Destination Antarctica

We have left Auckland last Wednesday, and stopped once more in Bluff on the southern tip of New Zealand, to top up fuel, and now we are heading due south. The weather is getting decidedly colder and the seas rougher, but we knew that already. By New Year's Day, we should be in the Antarctic ice and in search mode for the Japanese whalers. Behind me are nearly two weeks in New Zealand - some time was spent travelling aimlessly through the north island admiring its beauty, and some time was spent agonising and fighting depression at the loss of our helicopter, Tweety. Without it having been repaired in time, our chances of finding the whalers are diminished, as are my possibilities for aerial coverage of the whaling actions and shots of icebergs and Antarctica in general. It is gutting to have lost about 50% of the potential pictures that I could have got before even reaching the scene, but it's a fact of life and I have to move on from that. Finding alternative angles and positions to shoot from is going to be my new hobby between now and the New Year - we have several ideas, but I shall not reveal any before we've tried them so stay tuned on this one...

beauty on my mind. Rather than to drone on about rough weather and heavy seas, I have poetic impressions of New Zealand'sKiwiland being divided into two islands and us having landed in Auckland, exploring the northern island was the obvious choice: Take a car from Jucy Rentals, buy map, buy guidebook, get beers, get cigarettes, turn the key and hit the road. That's pretty much how we left Auckland, blundering our way through some spectacular landscapes on the west coast and then heading south past Hamilton and into the South West around Waitomo. I think we originally decided to visit some caves with glow-worms, but along the way got distracted by spectacular waterfalls and Very Cold swim stops, fish & chip shops, bars with good Gin & Tonic and the odd breathtaking scenery ahead of us. We had far too little time to really get an idea of the vastness and ruggedness of lakes, parks, volcanoes and valleys that are scattered across the country - what we really got is a first impression of how spectacularly beautiful and unspoilt New Zealand still is. And we haven't even been on the south island, rumoured to be much more dramatic. I for one have decided to return here for at least a month, rent a motorbike and tear up the countryside in order to see as much as possible of it at some point in the future. To prove that I am not just blabbering, I have attached a selection of photos which I hope will make you green with envy ;-)

A propos pictures - I have used my time and the availability of broadband internet in Auckland to set up an online archive. Since several of you have been asking, from now on you can view up-to-date pictures from the expedition in the 'Oceans', 'Esperanza Aboard' and 'Esperanza Crew Portraits' folders accessible from the homepage at Digital Railroad. My aim is to be feeding fresh pictures into the archive whenever I have them, as we now have a reasonably fast and stable internet connection on board, a pure luxury most of the time, and essential when needed for the media work. So uploading pictures will not be a problem, the only limits being my own laziness and availability of things to shoot. So hopefully no problems on that front either, as I've learned to make proper coffee and within a week we will be in the ice.

Wish us luck as I feel that only now (well, after two months, actually), this trip is finally beginning to reveal its meaning. Thanks to relentless campaigning, protesting and pushing, diplomatic pressure and extensive news coverage, the Japanese government has agreed to abstain from killing 50 endangered Humpback whales, but they still have close to a thousand Minke and Fin whales on their menu. So good reasons for us to go down to the Southern Ocean and make their hunt as difficult as possible without endangering lives. It's been a long time coming, but now I feel that this voyage is getting serious and the ship's crew means business. Let's hope we all stay safe despite the harpoons and water cannons, and that we can stop the slaughter. Wish us luck.

Boys' Toys

Several people have asked me in recent weeks the inevitable kit-questions. Normally, I just say 'Canon' and leave it at that, preferring to see my cameras & lenses as tools of the trade rather than to marvel at the amount of buttons, custom functions, megapixels and variety of colour matrixes available.

BUT (there always is a but...) - this assignment is different, in the sense that it is ship-based and the destination is the Antarctic ice of the Southern Ocean. It means that what you've got is all that you will have, and no place to go if things break and need fixing or replacement.

So 'spares' was the magic word when I prepared for this trip, and spares is what I have a lot of: spare bodies, spare lenses, spare laptop, spare hard disks, spare chargers, spare batteries, spare cables, spare everything except for a spare pair of eyes or spectacles - those I didn't get done before leaving, and I do regret that now. Anyhow, before boring you any longer, here's my photographic kit list for those nerdy-minded correspondents among you - the computer stuff is just too boring to list, so I'll spare you (excuse the pun) the details:

Cameras:

1x EOS 1Ds II
2x EOS 1D II
1x EOS 5D
1x EOS 10D
1x PowerShot S70
1x Nikon D200 + underwater housing + 10 & 16mm fisheye lenses (Thanks Gavin!)
1x Linhof Technorama 617 S with Schneider 90/5.6 Super Angulon lens

Lenses:

1x EF 16-35/2.8 L
1x EF 17-35/2.8 L
1x EF 24-105/4.0 L IS
2x EF 70-200/2.8 L IS
1x EF 24/1.4 L
1x EF 35/1.4 L
1x EF 50/1.2 L
1x EF 50/1.4
1x EF 85/1.2 L
1x EF 85/1.8
1x EF 100/2.0
1x EF 135/2.0 L
1x EF 300/2.8 L IS
1x EF 500/4.0 L IS
1x EF 1.4x II Extender
1x EF 2.0x II Extender

When you have the whole lot in one place, you can't help thinking that it would do Mr Canon proud - what a good customer I've been, I just wish this stuff wasn't so expensive...
Given how much space this took to pack, I find it rather amusing that all of it fits into my toilet-sized cupboard workspace on the Esperanza, which you can see here:

Neptune can kiss my ass

Yes comrades, it has happened.

We have crossed the Equator line, without proper visas and permission, so those of us transgressing Pollywogs out on the open seas for the first time were summoned to Neptune's Court. The charges brought against me - apart from lacking the proper documentation - were stealing the souls of my fellow crewmates and being Czech. The punishment handed down by Neptune and his wife was a visit to the imaginary torture chamber, and being hosed down with seawater. After that, I duly received my certificate and am now officially a shellback named 'Happy Snapper' and I also have Neptune's consent to cross the Equator by sea in future. Result!

The whole episode was an afternoon of good-natured, theatrical fun considering that us 13 Pollywogs had given the shellbacks hell during the week before the hearing. We stole Neptune's costume, hosted our own lavish 'last supper' and left only the crumbs for the shellbacks to eat. Some clever mind opened a group on Facebook called 'Neptune kiss my ass', then staged a bogus vote on who from the crew should become Neptune, finally we all wore custom-made attire with the above slogan on our backs, and smeared ourselves with Nutella as warpaint in court. Given our conduct, I am still surprised that Mr & Mrs Neptune and his minions did not hand out more severe punishments as the laws of the seas are generally harsh. We had a good party afterwards, only a rotten hangover and a few dead braincells are the damage I sustained during my encounter with the god of the sea.

Despite the fun, the last few weeks have been quite rough. After announcing our presence off the south coast of Japan, we missed the Japanese whalers leaving port at night in stormy weather. We were all disappointed and gutted, as it meant that we would now spend the whole journey down south not on the tail of the Japanese, but on our own, wondering what course they took. To add insult to injury, a large Japan Coast Guard ship followed us for a week, no doubt relaying our position to make sure that we don't get anywhere near the whalers. So instead of us watching them, they ended up watching us - very smart, you have to give it to them, but worrying to what lengths the Japanese government is prepared to go to protect their controversial 'lethal research'. It is impossible to put into words how frustrating this has been, as for the time being it puts all hopes of a successful campaign on hold.

Next on the agenda was a Tropical storm that got upgraded to Typhoon strength by the weather stations. We were inside the Typhoon zone for the best part of a week, riding on 6 to 8-metre waves, the ship rolling and pitching a lot and making any decent sleep impossible. Add two 4-hour watches to the mix, and you had me metamorphosing into a perfect vegetable. Apart from those 8 hours during which I had to be awake and alert, it was pretty impossible to do anything that required concentration. On top of that, imagine the hot temperatures and high humidity in the tropics and you do not have a ship, but a sauna that's constantly moving. Pretty tiring, I can assure you... Most of the crew did not fare much better, but the upshot is that none of us was seasick, and that is good news, after all.

Now we are south of the Equator, and slowly making our way to Auckland, New Zealand for a refuelling and repair stop. We should be there by next weekend, hopefully. The clocks on board are moving forward every two days as we move through the timezones. With the odd engine stop for maintenance and a swim, I have taken the opportunity to learn using an underwater camera. It is great fun and quite difficult, but as a consequence I have become very popular with my fellow swimmers who all want a picture of themselves under water... I will attach a few to give you the general idea.

We have close to a week ahead of us at sea before we reach Auckland, but I actually can't say whether I look forward to that or not. I am making plans to rent a motorbike and go touring around the north island for a day or two, but I am not sure if I want to leave the ship for any amount of time now. Life on board has become pleasant as I am off watchkeeping duties and can now concentrate on what I came here to do: photography. Last night I relaxed lying on the heli deck with a few crewmates and some cold beers, watching the star-filled sky, lightning and dozens of little meteors shooting past and burning up in the atmosphere. It was a warm, calm night and perfect for falling asleep to the gentle roll of the ship while suspended in the safety-nets.

That's where I'll leave you, feeling guilty writing these lines and knowing that most of you are in the middle of a grey, cold and wet winter Sunday.

Plungepool fun

It's unbelievable what a little sunshine can do!

Ok, it was Sunday, and we were all pretty tired after riding a storm for the best part of a week. But the ingenuity of it all - it left me speechless and giggling with joy for the whole afternoon. Some clever mind found an old inflatable pool which got set up on the heli-deck. Connect an airhose for pressure, and a firehose for water, add some cool beers and jump in.

Fantastic!

Magnificent!!

Just what the doctor ordered!

More soon please!!

Pretty please!!!

Later we stopped the engines for some maintenance and a swim-stop. As we have been heading south for the whole week, the weather has been getting warmer and more tropical. I'd hazard a guess and say that the ocean was about 30 degrees Celsius, and that's pretty warm considering that most of Europe is firmly in winter mood. So we drifted in the northern Pacific, life-vests strapped to our bottoms for buoyancy, cool beers for drinks and the warm salty water to wash off the sweat. I can't remember the last time I felt better on a Sunday...

Role reversal

We have been heading South since Monday, and things have not been going according to plan. First, we lost the Japanese whalers from right under our noses - the catcher boats went past at high speed, and we ended up tracking a navy ship throughout the night. Although similar in size, at first light we realised that it has not been the Nisshin Maru, the factory ship which we were hoping to follow to the Southern Ocean.

Instead, the Japanese Coast Guard dispatched one of their ships to follow us. They have been on our tail for the best part of this week and it is, admittedly, a Very Smart Move. Instead of us watching the Japanese, they are watching us and relaying our position, thus making sure that the whalers stay well out of our way. It is impossible to put into words how frustrating this has been, as for the time being it puts all hopes of a successful campaign on hold. Only time and a few cunning tricks will tell how long the Coast Guard will stay with us, and whether and when we find the Japanese whalers.

To add insult to injury, we had to ride on the fringes of a Tropical Cyclone that got upgraded to Typhoon strength by the weather stations. For about 4 days, the ship has been pitching and rolling a lot, thus making any decent sleep impossible on the Esperanza. Add two 4-hour watches to the mix, and you had me metamorphosing into a perfect vegetable. Apart from those 8 hours during which I had to be awake and alert, it was pretty impossible to do anything that required concentration. Most of the crew did not fare much better, but the upshot is that none of us was seasick, and that is good news, after all. Even a sea-bird, a male Brown Boobie was so tired that he plonked himself down on the deck and just slept for two days. A few pictures from the heavy whether you can see below.

Going Live

Now it's official - the Esperanza is lying in wait south of Japan for the whaling fleet to leave port. Greenpeace announced their intentions during a press conference yesterday, published their campaign blog and even hired a plane to fly overhead and take some footage of the activists parading a banner on the heli deck. Here's a few pictures from the scene:

Hello from the Northern Pacific

Dear friends,



It is almost two weeks since I last wrote, so given that it is a Sunday evening, I am sitting on the bridge during my watch from 4-8pm, precious little is happening apart from 6-metre waves hitting our bow as we plough on, I figured it's time to get the laptop out and write. It is kindof therapeutical as so far, I've had no time to reflect, write diary or do any of the other things I planned to do on board. Time is passing quickly with two shifts on the bridge, from 4-8 am, and the same from 4-8 in the afternoon. I've learned to operate the radar screens, read NavText messages, use the radio and even steer the ship! However, it's not very exciting, just difficult in heavy seas and best left to the autopilot - that's what it's there for.

Thank you for all your messages and questions - I realise that it is pretty impossible to give you a complete picture of what this trip is like; rather, I'll pick a few anecdotes and moments, and leave the rest to your imagination and future emails...

We are generally in a phase of 'media blackout', so I cannot divulge any details about where we are, or where we are heading at the moment. The official version is that we're heading to Jakarta, but I guess you can read between the lines. We even have a webcam on board which takes a picture every minute from the bridge, and you can see it here. Please bear in mind that we're some 10 hours ahead of GMT, and you see pretty little during nighttimes. During the day, it's showing the bow of the ship and a lot of water - not very exciting, except maybe in a voyeuristic kindof way.

Since my last post, things have changed quite a bit - we were out at sea for almost a week, and then pulled into port in Keelung, Taiwan to pick up spare parts for the heli. Spent a further two nights trawling through dodgy harbour bars, this time with 'buy-me-a-beer' girls and crazy Americans wanting to fight in the 'Lucky Star' establishment in Keelung. If any of you ever make it there, just don't bother. Suffice to say, it all ended well but caused a bit of a stir on board. Upon leaving Taiwan, we got into some pretty heavy weather which made me seasick for the first (and so far only) time. It took us almost three days of rolling and pitching to escape the tropical storm which got upgraded to Typhoon - so good job by the captain and first officer who plotted a course out of the danger zone.

We have now been at sea for a further week, including almost two days of drifting as the engines were switched off. Thanks to Jeremy in Tokyo (he did this tour twice as a photographer) who recommended me taking the 4-8 watches, I have seen some pretty nice sunrises and sunsets. What is absolutely incredible is the blue of the water, a deep, almost shiny Azure, as if somebody manipulated reality with the saturation tool in Photoshop. During the drifting, we took the chance and jumped off the ship into the warm water, with over 5000 metres of nothing underneath us, and for several hundred miles in any direction just the Esperanza to swim back to. Swimming in the open ocean is a sensation I've never experienced before, and I am glad that I didn't do it alone - I have a better idea of what survivors of shipwrecks must feel when left out there.

One thing I did manage, however - I am getting a suntan, as the last few days have been pretty baking hot and sunny. It was so hot inside the ship due to lacking ventilation that sleeping in my bunk equals trying to sleep in a sauna, with sweat and all. So when the weather was good, I camped out on top of the doghouse, a small structure on the bow of the ship which you may be able to see from the webcam. Watching the sunrise from there while a gentle breeze blows overhead is just too romantic to describe, but you have to be inclined that way. I'll attach a picture or two to give you the general idea.

In the meantime, I've become good friends with Vlad, our Russian first officer on board who was captain in the merchant navy. I don't know if it is because we're both Slavs and thus understand each other without many words, or if we just have the same kind of black humour, but it's a blast. During this morning's watch we were bored and started playing with the gas masks and webcam - the result has been duly recorded. I just hope that nobody has seen this on the Greenpeace website thinking that we've been taken over by some clandestine naval commando. More flattering pictures of him are available, but those will appear on the campaign weblog which is to be launched soon.

A few days ago, a bird joined the ship - a Juvenile Peregrine, apparently. Vlad and I have named him Arturo, only to be told later that the bird is female - clearly a transvestite, we're sure. In any case, that bird cannot be very smart, as it repeatedly displayed a balancing act on the forward antenna, waving its wings madly in a futile effort to gain balance on that swinging wire. Poor thing, why not just sit on the mast and chill out? However, it gave me the opportunity to try the 500mm super-telephoto lens I was handed just before leaving, and some pretty funny pictures are the result. I'll post one, as our bandwidth is limited and I want to make sure that this message gets out without problems.

So life slowly ticks away, my watch on bridge is almost over and it's night now. There is nothing really sensational to report, so I'll close here and gather some more stories for the next circular. It may be a few weeks, as the weather is getting worse with force 8 gales and waves rising. Wish me luck and a healthy dose of humour, as boredom is the worst enemy on board.

Leaving South Korea

A big Ahoj to all!

This is my first post which I have promised to many of you once I'd be settled on board the MY Esperanza, the Greenpeace ship heading to the Southern Oceans and Antarctica this winter. For those of you who I haven't had a chance to speak to and say goodbye, I am now at sea for the next 4 months, photographing the Southern Oceans Defending Whales campaign against Japanese whaling for Greenpeace International.

We have left Masan port in South Korea today and are now at sea - time on board ticks slower than what I am used to from my hectic life in London, but nothing stays still on the ship. I see the wine in my glass slowly moving from side to side, a gentle roll that will no doubt rock me into a deep sleep once I finish writing this email. We watched a beautiful sunset over the northern Pacific Ocean, followed by bright lights on the horizon of the fishing boats catching squids and fluorescent foam on the bow wave, apparently a common feature in the Pacific.

Behind me are seven days in Masan, a south Korean port city of no great interest, rather bland high-rise buildings, spotless shopping malls, friendly people and a delicious grill for yesterday's last supper on terra firma. During the week, I had time to get over the jetlag (we are now 9 hours ahead of the UK), unpack and set up my equipment on board, and obviously shoot the first set of pictures of the crew and Masan's surrounding hills. We climbed a mountain about 750 metres high, a sweaty day trip up a rocky path, on the way down my knee decided that it had enough of the weight of my camera gear so I had to take it easy the next few days. I have now also recovered from very drunken nights in dodgy harbour bars while getting to know the crew, a team straight from the UN General Assembly - we have 20 nationalities on board from 4 continents - a great mix of friendly characters some of whom will no doubt become good friends over the next few months at sea.

I am very positive about leaving port and facing the challenging tasks ahead - to put you into the picture, we are now a greater distance away from New Zealand than the UK, and New Zealand is only our likely refuelling point on the way to the Antarctic ice. Between now and February, we will travel more than 10,000 nautical miles across the Pacific and Southern Oceans, endure heavy seas once we head south of Australia and hopefully prevent the Japanese whaling fleet from killing Humpback and Minke whales for their dubious 'research' purposes. Working in those conditions is tough, flights in the doorless heli are at -25 degrees Celsius and any prolonged soaks in the icy waters down south are potentially lethal. This assignment is not a walk in the park, but I have faith in the skills and expertise of our crew who drive the inflatables and fly the helicopter - although my commissioning editor warned me that should I chose to take this job, I'd never want to do it again...

Enough scaremongering! We have internet on board, very very slow internet via a permanent V-Sat link, but at least we're connected. That means that any messages you chose to write back will be gratefully received. In the coming weeks, we will be preparing for action, undergoing safety drills, boat training and test flights with Tweety, our rusty but trusty helicopter. The weather is good, the sea calm, and we are hoping for stable conditions for the next few weeks. Summer is beginning in the Southern Hemisphere, so I am hoping for a suntan and a few relaxing weeks on board while not much will be happening. I have taken plenty of stuff to work on, read and watch and I intend to make the most of it in the coming weeks. Only once we get south will we be either busy or the weather will be rough so that working becomes impossible. So wish me luck, take care, and let me know how you are from time to time.

Guardian G2 Cover story

Today I received word from my trusted agents at Eyevine that my pictures were on yesterday's Guardian's G2 magazine cover and two large inside spreads on the Canada Oilsands story shot on assignment for WWF UK earlier this year. Funny how fast news travel - I've had numerous emails from friends and colleagues alerting me to this - a sure sign that papers still get read. It's nice to hear that and receive a PDF when out in the northern Pacific, as far away from newstsands as you could possibly get. Below are the facts:

The Ability Man

Andy Panayiotou, chairman of The Ability Group, self-made billionnaire and property tycoon allowed us and up-close and personal glimpse into his style of doing business. We accompanied him on a visit to the Chia Laguna resort in southern Sardinia and were allowed to tour the site with his entourage. Without further words, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Holiday in Spain

Biking is my big passion apart from photography, and I love it all the more because it does not involve negotiating contracts, chasing late payers or spending tedious hours in front of a screen doing post-production. When I ride, it's like meditation - you focus on the road ahead, the traffic and your bike, and nothing else.

Exactly this was needed after four thrilling but exhausting days in Perpignan, southern France when me and a friend headed off into the Pyrenees in Catalunya, northern Spain. The rugged beauty of the landscape, the serpentine roads hugging the mountains and the rural charm of small villages were the first welcome break from a hectic schedule this year. I loved it and just wish there was more time to ride on, just go where the road takes you without regard for time, money and upcoming commitments. In the end, it was only a week on the road, but it was one I shall remember. Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Visa Pour l'Image

After the hectic intermezzo in London (being in town for less than 12 hours and having to shoot, edit and send an assignment, pack and get a motorbike ready for a 2-week trip across Europe), I finally set off for Perpignan's Visa pour l'image festival of photojournalism. It was invigorating, meeting my trusted agents, many of whom I had never met face to face before, seeing friends and colleagues old and new, and joining the renowned agency Polaris Images run by JP Pappis, a legend and gentleman in the photo business.

I spent a lot of time talking to people about my upcoming assignment in the Southern Ocean, documenting Japanese whaling for the environmental NGO Greenpeace. I am very excited about this trip - a four-month stint on a ship - and have a lot to prepare when I get back to London. As it stands I am due to leave the UK within a few weeks, and won't be back until the end of February. Watch this space...

The man behind BT's IT

Al-Noor Ramji, a soft-spoken man who is the grey eminence behind British Telecom's IT infrastructure is somebody I had often wanted to blame for BT's failings. Be it dysfunctional telephone lines, broken down broadband or simply the abysmal call handling of its numerous customer services departments, I had a lot of complaints in the back of my mind before meeting him.


However, I was in London for merely a few hours, a tube strike, blocked roads and a complete lack of parking space in the City of London assured my late arrival, and in the few minutes that I had to make a half-decent portrait, there was no time to lament. Shame, maybe next time...

Plums in Czech

For the first time in two years, I've had the opportunity (and time) to visit my home country. Needless to say, it was a quick weekend affair, but nevertheless soothing in its beauty and calm, having spent the entire weekend in a small village called Nedvezi, in the middle of the country with no large city or industrial complex in a 50-mile radius.


Unmolested forests and valleys, little villages and picturesque castles dotted in the countryside, peace, quiet and a star-filled sky were all aspects that are unforgettable. In short, it was great, and I intend to return there early next year for a longer stretch.

World's most famous lawn

I must admit - I had no idea how much science and research goes into cultivating the best possible lawn at Wimbledon Tennis Club, venue to one of the most famous Tennis tournaments worldwide.


The somewhat English obsession with the perfect lawn is truly staggering and genuinely scientific: grass type, length, colour, density as well as the underlying soil's rigidity, bounce rate and water absorption capabilities are all carefully researched and optimised by the club's head grounsman Eddie Seaward, a true expert in his field. My favourite pictures from the assignment are shown here:

Beside You

Being part of the commercial co-operative LINK Photographers, I was commissioned to shoot an album cover for a group of young musicians. The theme of the album is 'Beside You', and I wish the artists the best of luck in making it a success. 


For the location shoot, we hired part of Cafe 1001 in Brick Lane, an informal and somewhat eclectic location, and after some initial hiccups, we got going. A range of concert clothes from M & S, last styling touches by my eager assistant Britta, some lights and coffees, and it was time to let the camera do its magic. Two exhausting hours later, we wrapped it up and here's some of the chosen selects:

Thomas Cook CEO interview

Yes, another business interview - it is a regular occurrence in my profession working for editorial clients, and so the challenge is always to find fresh perspectives on familiar situations: boring rooms, well-groomed executives in expensive suits with little time or patience for roving eyes of photographers. Luckily, Thomas Cook CEO Manny Fontenla-Novoa is the exception to the norm, as he really didn't mind me moving around and taking pictures to my heart's content.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Unfortunately, this is not an announcement that the editorial market has picked up, is more buoyant and that rates have risen and clients have finally understood why they cannot ask for more for less. That scenario would indeed be nice, but is probably confined to the realm of pipedreams and wishful thinking.

Instead I travelled on a canal boat through the Islington Tunnel on a rather quiet arm of the Regent's Canal, organised courtesy of The London Canal Museum. It was a fascinating sight, the 189-year old structure built by the Regent's Canal engineer, James Morgan remaining pretty much intact and 'perfectly straight'.

Arsenal's Lehmann

Last Friday I had an interesting job - meeting Arsenal's German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann and to photograph him with Prof. Dr. Christiane Eisenberg, an academic on football history. The final picture is destined to run big in the daily newspaper Die Welt, and the brief was to produce something quirky, y'know...

Mr. Six

Jean-Michel Six, Standard & Poor's European chief economist and an oracle on the future of the European mortgage market. The assignment was a rush job for the German business daily Handelsblatt - highly topical in light of the recent meltdown on the global stock exchanges, and the man gave me a very friendly 15 minutes.

Discovering old Black & Whites

The other day I remembered that I had a few rolls of Tri-X at Metro which I'd dropped off months earlier for processing. I can't remember how many months/years those exposed rolls had been sitting in my drawer - all I can remember is that they were not from an assignment, and I must have forgotten them during the course of a busy spell.

So it was time to go and pick them up, dust off the old Nikon LS-30 neg scanner and delve back into the 'old days' of lightboxes, lupes, marking contact sheets and scanning the chosen few. Boy, I'd forgotten how laborious the whole process was, and why it took so little time to fully convert to a digital workflow.

Anyway, seeing these black & white pictures appear on screen, with rich blacks, grain and all brought back many treasured memories. The landscapes I've chosen to show here are from late 2005 and early 2006, and I think - time permitting - that I'll start shooting Tri-X once again for a project soon...

Visiting Paris

Hadn't been there in over twenty years, and spent the weekend walking aimlessly through the French metropole. Here is a selection:

Southwark Tigers

A team of young and energetic freelance cheerleaders, The Southwark Tigers got hired to help finding the missing lottery ticket to a £ 250000.00 jackpot, apparently bought in the south London area. And I got hired to shoot 'em...

Bad Sex or the Harry Potter mania from a photographer's point of view

In a lot of ways, the photocall with J.K. Rowling reminded me of either a good homecooked meal or bad sex: hours of foreplay, and then it's all over in a few minutes - which of the two scenarios you recognise best depends on your point of view.


The publisher's PR machine worked overtime to hype up the seventh and final Harry Potter booklaunch and it seems that they've tied themselves in knots. The media pack had to queue up outside the Natural History Museum to pick up their press passes (nevermind having faxed accreditation forms weeks earlier) only to be told to come back several hours later when they would finally let us in. J.K. would be reading from her new book and signing copies all night, no doubt pleasing the 1200-odd fans who congretated on the venue. The press  were ushered in last minute, told to stand in front of the cramped stage, J.K. walks in, poses with the book, bang bang bang and two minutes later we're asked to leave.


Nevermind, the event was clearly not organised with photographers in mind, and so we all did the best out of bad circumstances:

Pestering Woolworths

My favourite environmental organisation decided to do countrywide simultaneous hits on Woolworths, apparently the worst retailer of energy-efficient light bulbs. As is often the case with these kinds of jobs, the location is a nightmare, the action happens quickly and before you know it, it's all over. On the second occasion that day, the activists set up stall outside the entrance, and I had slightly more time to get creative. See below:

Modern Managers

A German corporate magazine commissioned me to shoot a series of portraits of modern managers. I didn't know much about the story, nor did I get a chance to read the article (if it had indeed been written yet), but set about to meet Dave Weller, Global IT Manager at Reuters, and Duncan Aitchison, Outsourcing Consultant at TPI. The two gentlemen were very nice and cooperative, and my favourite results you can see below.

Street Photography

An acquaintance talked me into teaching a workshop for an inexperienced but very energetic photo enthusiast - she is interested in getting to know her camera better, and the various techniques you can use to make an everyday image more interesting. We went through the basics of light sensitivity, aperture and shutter speed, and the creative use of the combination of those three core elements. Whilst I was illustrating the effects of slow shutter speed, I spotted this handicapped man pushing his way through the rain, with his attentive companion on board. Whilst it is a chance image, it is also typical of what you can get during a rainy day out on the streets.

Chewing Gum Man

This was funny - an artist specialising in painting on the dark, ugly spots left behind by chewing gum on pavements city-wide. At first sight, his elaborate little pieces of art appear like discarded chocolate wrappers, and you really need to look twice before you notice just how much work goes into each one of Ben Wilson's creations. Here you can see how it's done:

Movers & Shakers

Joe Perella and Peter Weinberg - two names whose reputation travels ahead of them in the business world descended on London one late night at the Four Seasons Hotel. I was called last-minute to produce a portrait of the two dealmakers who brokered mergers of the magnitude such as AOL-Time Warner and Reuters-Thomson. Perella Weinberg Partners were in a good mood ahead of tomorrow's meeting.

The whole encounter lasted the usual few minutes, but the result is good. See below:

Leitwolf

I seem to be back in the groove of things, with portraiture being my daily bread. Today Klaus Hommels of Benchmark Capital is on the menu, a frank and outspoken investor in internet ventures. The usual restrictions were in place - small meeting room, limited time, bad light and the inevitable clash between interviewer and photographer, but it all worked out in the end...

Meet Mrs London Stock Exchange

Just back from Canada, I now am at the opposite end of the photographic spectrum - shooting Clara Furse, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange. The LSE is my client this time, so while I try to produce a portrait that shows more than a headshot, restrictions on the edit are tight as the press department needs to approve any image before releasing it for usage. A few of the final results are below: