Campaign for Prezzee
In collaboration with Prezzee, Revolt london and Twenty Twenty Agency
Samantha Morton in London
Commissioned by The Guardian
Brett Morgen in London
Commissioned by Observer New Review
A modern West African inspired restaurant in the centre of London. Main portraits are of Chef Jeremy Chan and restaurant Director Iré Hassan-Odukale
Commissioned by Cook
More images from the Guardian Saturday Magazine Flashback series. This time we have recreated images from the family and professional albums of:
I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that it is impossible to take a bad picture of Mark Rylance. (Of course, this is where you all step in and say my pictures are shit!😳)
This man is not only photo-proof, but he is also possibly the loveliest man you could ever meet. This shoot took place in Bristol Old Vic where he was performing live in Dr Semmellweis. This shoot however was to help promote his new film, a comedy about golf called The Phantom of the Open. I never thought of Mark as a big golfer so I asked him about his skills with the club - and he said he had no skill what so ever. “That’s why I got picked for the role” he said.
It was a shoot where I tried to accomplish a lot. Some natural daylight shots and 10X8 portrait as light was slowly leaving us for the black of the night. A clean backdrop shot, use of some material for backdrop, change of flashlight, closeups as well as pulled back environmental shots. Although we tried to accomplish a lot in a short time, the whole shoot felt like a nice time with good friends. Jasmine Perry, (who commissioned me,) and Mark Rylance allowed for the shoot to progress with light banter and a few laughs.
Shot for SAGA magazine
There are few actors and actresses that achieve a cult following. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, but some actors and actresses have, due to who they are, or the roles they have played, managed to get followers that would go to any lengths to get images or things that relate to you. Emilia Clarke is one of those actresses. The first thing that shocks you when you do a little research on Emilia is that she’s got 26.9 million followers. Let’s put that into perspective. That’s five times the inhabitants of Norway (my home country) - or approximately as many as there are people living in Australia. Basically, If the amount of instagram followers was translated into a nation for which you ruled, then Emilia would rule a fairly decent size country.
I have worked with Emilia a couple of times and she is as down to earth and as funny as they come. So, aside from her being the Dragon Queen in Game of Thrones. (which has undoubtably got her quite a few fans), her approachable character and skills as an actress have surely been the main reason why she has gained so many followers. However, I do believe that some of the most die hard fans, some of the more ‘stalker type’ fans are amongst them, and I can imagine them to be the die hard GOT fans. So when I posted an instagram post with one image from my shoot with Emilia, I soon after received an email claiming they were from an agency (name no names) and were going to get me several of thousand pounds by selling my images to I-D magazine. They had gone to the great length of creating an email address which was almost the same as the agency’s name, for which they claimed to be contacting me from. All this so they could access some images that had not been seen before. Maybe to have on their own wall, or that they could try to create unofficial merchandise or exclusive social media material.
So, for this instance I have taken the precaution to watermark these images and only select a very few to show you. With all my work, I intend for it to see it in the best possible light, but I show these images with watermarks as I feel it’s important to share this part of the reality of a photographer and the celebrities we work with. It is the second time I have worked with Emilia - and on both instances she has been a laugh to work with. How she can maintain such a down to earth nature is a true test of character - when 26 million people follow what you do, for which a few of them will go to any lengths to get new unseen images of you.
Shot for Observer New Review
I don’t know what it is about me that makes people want to commission me for Naturists shoots, but this is the second year in a row I’ve been asked. And the second commission was without the picture editor knowing that I had done a similar thing the previous year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. In fact, I enjoy the challenge of creating fun, interesting images of nudity, that are publishable by the mainstream press. Many say that it is a shame that the named body cannot be printed in a mainstream magazine and I do agree. However, this obstacle creates an additional challenge which I quite enjoy.
It was fun to once again work with some of the same people as I did the year before, and some new, but this time at the Naturist Foundation in South London.
Shot for Observer Magazine
I had the great pleasure of working with Lady Antonia Fraser in her home in West London. Although I only had one room to work in, the room showed so much character that it was perfect. Books and pictures as far as the eye could see, and in the middle of it all, a well used sofa.
Shot for Wall Street Journal
Olia Hercules is a truly remarkable London based Ukrainian born chef and food writer. Her work and books are great in themselves, and she is always lovely to work with. But now she has the stress and worry of caring for her friends and family in Ukraine as well as doing all she can to help Ukrainians in the UK and at home.
Shot for Observer Food Monthly
The cool dude, actor, comedian and writer Brett Goldstein, best known for playing Jason Sudeikis in the hugely popular Apple TV comedy series Ted Lasso. Instead of including footballs that would give a hint to his character in Ted Lasso, we brought out the ball pit. I loved the contrast of Brett’s stern, serious look and the playfulness of the colour balls and a ball pit.
Shot for Sunday Times Culture
The image of Fred Sirieix is the closest thing that we come to a real life Cupid. He’s the guy that welcomes everyone as they come into the restaurant at the hugely popular Channel 4 First Dates show. He’s a French maître d’hôtel and puts everyone who appears on the program instantly at ease, showing them to the bar where they can get a little ‘medicine’ to ease their nerves. So for this feature we got him jumping out of a plane with a cocktail and suitcase in hand to share some holiday tips.
Shot for OFM
In these times when peoples budgets are squeezed, prices are sky rocketing and more and more people are forced to think about the pennies they spend, there are a few out there who make it their goal in life to find the best deals and fight for the every day consumer. This set of images are of 4 prominent people who help everyday people find great deals, survive on low budgets and fight injustice from large companies and government. Comedian Joe Lycett has used his TV show “Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back” to take on large companies like Hugo Boss for sending cease and desist letters to small businesses and Shell for greenwashing. Jack Monroe has made a name of herself for coming up with affordable, low cost recipes for people to cook at home. Kwajo Tweneboa has given a voice to social housing tenants and exposed to derelict living conditions they are forced to endure. And lastly Holly Smith, aka Coupon Queen - who advices people how they can cut thousands of pounds off their shopping bills every year by finding great coupon bargains.
These people are all consumer heroes, fighting to make lives better and more affordable for people who need it.
Shot for The Guardian Saturday Magazine
Its a great day when you walk into a studio, knowing you ‘re going to photograph a guitar legend like Johnny Marr. The Smiths were an important part of my teenage years and a key figure behind that was the one and only Johnny Marr. He was as cool as they come, but not arrogant in any way. If anything I’d say he was modest, interesting to talk to and pretty chilled. I had a few different ideas that I ran past him and, although he did hesitate a few seconds as I pulled out the acoustic 1/2 size guitar, he agreed to pretty much everything. Even though he has his own guitar brand he didn’t object to posing with a cheap acoustic guitar, but he was hesitant due to the size. “I’m not a fan of these small guitars some artists bring out” - a fair and just explanation to why he didn’t want to hold the guitar at least.
Shot for Observer New Review
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 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
One of my favourite films in the last decade is “Lovers Rock” by Steve McQueen. In that film there is a scene where they are dancing at a party to the song “Silly Games”. The dance scene is the whole of the song. It is not only a brave scene to film, but it is so powerful. And the cornerstone of the scene is the song Silly Games by musician and producer, Lover’s Rock legend, Dennis Bovell. I met up with Dennis in a park near Tottenham Stadium. We timed it so we could complete the shoot before the school finishes and hundreds of kids take over the quiet park. Well - that is almost all kids were at school. Two kids did come over and insisted on standing between me and Dennis for a while before their mum finally came and got them to move along.
Dennis - such a chilled guy. He has been all over the world and played music, he’s helped produce many albums and lastly, he’s been the king of Lover’s Rock! I bet he’s probably responsible for many hookups as couples find each other on the dance floor dancing to his smooth tunes.
Such a pleasure to work with Dennis. A man of many tales, but he didn’t brag. Seemingly just an ordinary guy in Tottenham, however, the success he’s experienced is more than many of us could wish for.
Ledge’!
Shot for Observer Magazine
Evanna Lynch became famous through the Harry Potter series where she played Luna Lovegood - the best character name since Honor Blackman played Pussy Galore in a James Bond film. She fit her character in the Harry Potter films so well that even JK Rowling has named her as her favourite, or at least most accurately portrayed out of the film series. Since then she has made noticeable performances on stage and on screen. As well as becoming a prominent activist for animal rights and veganism she has also been a very important figure in promoting healthy self-esteem and body image for young girls, due to her own struggle with Anorexia Nervosia. The latter was also the subject of her memoir published last year, ‘The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and Glory of Growing Up’ - for which I was commissioned to take pictures of Evanna to be used on the book sleeve and to promote the book.
Evanna was such a dream to work with. She was modest and softly spoken, kind and fun. Working with Evanna was like working with a good friend. A steady but easy pace, filled with interesting conversations about her experiences, success and struggles. Talking about such issues as eating disorder from the perspective of having experienced it yourself takes enormous courage - and Evanna does this with brutal honesty.
Shot for Headline Publishing
