Norbert Niederkofler

A while ago I was contacted by Angela Frenda and Tommaso Galli from Corriere della Sera in Italy. The newspaper was about to start a monthly food magazine, “Cook”. The magazine wanted to give the Italian food magazine market a new and fresh look. Tommaso and Angela’s passion for the food industry left me in no doubt that they were serious about including the best of the best and the magazine would serve as an inspiration for Italian food enthusiasts. And, as far as food enthusiasts are concerned, the Italians have a particular passion for food that you don’t see often in other cultures.

For the first issue of Cook we went to photograph Norbert Niederkofler in the Dolomites. I have worked with many chefs in my time as a photographer. Some have inspired me with their passion and ideas and others have inspired me with impressive locations and settings. If you want to be truly impressed in all areas of the visual and palatable sensory organs then head up to the three Micheline star chef Niederkofler. His restaurant, a part of the Hotel Rosa Alpina in the Dolomites, has views you can kill for as well as food which looks great, tastes delicious, is sustainably sourced and focuses on no waste. What more can you ask for?

When we arrived at the hotel, just over 3 hours drive from Verona we had already lost our breath by the sheer beauty of the curvy roads leading up the mountains. Norbert then ushered us into his car and we continued up to the top of the nearby mountain. Just above the tree line we found ourselves between white/grey rocks and a white/grey sky. Not a bad start after having woken up to a London night sky earlier that morning.

Norbert was generous with his time and knowledge. He spoke of his passion for food but also for the place we found ourselves. A place with so much history as it finds itself on the boarder of three nations and is one of the most connected ski resorts in the whole world, with a ski slope network that is so extensive it reads like a spider’s web on acid.

However, this was not a season for skiing. Mid July was more a month of motorised mountain bicycles (which were everywhere you looked,) and pristine green fields with wildflowers. In every valley you should see Julia Andrews’ lookalikes running down with arms stretched out. My lungs were filled with air so pure it reverted the ageing process and my lungs retreated into infancy stage.

We had the true pleasure of eating at Norbert’s kitchen table. A table looking over the kitchen and the focus, art and craft that it takes to be a 3 Michelin star kitchen. The food was served to us and the inspiration and thought behind every dish was carefully explained to us. The ingredients were all locally sourced and in season. An impressive task considering the inhospitable climates you face in the alps. Even more impressive considering that they have the same ethos all year around. For example, ingredients and flavours created by ingredients such as Olive oil and lemon juices had been replaced with ingredients that could be locally sourced. Nothing was wasted, but many dishes came in two parts. One dish would consist of the more luxurious part of an animal for example, whilst the next dish would be a great tasting dish made of the parts that were not used in the first dish. And so it went on, every dish a joy to the pallet.

The day after we woke up and headed up to a near by mountain top where the hotel owned a cabin. The kitchen staff and Norbert were serving up a mountain picnic. I’m not talking a baguette on a rock with a nice view, but a carefully thought through 5 course meal cooked to perfection, with a view that could make a grown man cry. After the meal we headed down to one of Norbert’s local suppliers who showed us around his organic farm perched on the mountain side.

Admittedly, seeing this in the summer light makes it all seem very idyllic. The snow covered mountains in the winter would also seem like an idyl to the eye. But I have a feeling that the existence that Norbert has chosen, to locally source and be true to the place where he works and lives, demands great discipline and hard work. Many of the dishes served during the summer months cannot be planned far ahead as it all depends on what the local suppliers can provide. And the winter menus need to be considered and prepared in the summer unless they only want to serve wild Groundhogs with snow and icicles on the side.

Shot for Cook - Corriere della Sera

Keeley Hawes

I have worked with Keeley Hawes once before and I remember at that time too, her smile and eyes were captivating. She’s just nice to be around and to work with, and has a contagious smile that glows.

The shoot took place at a great and historical venue in Twickenham. In the Octagon Room at Orleans House Gallery we found ourselves surrounded by 10ft windows with shutters all the way to the top with decorative gold edged pillars and walls, an ornate and grand chandelier, statues, fireplace and more. However, the location was one of those where the ornate, grand and beautiful was all placed above the 8ft high and above. It is a location that on paper looks great, but when you get there you soon realise that unless you are looking up someone’s nose, it is hard to get the impression of the location’s grandeur. As well as this, (and I am painfully aware that it may sound like I am a grumpy old man) being surrounded by big glass windows on one of the summer’s hottest days, meant that we were slowly reaching uncomfortably high temperatures. Had it not been for the one small fan we had then I would have melted away and Keeley would have looked like she’d just stepped out of a shower (That is presuming that she perspires like any other human being).

We were both looking forward to our imminent Summer holidays; maybe the heat of the room made us both crave for the ocean with fresh, salty water to cool off in. But also both having a break from busy schedules, although I think Keeley trumps mine with the series Bodyguard only just in the bag and three more series in the making. Amongst acting all of these different roles, it is in fact a miracle that she has any time at all to be herself.

She’s starring in the recent TV drama Bodyguard which you can still catch on BBC catch up. The high suspense drama sees Keeley as the Home Secretary. (Spoiler alert!) A few scenes sees her passionately involved with her bodyguard. The scenes work well, Keeley is an attractive Home Secretary, but imagining the home secretaries of the passed, I find it the idea hard to swallow.

It’s an other quality collaboration, a political thriller between the creator Jed Mercurio and Keeley Hawes. Well worth a watch.

Shot for Sunday Times Culture

Joseph Fiennes

In terms of brothers, then I would say that Joseph Fiennes and Ralph Fiennes seem as different as can be. I have had the pleasure of photographing them both and the shoots could not be more different. This may of course only be on the surface, a projection issue towards hairy Norwegian photographers. When they share a quiet moment with a glass of cognac in front of the fireplace, then it may be a different story. The one thing they both had in common was that they are both gentlemen.

Both the shoot with Ralph and Joe were fun in their own way. With Joe I collaborated on a set of images that he could use for his own press and publicity. I sourced a venue but also had the luxury of going outside with Joe to explore Camden’s hidden arches and parks. Joe was full of life and energy, a good laugh and generous with his time and compliments. I often assess the character of my subjects by how they treat my assistant and Joe was all inclusive. A real ‘diamond geeza’ as they say in ‘ackney’!

Shot for Joseph Fiennes

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?

Lily Allen

On one of the first sunny, warm days of the year I found myself down in a dark basement photography studio in Haggerston. Just as well, as working when it’s too hot can slow things down, and this shoot was going to be a busy one. (Also because I am Nordic and prefer working when there’s a bit of a chill - like an igloo.) Lily arrived with a full entourage. A full team to help create three very different looks in one hour. Lily has gone from a soft, innocent and playful image, to a harder, more mature fashionable one, since she made it big just a little over 10 years ago. My shoot was for The Observer New Review, same mother publication as Observer Music used to be under, the publication that helped launch Lily’s career back in the beginning.

The shoot with Lily boarded onto playfulness, but it felt as Lily never let completely go. Maybe she felt restricted by experience and the need to have control of the image which is portrayed, but there were moments when the guard came down and it felt like Lily let go - like a beam of light through the slight opening of a door. She has been through the tabloid mill, something that would make any person cautious. (And why would she roar like a lioness just because I demand it?) The moment she let go however she showed a playful and fun Lily which is what I had hoped for. But the serious and more restrained part of Lily reminded me of working with her dad Keith Allen whom I have photographed a couple of times.

Lily was great in getting into the roles of the outfits she was wearing. Like a chameleon she moved from free flow movements in a back lit, free flowing colourful outfit - to - giving Dizzee Rascal a visual nod by mimicking the bull’s horns when crouching in a corner - to - finally bringing a bit of Punk to the table (or as Tony Bell from The Observer remarked when discussing the results - it’s Keith Flint meets Bjørk).

Dave Stewart

It is not every day you get a personal performance by a world renowned guitarist and even rarer to get one from the legend Dave Stewart himself. That was the case on this shoot at his private members club The Hospital. (By that I mean he owns the club and opened it before any of the other big members clubs in London. The intention was to have a place where creative minds could get together and talk creativity….) Yes, it was about half way during the shoot, moving away from the green backdrop to the tree lined wallpaper backdrop. Dave had gone to change clothes and came back with a new outfit, a VOX amp and a shiny Fender Shop Customised Strat. The guitar was a work of art in itself; shiny metal body with a woman engraved on it. We set up in the corner a little area where he could pose with guitar and amp. I have to admit that I was a little wary to shoot him with guitar and amp as it can sometimes seem a little obvious and staged. That was until he turned the thing on. He pumped the volume up to 11 (out of 10) and went straight into playing his own tunes, (and a little Jimmy Hendrix), before returning to his own tunes again. It is at that moment you realise what it takes to be a world class guitarist. The music filled the room (and the rest of the members club could also hear it through the closed door). A woman with a baby asleep in the dining area had supposedly asked a waiter if they could turn it down. (The waiter just looked at her, realising it was Dave Stewart playing and Dave Stewart’s club, and said ‘no’.) I was quite aware that the images taken at this time would probably not be my favourite from the shoot, but I kept the flash triggering, I kept shooting, I wanted to keep Dave feeling that the shoot was happening in order for him to keep on playing.

Dave Stewart, not just because of the event mentioned above, was a lot nicer than I had expected. He has always seemed to me to be the quiet, serious guy from Eurythmics, but his legacy expands far beyond Eurythmics, and his personality was colourful and vibrant. The hat and glasses remained on - a part of what has given him the serious image - and when I asked him if he could remove the glasses for a couple of shots he replied: I haven’t worn these glasses for decades to remove them now… “Fair enough!” I replied.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

One of my favourite films as a teenager was Boys ’n the Hood. I suppose this film created a romantic realism of living the hard life in the US, a stark comparison to my suburban upbringing in Norway. In a time when the hardship of the American Black community was highlighted, a little before the LA riots, the film felt poignant and realistic. The star of that film was Cuba Gooding Jr. His acting and Laurence Fishburn (who played his dad) were especially impressive.

Later Cuba stood out in two films/series especially: In Jerry Maguire for which he won an Oscar, and the TV drama The People v OJ Simpson, American Crime Story. In both films he played a successful sportsman with delusions of grandeur.

Cuba had been in the UK for a week when the shoot took place in a small studio in Hackney Wick. I found myself in a slight surreal situation as I ran out between the warehouse buildings in the streets of Hackney Wick to get him from a taxi, lost in the trendified industrial district. The location was near by the Olympic Village in Stratford, where he was rehearsing for the West End show Chicago. Cuba has got the lead male roll of Billy Flynn. We caught him at the end of a long day rehearsing and the physical exertion, as well as being jet lagged, meant we had a very chilled Cuba in front of the camera.

Despite not having the energy that we can see Cuba project in some films and in the show Chicago, he did pull out a few characteristic Cuba smiles, the birdie was shown and he took well to my directions. A good achievement considering he’d probably much prefer lying down in his hotel bed, feet up, watching a film about suburban Oslo; perhaps exotic for someone who was born in Brooklyn, NY?

Steve Ludwin

It is not often you voluntarily stick your face a few inches away from a highly poisonous snake. But sometimes you take a stranger’s word for it, trust him and his knowledge of snakes, and have faith in his handling of the snake and reaction time. At least I am not the man who’s got the poisonous Pope’s Viper wrapped around my neck!

I wish I could say that the idea of taking a closeup portrait of the snake was my idea, but in this case it was a request from the magazine. ‘No doubt they want me dead’ - I thought to myself as I found myself agreeing with great enthusiasm. The poisonous snake’s head juxtaposed, next to a closeup of Steve Ludwin could work for a great layout in the magazine. (Steve is the owner of the snakes; a vegan and animal lover, but also someone who has injected himself with snake venom for many years.) He has injected himself with so many types of snake venom that he has now offered himself to the medical world so they can create anti-venom. He even had an operation (whilst still conscious I may add) so they could take samples from his spine needed for the anti-venom.

Steve has been successful on the music scene too but now it seems that his passion is more aimed towards his reptiles and shows a great love and understanding for them. He handles them not only with confidence, but with great respect. His lack of fear is slightly disconcerting, but his confidence comes with a life time of experience and an ability to read and understand the reptiles.

Sat Bains

A two and a bit hours drive up to Nottingham, 5am on a Friday morning, took me back about 20 years to my early days of London where I used to travel up to Nottingham to hang out with my friends at weekends. Back then I had no car and hitchhiked. From sunny evenings where I was picked up instantly and was told all the stories that the driver had obviously never told anyone - knowing full well that they’d never see me again, to people trying to sell me their God and sign me up to their view of the afterlife, to getting stuck in a traffic jam on the M1 with someone high on speed and even having a man in suit in his brand new Mercedes, promising to take me out of his way, provided he could change into some shorts first…. No thank you!

Now, 20 years or so later, I find myself driving up in my own sensible car, heading for a Michelin star restaurant in Nottingham (how times have changed) Sat Bains is the only Michelin star restaurant in Nottingham I am aware of. It lies in the most unlikely place you can imagine; Just off a main road, under some power cables, it is impossible to join the network of cars again after a meal due to blind corners with fast cars wizzing by, next to a tobacco factory that used to smell of apple pies (if you take my assistant Pat’s word for it - also an ex-Nottingham student).

The restaurant itself is a real gem. With its own vegetable garden and chefs opening oysters under the blue skies, it also has a resident rabbit. The idea behind this shoot was not only to photograph Sat Bains in action, his big presence working with his chefs in the kitchen, but we also wanted to show the softer side of Sat. The hard side was the man who goes to the gym every day, goes hunting and looks and acts very much like the alpha male. The softer Sat was the man who loves his soft, fluffy bunny, Junior. (In fact, the only thing you are not allowed to joke about is the bunny, and what it would taste like on a silver platter.)

The telephone conversations prior to the shoot were something to be transcribed in itself. The picture editor from OFM and I discussed how we could photograph Sat with the bunny, with a nod to the kitchen and food, without it looking like Sat was about to cook it.

Sat looking like a bigger, stronger, sleeker version of Jason Statham made it hard to think of a solution to this problem. If he wore chef’s whites then there would be an instant indication to him eating the bunny. Without a chefs jacket we had nothing that said food, and it may as well have been a cover for Pets Are Us. As sometimes happens with these ideas being bounced back and forth is that an idea appears out of the blue. Sometimes it seems like a throw away idea, as it is something you could imagine in a cartoon, but in real life it would be impossible. I mentioned to Michael that if the bunny could wear a chefs outfit too, then it would look like they worked together. (Last time I checked, the chefs outfits for bunnies were all sold out due to high demand from Buggs Bunny’s kitchen), so Michael continued the joke with suggesting ‘chefs hat with ear holes’. ‘Chefs Hat’ - I thought…. It stuck to my brain like a throw away plaster in the swimming hall changing room sticks to your feet.

That evening, just before going to bed, I asked my wife as a joke, (but also as I knew that if it could be made, she could do it); ‘Can you make a chefs hat for a rabbit?’ Without hesitation she asked me to pass her paper, staples and tape. 5 minutes later, there it was. My eyes light up and I knew the shoot was saved.

The rest of the shoot was to show Sat as the hunter, the sportsman, the iron fisted head chef, the alpha male. Well, that was easy. A tractor wheel, shotgun and a kitchen filled with liquid ice smoke should cover that feel.…

Jo Whiley

This shoot with Jo was for Specsavers. It seems Jo and I have something in common, apart from the love of music. Jo suffers from tinnitus. Specsavers are not only the savers of specs but it seems they can help with any hearing issues too.

Of course having tinnitus for Jo is probably a little worse than it is for me. Jo presents music programs and is constantly introducing the UK to new acts and great music. Going to see gigs and listening to music is what she does, and tinnitus must be a little like me having cataract.

Jo was as expected; funny, nice and full of smiles. She took a few stabs at my lingo as I gave it all with my photography speak (show me ‘optimism’ was one of the commands that slipped out of me as I was pressing the shutter…) If you don't think that sounds too stupid then just give it a try. Visually portraying optimism in a single expression is maybe harder than I had once thought and may leave the sitter with an expression of confusion instead….

Brett Anderson

I knew from the word “go” that a shoot with Brett Anderson from Suede had great potential. He has always been a man of style. From his glam days as a lead singer in Suede until today, he’s stayed true to his cool image. Although a little toned down now from his younger days, his skinny jeans and sleek look is still a strong look. So, when deciding how to shoot Brett I was determined to move away from stereotypical “male imagery” and brought in pink, pink and more pink. I made an educated guess that he’d be wearing black and if anyone could make pink overload work, then it would be Brett. Brett famously described himself as “a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience” - so the femininity that is traditionally, (and I emphasise the word ‘traditionally’) associated with pink would surely pass.

I also chose to have a second setup playing with lots of different colour gel, an idea I had, giving a visual nod towards the late 80’s and the glam period that saw Suede at their biggest.

Brett came in to the room and didn’t flinch at the big pink backdrop and pink chair. He introduced himself with confidence and introduced a small selection of outfits. Brett was engaged in the image process and showed great interest in the images. Not in a critical and disapproving way, but agreed with the direction and let me know his own favourites.

Great man to work with, bringing both style and character to the shoot.

Observer New Review

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

“I’m off to shoot the first man to sail singlehandedly around the world without stopping” I told my 6 year old son on the day on this shoot. He looked at me before he replied with one of the best questions I can imagine anyone asking, not least a 6 year old: “How did he get water to drink”. I had no clue and to be honest the thought never entered my head. During the shoot with Sir Robin Knox I was told by the man himself that he collected the condensation from the sail. This is of course just one of the many issues that come with sailing around the world, and he did it back in the days when the thought of doing any thing like what Sir Robin has done was beyond comprehension.

My grandad was a captain on a ship in Norway before, during and after WWII and I have grown up hearing stories of the sea. It was then especially strange when, a few minutes into the shoot, it struck me that he looked a little like my Norwegian grandad, followed by a hit in the stomach as he also reminded me of my dad. In the moments that may not be so evident through the pictures, but the mannerisms, nose, something about the eyes, the curls, and a slight smell of cigarettes - all reminded me of my dad. Admittedly, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was a healthier version of my dad, especially my dad’s latter years, but never the less the resemblance was poignant - as if he was my dad if my dad had chosen to follow my grandads footsteps and become a sailor.

At the end of the shoot, after creating the cover images needed, we headed off down to the harbour where I got to step on that boat that once sailed the world without stopping. And that is really when the scale of his achievement truly struck me; the only thing between Sir Robin and the vast open sea was a floating object made of wooden planks, no bigger that a couple of football goals put together.

Gene Simmons

I checked out a little about the legend Gene Simmons before I went to shoot him in a small hotel room in Soho. It was obvious that this was a man who knew about marketing himself and I was prepared for it. I expected logos, books, action figures and all other merchandise that could point us in his direction, and if needed I would negotiate a golden middle way. However, all that was in the hotel room was a safe/vault, (his new ultimate record collection comes in the form of a vault,) and nothing else. I quite liked the vault, included it in one of my setup ideas and Gene entered the room.

Gene was a taller than I expected. A handshake soon changed into a fist bump and off to the wonderful world of Gene we went. He took the Mick out of the cockney accent, with a not tooooo bad of an impression. (It’s the first time I have heard an American criticise the Brits for not pronouncing their ’t’s’.) His playlist, played off his phone, was unexpected, finishing with a tune that left us all speechless, with goosebumps and a tear in the eye. If you don’t react to Nat King Cole’s rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s song ‘Smile’ then you are cold as ice.

The shoot didn’t feel as a shoot in many ways. I didn’t control the timings as I had Gene’s attention for a couple of minutes before he’d decided he’d had enough of that setup. Don’t get me wrong, Gene was generous with his time, he just didn’t want to hang around for that infamous ‘just one more shot’. It was then for me to move around and try something else, and again he would accommodate and contribute for a couple more minutes, and so it went. 10 min chat and laughs followed by a couple of minutes photography. At the end I had to ask - ‘bathtub??’ - and in he went. No water though, that may have been going too far, and as he was still in his rock outfit, it would leave him wet for the rest of the day. Anyway, I wasn’t really aiming to show Gene in the bath getting clean, but wanted more to create a “rock’n roll” image, giving a hint to the rock star that finds himself in the bathtub at the end of a hard night.

Gene’s team was present, hoping he wouldn’t be too vocal on certain issues and in the hope that their presence may prevent Gene from telling a few un-pc jokes. It may have restricted him a little but a Willie Nelson joke was still served on a silver platter in exchange for a promise not to publish it. The manager was urging Gene not to say it as ‘It’s a delicate climate nowadays and we all have to watch what we say.’ I can imagine that the manager has his work cut out trying to keep Gene on the right side of political correctness, but where would Rock rock be if they obeyed by the rules of Political Correctness and health and safety?

Thomasz Schafenaker

This shoot with Tomasz Schafernaker, UK’s handsomest weather reporter, took some time to set up. After a few interruptions, (such as hurricane in the US which he had to report from,) we finally managed to arrange a time and date.

The first idea was ‘Singing in the Rain’ followed by the more cartoon like ‘followed by a dark cloud’. It was obvious that we needed a location with water outlet and so my allotment and neighbourhood was chosen as a backdrop. Tomasz had just returned on a redeye flight from the USA, tired but up for anything. I was at first unsure how he would take to the cold spray of a garden hose, but this is a man who’s used to standing in the eye of the storm and report back to us all who sit in the warm comfort of our houses. He was up for anything!!!!

The shoot took a little imagination to create and the dark street (on a sunny day) took a good dose of flash to make it look right. No day is the same and this was particularly fun challenge.

Shot for the Observer Magazine

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

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell wears a Californian chilled-ness like a suit. It’s the chilled, cool attitude that can only be worn by someone who has been born and grown up in the Sunny State. Dude is a name used too much, but is perfectly suited to the brilliant Sam Rockwell. I met him when he was in London promoting his new film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. The film, also starring Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson. If there is ever a film you could imagine the fun behind the scenes and imagine hanging out between takes, then this is surely it. With a star cast like the three actors mentioned above, and the fact that it last night just ran away with three Golden Globe awards, (Sam Rockwell receiving best supporting actor) are all indications that this is a must see film.

Shot for The Guardian G2

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

Noel Gallagher

It seems a life time ago since I photographed Noel for the first time, and as far as my photography career is concerned, then it probably was. Last time I was restricted to a small boardroom, so it was a pleasure to have a whole studio space to play with. Noel rocked up that late Monday afternoon, (I don’t know if Noel can actually just ‘arrive’ at a destination - he is most certainly a ‘rocked up’ kinda guy). Guitar in hand and looking sharp, even though he himself said he was knackered having just had a whole weekend of events. One of them being the Manchester memorial concert “We Are Manchester”, where he was amongst a group of musicians invited to play at the reopening of Manchester Arena after the terror attack in May. And what better act to reopen a space like Manchester Arena after a tragedy than Noel and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. The tune is not only personal to Gallagher but also rings true in so many situations.

The shoot itself was casual. We talked about love for South America, particularly Buenos Aires, his new album and life in general. It was the kind of chilled shoot that should allow for a sit down and an ice cold Mojito. However, 45 minutes and a few setups to work through meant no time for play. And I am sure that after a busy weekend Noel would rather go home, fill the bathtub with some bubbles and gobble up the caviar, than sit and chat to some photographer at a random studio. Maybe I’ll suggest bathtub and caviar for the next shoot?!

Shot for Sunday Times Culture

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson has released a new book. Her book is about simple but good home cooking and is called At My Table. This shoot for Waitrose Food was aimed at toning it down and keeping it real. So real that we even had the luxury of including a tray of small home grown red apples. (The type of apples I spent many of my younger years scrumping. - Sorry old neighbours…) A linen table cloth and a casually dressed Nigella - all spell out home cooking as far as I am concerned. Nigella is the queen of cook books and this new book will be like having the queen herself in your own home, in a kitchen sharing all her home-cooking secrets, (without the corgis).

Shot for Waitrose Food Magazine

AUDI Ownership

This series of images is from a recent campaign shot for AUDI aimed at getting AUDI owners to make use of the expertise provided by AUDI garages. The shoot was to be done as if looking out from inside the engine of an AUDI.

This was a collaboration with the advertising agency BBH.