Gary Lineker and Danny Baker

It was only a few minutes before Gary Lineker and Danny Baker were to go live with their podcast, recorded in Gary’s kitchen.  And there I was, sitting at the table seriously considering that Gary could have been a successful chef, as I scoff in some more of his home made Moroccan inspired vegetarian stew.  I finished my dish, Gary and Danny were given the thumbs up, the room fell silent and the two, facing each other on the opposite sides of a kitchen island, started talking about the week’s football news and reeling out random football facts.  

For 30 minutes we were able to get the front row seats to this performance, before we headed off down into Lineker’s basement to start the photoshoot, shooting the cover for Gary and Danny’s book ‘Behind Closed Doors: Life, Laughs and Football’.  

We’d pushed Gary’s ping-pong table aside to make space and moved the sofa facing the projection cinema screen. 

Gary is the calmer of the two, but together they work perfectly.  Casual banter and laughs before props like golden boots and footballs from historical matches were brought in to the shot.  Gary and Danny are very different, but they work perfectly together.  

Shot for Random House

Old Hall

In rural Suffolk there is an old monastery on 70 acres of land.  In this monastery live around 70 people commune.  Families and singles live in units to suit their own needs with shared communal rooms and facilities.  They all have to work on the land for a certain amount of hours a week.  The cooking rotates and they eat food from their own land.  This commune has been around since 1974 and the people who live there go to schools near by, or work in jobs outside the Old Hall.  

As we all found ourselves in isolation, this community had isolated themselves as a community.  Few people allowed in, and contact with the people outside was done with caution.  

As I drove onto the land of Old Hall I see kids running through the fields and playing with the small patches of snow left over from a small snowfall the night before.  Adults were gathering outside the kitchen, preparing for lunch.  Not much evidence of farming work at that time of year, but a hanger filled with wood showed that there was still work to be done to keep warm.  I expected only around 10-15 people to take part in the portrait, but when it was all set up and I had given the “all ready” sign, around 25 people appeared from doors, around corners or from over the distant fields.  One boy was determined to hide his face and I pulled out all the stops to make him look.

When the shoot was finished I was given a small box with great tasting carrots and onions, cake and a coffee.  I packed up the car and drove off in the direction of the Suffolk sunset….

Shot for The Observer Magazine

Coco Khan

January is here and many of us are thinking of self improvement and how we can take better care of ourselves.  Coco Khan wrote an article touching on a few things that she’s tried out.  Ice bath has fast become a trend.  Not only is it a thing the sports stars use to reduce injuries, but it’s now proven to be good for us mere mortals too.  It’s even supposed to be good to fight Dementia.  I have the for the last two years got into cold water swimming too, and it really does make a difference.  I don’t get colds very often anymore, and I feel sharper and happier.  It is one of the things I miss the most when I find myself in lockdown.  A cold shower or cold bath is all very well, but it’s not the same as submerging your whole body in 4 degrees water and going for a swim.  

So - I went out and bought 20 bags of ice to illustrate Coco Khan having an ice bath.  

Coco also talked about Sage smoking, so I had to get a few bags of sage in too.  4 firearms, (smoke in all rooms in the building as it had seeped through the cracks in the floorboards,) and a stressed out studio assistant later, we finally got the shot.  

Lastly, it was the UV light mask that should help with skin and ageing…. 

Mix them all together and no doubt you will live forever!  Or at the very least survive January 2021.

Shot for The Guardian Weekend Magazine

Richard Godwin

A shoot with Richard Godwin and his exercise bike in his Garage in Bristol.  January is the month to look at self improvement and exercise.   Can’t say I have made many resolutions myself this year apart from “surviving!”.

Shot for The Observer Magazine

Mae Martin

Mae Martin wasn’t really on my radar when I got the call to shoot her. She’s a Canadian comedian who’s steadily making her way into the British comedy scene.  Brutally honest about her sexuality and her addiction to certain drugs, which are not only the subjects of many of her standup routines, but also the story of the Channel 4/Netflix sitcom “Feel Good”, which she wrote and is the protagonist in.

I found this venue in South London and loved it for all of its possibilities.  Mae was cautious to begin with as she had a set idea of how she wanted to be seen, but the location and ideas we both liked allowed for a fun shoot.

Shot for Observer Magazine

Romesh Ranganathan

I have had the pleasure of working with the brilliant Romesh Ranganathan a few times now.  Each time is better than the last.  However, getting a chance to collaborate with someone on their book is always a special treat.  It means a little more two way collaboration, and in this case a lot of fun props.  Romesh’s new book “As Good as It Gets” deals with life as a middle aged man.  So we found it fitting to place Romesh as if at the end or middle of a kids party, finding himself torn between having interests that are associated with a younger generation, yet having to balance the responsibilities of a parent and middle aged with middle class expectations. 

The shoot involved an unpredictable party popper, party hats (both for Romesh and me,) a very sweet but tasty vegan cake, tricycle, balloons, helium (in balloons and lungs) and a lot of confetti!  What more could you ask from a shoot?

Shot for Random House Publishing

Michael Spicer

Social media has been the way forward for many new comedy acts.  The traditional route of making it through standup, panel shows and then into the national spotlight is a thing of the past.  Especially now that Covid19 has shut all comedy venues and restricted panel shows and audiences.  

Michael Spicer is a comedian who has attempted to make it through standup, writing and appearing on other comedy shows briefly.  But it was only when he came up with the idea that he could pretend to be the advisor for politicians who say stupid things, that he really hit it big.  Michael’s twitter shows “Room Next Door”, started with him pretending to be the advisor for Boris Johnson, talking into an earpiece for the PM when he was talking about his hobby building busses out of crates.  It was painful moment to watch when Boris tried to manoeuvre himself through that interview.  I had seen it before and was shocked that the interview wasn’t more common knowledge.  I almost pinched myself asking if that interview was actually real or just a fragment of my imagination.  Surely - if it was real we would all be talking about it.  If Theresa May got ridiculed for her running through a corn field, then this revelation by Boris should take the first place.  It was not until Michael Spicer made fun of the interview that I finally got confirmation that it was not just me that thought the interview was too much of a comedy gold moment.   Michael’s genius angle is that he pretends to be the advisor talking into Boris’ earpiece at that exact moment. 

He has since pretended to be the advisor for Trump, Priti Patel and many others as they reveal complete incompetence during press conferences or interviews.  Michael does not only highlight the moments which we all notice but that are soon forgotten, but him highlighting the blunders allow the mistakes to get a little more time in the headlights in a world where news passes us by faster than a car in a formula 1 race.

Shot for Observer Magazine

Stephen K Amos

Stephen K Amos is part of the 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

Daisy Haggard

I was first introduced to Daisy Haggard’s series ‘Back to Life’ a few days before photographing her.  The series is written by Daisy and she plays the lead; a girl who’s let out of prison and has to adjust to a life back home.  Yes - it sounds serious, but Daisy has a perfect way of bringing humour into the subject matter, yet being respectful.  Meeting Daisy, and also following her on instagram, you get the feeling that her humour is not just show, but she is naturally funny.  

I photographed Daisy just before an event she was attending for SKY.  We were in a crammed hotel room, which I managed to completely rearrange, and we talked about everything from the awkward moments at red carpet events to the comfort of a cup of tea and having small kids at home.  The shoot was nice and relaxed. If you are not familiar with Daisy’s work already then check her out.  Delightfully funny on screen and off.  Successful, yet comes across as someone who is doing her work because she likes to make people laugh, and not because she wants them to recognise her for being the talent that she is. And - she’s got the most genuine smile in the industry too.  

Shot for G2

Greg Davies and Alex Horne

Taskmaster is one of those shows that you watch, have a giggle, but secretly also wish you could be part of.  Greg Davies and Alex Horne present the show which give comedians tasks they have to complete to their best ability. Such a simple concept, yet the resolutions to the tasks set are often comedy gold.  However I would have to become a famous comedian in order to take part.  The problem with that is that I have no interest of being famous, and I am about as funny as a German parking attendant - (just ask my kids).  I guess that means I have no chance.  

I met up with Greg and Alex at Pinewood studios, just after they had wrapped up the last episode of the up and coming series.  As I will only be taking part in Taskmaster in my own mind, I secretly imagine that this job is exactly that - a task from Greg and Alex.  The task for this shoot was to show extra consideration because of the Covid threat, yet convey a message that says Taskmaster with a pinch of comedy.  The shoot was highly disinfected, and a two meter distance between us all was observed at all times.  Pictures were taken, delivered and published within the given time frame.  I now just wait for Alex’s delivering of the results and Greg’s hard judgement of the execution of the task.  Fingers crossed I get invited back for a second task.

Shot for The Guardian

Griff Rhys Jones

There are some places in London you walk past thinking that ‘nobody actually lives there - it’s just too good to be true’. I ended up in one these houses early one autumn morning.  It was as central as can be in London without actually being in the middle of Oxford Circus.  The house was grand and facing a small park, in a quiet cul-de-sac, not far from Regents Park.  The place was just so perfect looking and perfectly placed that if anyone actually lived there, they would surely have to own a few banks and several of countries with major oil funds at the very least.  

I found myself knocking on the door at, asking not for a hedge fund manager or a British Lord, but for the comedian, writer and actor Griff Rhys Jones.  Griff, (and not the expected penguin outfitted butler,) opened the door.  The entrance hall was bigger than my whole house.  It looked big on the outside, but when you got in you saw that it just got bigger and bigger - like a scene in ‘Charlie and the chocolate factory’.  It was like walking into the wardrobe in Narnia, except there was no Lion there to greet me.  Large open hall, high ceilings, great art work plastered on all walls, the list goes on.  It’s the kind of place you wish you could just have free roam of the space and a lot of time to do whatever you wanted.  As often is the case though, we had to restrict ourselves to one environmental setup and one with a backdrop, and there was of course a time limit to stick to.  “We’re selling and moving house” Griff said half way through the shoot. Just for a second, I imagined myself in a parallel world with a few suitcases full of £50 notes, cigar in mouth, wearing a three piece suit and Brogue shoes - ready to talk business.  However, I soon realised why I was there, my bags weren’t filled with money but with camera equipment - and I continued to set up the red backdrop and lights - preparing for the shoot.  

Opening the Restaurants

August 2020 saw the restaurants in the UK open for the first time in 5 months. This is an industry that has been hit particularly badly and many are struggling to open with etc new guidelines for social distancing and other Covid19 regulations. This set of images of Ella McCabe was taken for the OFM to illustrate some of the issues the industry is facing.

Shot for OFM

Rear View Window

(The complete project can be seen on instagram @rear.view.window and/or under my personal work on my website.)

As lockdown hit the UK I was faced with the choice of becoming furloughed and putting all my efforts into the home schooling of my two boys, or I could try to find a way to continue my work as a portrait photographer. The latter seemed virtually impossible, yet I believed that being in a creative industry meant that I should at least try to come up with creative solutions. I wanted to be part of this historical event and find my own way creating something that helps capture the time we are living in. I decided that I wanted to create remote portraits of people from all over the world who find themselves in isolation.  I have always had grand ideas of international projects where I get to travel from place to place to photograph people from all around the world. Yet, being a father of two young boys, these long term project seem impossible to undertake. 

Instead of Covid19 becoming a hindrance, I embraced the opportunity to virtually travel around the world to photograph what is now over 150 people, isolated in their homes. In the beginning I was struggling with the imperfections of the images.  Being used to high quality images with perfect sharpness, I found it hard to accept the imperfections of photographing people on screen.  Images were a little soft, struggled with details in shadows and digital noise.  It took me a little while to accept these imperfections that I have now learned to embrace and love.  These imperfections have now become what I consider to be essential parts of the story.  They help show the distance between us and the isolation and the digital world we rely on top keep in touch with each other.  Lastly, the imperfections give the images a more painterly feel, that take the portraits into a world of more traditional portraiture.  I have to admit that I have many times been in doubt about this project.  I think that is often the case when I approach a project and new experimental techniques.  Personal work for me is a chance to experiment with the medium of photography, but with that comes great doubt.  Looking back on the work now I feel I have achieved something unique and with an aesthetic I am truly proud of. 

I have in the last 4 months been in Samoa, Hawaii, Easter Island, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Russia and many, many more places.  

I will continue this project if I am still contacted by people whom find themselves isolated due to Covid19, but if I am not, then I feel I have completed a body of work which is a part of a lot of creative work out there, that will document the historical event we are experiencing.  

The work has got its own instagram page @rear.view.window - and I am looking for alternative avenues for this work to be shown.

Personal Project

Refugee Week Ambassadors

Before the Covid-19 UK lockdown I was brought in to collaborate with Counterpoints Arts to create a campaign to celebrate the Ambassadors chosen for this years Refugee Week. The shoots were concept driven and involved big studio setups and fun, creative ideas.  I completed one shoot with the lovely author Onjali Q Rauf before we were all told to isolate. 

There were still 9 more ambassadors to shoot so we needed to do a fast rethink of how we could still create a campaign.  As we were no longer dependent on a printed campaign, and maybe the most important thing was that the campaign had a look and common thread, we decided to drop the concept driven studio shoot ideas, to pursue a simpler aesthetics.  I came up with the idea of directing the ambassadors remotely and then having them take the final image on their mobile phone.  This would solve the issues of the imperfections you get by photographing remotely, yet it gave us sharp images that had a common look and feel.  

Here is the final campaign as well as the first image from the original concept.  

Shot for Counterpoint Arts

Covid19 Dogs

The fight against Covid-19 is taking many different avenues. The ability to diagnose people early is a part of this battle and will help to contain the illness. Training dogs to be able to smell Corona on people before they show any signs or symptoms is one possible avenue to fight this virus. 

A team of dog trainers near Milton Keynes are training dogs for exactly this.  I was sent up to their training centre to photograph some of the dogs that are on the forefront in this battle against Covid-19.

Shot for Observer Magazine

EMMY Magazine - Remote portraits

When the world was in lockdown I was busy working on a personal project photographing people from all over the world who find themselves in isolation.  As a result EMMY magazine commissioned me to take the portraits of people behind films and TV shows we see on TV.  A pleasure working with the magazine on this, but also a pleasure to work with so many talented DOPs, costume designers and writers.  

Shot for EMMY Magazine

Big Narstie

I wish I could say that I rolled up, into some secluded mansion in deepest Essex, in a pink 1966 “Sonny and Cher Custom” Mustang convertible - with camera in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, beats on the stereo - met by Big Narstie and his giant dog at the golden gate entry to his estate, (with massive BN letters on the gate).  However, I found myself in a sensible Toyota Aurius hybrid, economically making its way up the M11 for 30 minutes, only to arrive at Big Narstie’s man cave; a red brick house in suburban Harlow.  We pulled up and knocked at an anonymous door but no answer.  A few moments later, in a flash black 4 wheel drive, Big Narstie rolls up and into the car park, across the road from a shut down Wetherspoons pub.  His own brand red hoodie, a lunch bag burger and smoke in one hand, and the lead to Utred in the other.  (Ultred is a dog as big as Big Narstie - named after the main character in the TV drama Vikings).  Around Big Narstie’s neck is a sparkly large necklace portraying his dog.  I may not have rolled up in a Mustang convertible and I may not have entered a grand gate leading up to some big mansion, but the MAN had arrived with all the character needed. 

The name Man Cave sounded good on paper, but the fact was that it was more a shell of a house that was used for Big Narstie to work on his music, other projects, and that he could invite people like me and the journalist to avoid exposing his own house and family.  The decor was sparse and curtains closed.  

So we headed to the park around the corner to start the shoot there.  A few teenagers, on bikes talking on mobile phones stopped mid word and yelled out in wonder when they saw Big Narstie.  This is a man who has been true to his roots, still appeals to people from his own background, yet has managed to penetrate and appeal to the white, British upper and middle-class too.  He is an all rounder, and 100% genuine.  Respect!

Shot for Observer Magazine

Jade Thirwall

I have to admit that I have never been a follower of Little Mix. I turn up to this shoot with Jade Thirwall with a little research about Jade but still no great knowledge of her music.  This shoot however, was not so much about her music but about her influences and lookalikes.  Jade is a big fan of Diana Ross, (here-here!) and with a little makeup, a wig and the right outfit, she is a lookalike too, (not here-here!).  The Guardian had a special feature on celebrity lookalikes, and Jade (or Diana Ross lookalike Jade,) was the cover shoot.  

Exactly what image of Diana Ross that would be on the cover was still in dispute, so I ended up trying to complete 3 different covers that related to three known images of Diana Ross.  The red dress (chain reaction) was obviously one of the favourites we wanted to try.  But as is often the way with these things, the one we expect to be our favourite is not always in the end.  Diana is known for being a bit of a diva, and I had maybe expected the same of Jade.  However, Jade was sweet and fun.  A genuine woman with sensibilities, a sense of humour and a like of music not unlike my own.  A lot of laughs and a genuinely fun woman to work with. 

Shot for The Guardian Weekend Magazine

AJ Tracey

The rapper AJ Tracey turned up at the small studio at the Guardian/Observer building wearing a black fleece and blue cap.  With him was a small entourage.  I had put up a pink backdrop ready for the shoot.  Not every man who can be photographed infront of pink, but when it works, it works. And I knew that AJ Tracey would carry it off.  

AJ is always seen with his hair in plaits, but on the day we did this shoot the hair under the cap promised to be more like an afro.  I took a few pictures to start with whilst planning the best way to ask if we could remove the cap.  AJ was a pretty chilled guy in every way, but one boundary would not be crossed.  The cap would remain firmly put on the head.  

Shot for Observer New Review

Nicole Scherzinger

Nicole had just stepped off the plane from Spain where she had presented the MTV Europe music awards the night before.  She walked into the studio wearing a comfy tracksuit, sunglasses and clutching her travel pillow.  Probably exhausted from the night before and more traveling, she was plunged into a small studio where we could only setup a makeshift wall for her privacy.  She hid behind the makeshift wall for over two hours before the ‘walls’ opened up and the more glamorous Nicole appeared. 

I introduced myself and my team, and explained to her that I was interested in capturing a natural Nicole.  It soon became clear that Scherzinger was happy to stand in front of the camera - a seasoned pro.  But it was also obvious to me that her experience of being photographed involved a certain element of performance.  Wanting also to see how she looked on the screen led to many comments from Nicole about this third person Nicole liking or disliking the shots. Maybe that’s the best way to deal with a shoot when you are a celebrity?  Look at yourself as a third person, the ‘you’ which is performing for the camera

Shot for The Guardian G2