Arctic Adventures

I am in the very north of Norway, far beyond the Arctic Circle on assignment for WWF UK. Our brief is to shoot a story on the cod fishing industry in the Barents Sea and Lofoten islands, and to show the vastness and beauty of the grand arctic landscapes. The sheer sense of space is breathtaking, and it's quite simply impossible to grasp how far north we are until you do some simple maths: the length from here (Hammerfest, just south of the North Cape) to Oslo is about the same distance as Oslo to Rome.

My trip has only just started (on the 22nd), and I already have thousands of images - gorgeous landscapes, incredible sunsets, reindeer casually strolling through the countryside, vast expanses of water and ice in empty fjords, and so much more to see. My next destination are the Lofoten islands where I'll be concentrating on the traditional cod fishing season which is, apparently, in full swing. And here are finally some pictures...

Shooting Wembley

The brief was simple - get up before sunrise, and produce a double-page spread on the newly finished Wembley Stadium. It was a cold, crisp morning with frost on the ground, but beautiful light. Sadly, the images didn't get published in the end...

Open the Door please

Shooting an icon of rock'n roll during a tight interview slot in a funky hotel suite in London was always going to be a challenge. But to hear the man himself - Ray Manzarek, founding member of the legendary Doors and one of the most influential rock keyboardists speak of smoking pot and cosmic discovery by using psychedelic drugs was truly an experience. He seemed very relaxed, outright friendly and more than up for a good photo - so I asked him to pose in front of a mirror sporting the colour yellow, shot a few frames, and the rest is history.

Bird's eye view

During the London stint of the Greenpeace ship 'Arctic Sunrise', Greenpeace UK staged a choir concert aboard the ship in protest of the government's planned extension of the Trident nuclear weapons system. The choir performed a piece composed by Damon Albarn entitled "Five Minutes to Midnight". The performance represented a peaceful demonstration against renewing Trident and against Britain possessing nuclear weapons.

I found it hard to get a good angle on the choir and where it was performing from deck level, so decided to climb up into the crow's nest of the ship and shoot the whole scene from above. The result speaks for itself, although picky me - never happy - just wished the ship had turned around so I could have faced Tower Bridge in the background. Ah well, next time...