telling them that keeps you listening. The same goes for her last album, the lyrics are essential.  

Her most known album “Broken English” has her smoking a cigarette on the album cover.  Now she’s taken that image into the 21st century and replaced the cigarette with a vaporiser and the “Broken English” with a “Broken Hip”.  A wonderfully interesting woman.

Sinead O'Connor

Sinead just gets better and better each time I work with her. It’s a case of her building up trust as well as me understanding more of what Sinead likes and dislikes in a shoot. Working with Sinead this time again meant that we had more time for laughs and messing about which again is reflected in the images. It was also nice to see Sinead in a dress. Yes, this shoot gave me the chance to see a playful woman dressed to impress. This could be the real Sinead, the one she really is behind closed doors when nobody is expecting great statements and she does not feel she has to carry the cross for every suffering soul out there.

Courtney Love

Lesson 1: If you shoot someone who is a musician then check your playlist before you play it on a shoot!

Just as we were getting ready to shoot Courtney, setups were ready and Courtney was just about to walk into the set, Little Roy’s cover version of ‘Come as you are’ blasted out over the speakers. My play list mix of reggae, soul, rock had come to an unexpected end tune that I had not planned. My assistant gave me a look of slight worry - a little whisper and a nod later, he ran over to the stereo and changed tune…. Courtney walks in and I ask: “Any music preference?” Courtney replies: “Not Reggae!!!”

So the first setup with Courtney was a matter of getting used to each other. I tried the general chit chat and minor directions, but I didn’t feel it was getting me anywhere. A change of outfit and a slightly different technique meant a completely different story. I kept quiet, let David Bowie do the talking over the stereo. Courtney became herself, a moving target filled with strange and wonderful poses. It was more like a dance with Courtney than a shoot. No slow dance to end the shoot, but that’s maybe something that was best left in the 80’s.

Lorde

Lorde is truly the Pop sensation of 2014. She’s 17 and has taken the world by storm. She doesn’t seem to be the predictable product created by a producer to appeal to the main stream like so many young successful ‘musicians’ are. Lorde seemed to be a woman with strong opinions and self assured. Lorde is a ‘woman’ at 17, able to put images of herself online that contradict the photoshopped images published by certain magazines. She’s a teen with ‘warts’n all’ as they say. It was refreshing seeing that someone at that age could be so self assured, that someone of that age has become a celebrity for her mind and music instead of looks.

Having said that I was met by her body guard 30 minutes before the shoot. He had come to see the location, if there was a crowd he had to fight his way through and to find any emergency exits in case the Taliban or a couple of hundred 14 year old girls should hit the venue to capture a little of this teen sensation. I don’t think I have ever experienced security like that, but then again I have never photographed Michael Jackson or Obama. (Obama - if you’re reading this, give me a call).

The Seven Ages of a Chef

I love it when I get a commission to shoot a set of images that have a specific feel, a portfolio of portraits. So when Kit from the Observer called me about this specific story, to photograph a chef from each decade in the style of the Dutch Masters, then I jumped at the idea. We had it all nailed down, a date and time for each of the 7 chefs, Georgina in her 20’s, James in his 30’s, Anna 40’s, Giorgio 50’sRick 60’s, Albert 70’s and Joyce 80’s. Location houses, props and backdrops all sourced. Some images directly inspired by specific paintings and others more loosely inspired and influenced by the work of the masters. So it was unfortunate that on the day of the shoot with Mr Albert Roux had to call in sick. Never the less, the set of images that I was able to do felt complete and I was happy with the portfolio.

The chefs who did take part are all extremely dedicated to the art of cooking and their presence did make this set of images what they are. Everyone from the young and eager Georgina to the older, experienced and relaxed Joyce were all a true pleasure to work with.

Nick Frost

It’s now the 4th time I get the pleasure of working with Nick Frost. Every shoot has been a perfect collaboration and working with Nick has always been more like hanging out than going to work. He’s always up for a laugh and is great at taking my ideas and making them his own. As we wanted a taste of Cuba in these images to give a nod towards his new film ‘Cuban Fury’ the cigar was brought in. Having quit smoking only 8 weeks ago I felt bad asking him to puff on the Cuban Cigar but he happily obliged. In Cuban Fury Nick is a kick a** Salsa Dancer and is supposedly quite a mover in real life too. It may not be evident to us all but Nick has the sensitivity of Julio Iglesias and the passion and fury of Ché. Baile! Baile!!