Writing with light

Yesterday I had a somewhat funky assignment. As some of you may be aware, it was Earth Hour, where lights on famous landmark buildings were switched off for an hour in the evening. My brief was to photograph Buckingham Palace with the lights out, and then get creative with some lights of my own.

I was lucky to have a patient and keen assistant on the evening, and eventually we worked out a rough time/aperture combination that would allow the shutter to stay open long enough for me to draw the words 'London' and 'Earthhour' into the picture. For that, I was dressed in black, and held a bright LED-torchlight towards the exposing camera. The result you can see below.

Black Death Exhibition

At the Wallace Collection, there is a display of medieval jewellery and treasures at the time the Black Death raged through Europe. It has been recently found and curated into a specialist exhibition in a dark room in the cellar of the building. So not the easiest place to work, but radio-controlled flash and a willing visitor made this assignment into a success.

How to package a Hippo

At the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, the staff are not easily fazed. Whatever fluffy, creepy or crawly creatures enter the UK, they have to come through here, even if it is for a brief transit before being flown onto somewhere else. The diet plan on the wall specifies what crocodiles, Burmese pythons, turtles, cats and dogs need to eat and the kennels contain all sorts of exotic animals. The centre is, in a sense, the first port of call for immigrants and asylum seekers from the animal kingdom. For some, sadly, it is also their last destination as illegal, endangered and poisonous creatures are rarely returned to their origins.

I enjoyed a very informative tour with deputy manager Bob Wingate who has worked there for the past 20-odd years. A few of the pictures, shot for an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine, I want to share here.