We live amongst very drab colours, don’t we - just picture how excited we all are about grey. It was therefore so refreshing to shoot in India with Practical Action, where the base colours start with aqua blue, then pink, gold, silver then orange afterwards. It’s an astonishingly beautiful place to visit, made all the better for experiencing the work this NGO perform over there. Working in water and sanitation with H+M Foundation, they are bringing safety through improved hygiene to rural and slum communities and I was very proud to shoot some images for their case studies and fundraising brief. Lovely people, important work, BRILLIANT food, romantic colours.
A tremendous compliment to be a winner in the Portrait of Britain with this image of Son 2. Not my normal thing I'll grant you, and I've no idea why a few of the Crooners weren't chosen for the Portrait of Britain yet this was but HEY, I'm delighted to be in such good company with a great many heavyweights of portraiture in this high profile annual exhibit. Here's a link for some more info about it, via an interview 1854 CEO Marc Hartog and I did on Sky News Sunrise and here's a link to where you can see the screens upon which they'll be shown. There's a lot of talk about the negative impact of competition work and how they're just fundraisers for corporate entities, but everyone entering already knows this and makes their choices accordingly. None are ludicrously over-priced (though some are very expensive I feel} and they work great for putting what we do out there. As to whether they impact positively on career opportunities - that's for the photographer to work on as I can honestly say it hasn't increased my commissioning I shouldn't think, but I'm sure won't have harmed the chances either. The (free to enter) Sony Award has definitely got me in the room a few times, I can certainly say that. My advice is if it could work for you and you can afford to splash the cash, push on but don't let a rejection diminish the value of what you've created.
Portrait of Britain Winner
There's nothing like raising your camera and seeing an icon you've loved since the 1970s looking back at you. The fan boy in me is never far from the surface, I have huge appreciation for the positions this gig gets me in but today was a special day alright. One thing I had not planned for was the substantial downpour that drenched me, the team and the kit seconds before our planned time slot but hey, we sucked it up (well, absorbed it) cracked on and nailed some loveliness with Paul. Out now with lots of shots and some words too. Shot on a Hasselblad H6D-100c with Broncolor Move packs for light on location in Surrey.
Paul Weller for MOJO
Miss World trades on irony and acutely observes and covers her world in her music, so a shoot based on the disposability of everything plastic seemed to bring this into focus very appropriately.
Miss World
Not awful at all this. Such a warm soul to the man and he played to us while we shot - a favourite thing of mine as you'll know. Lovely guy + ace player = easy shooting.
Kamasi Washington for MOJO
VIVO for BBDO Hong Kong
Hadn't shot in Rio before and WOAH MUMMA what a time we had. A lovely local team helping me generate the campaign images for VIVO's World Cup push. It was sweaty but well worth it, great to see how Josh and Xander create their TV spots too. The vibrancy and radiance of the good people of Rio I will not forget easily. Thanks to Radical Films for this one.
Gambia with Two Wheels For Life
So many images. Just so many. Their work is so powerful and has such a positive effect on millions throughout Africa, and it was a delight to return to Gambia with Two Wheels For Life who power Riders For Health over there. This image below was shot from the window of our car as we waited to cross the river at Farafenne to Soma at night, where the ferry had broken down and everyone was super nervous they would cross that night. Lit by a single spotlight, this guy was just waiting, like we all were.
The playing conditions of the Banjul football team are not the same as most places. They share the pitch with Riders For Health, who train new riders in the dust on which the team play. Alimatou (below) is the team goalie and she just looked like a portrait to me, sweating in the afternoon heat.
It says a lot about the price of labour in Gambia that it's cheaper to have your truck, it's cargo and it's driver wait in line to cross a bridge for up to a week, rather than spend money on fuel and drive the long way round. This is where I saw Momar Ndiaye (below), just waiting in the shade beneath his truck and telling what felt like his story in a single frame. We didn't really chat as much as I'd have liked but he was happy with his portrait and I hope his crossing at Soma didn't take much longer - though I fear it most probably did.
A whole heap of time spent in Lewisham Birthing Centre added up to some purely magical moments, capturing the emotional exchange that occurs during childbirth for fathers. A surprisingly hard brief to crack, this was another example of fortune favouring the brave - you have to be there with cameras and lights set up, exposures set and ready when the thing happens, whenever that might be. Shot for agency We Are Romans, who launched Playstation's God of War series. We'd been chatting about the before and after series I did some years ago and the idea worked really beautifully for this application we all agreed. On launch it went HUGE very quickly and it's no coincidence that my phone conked out that week. This is Ade and his new son Ade, shot moments before and seconds after his arrival. Just perfect.
Becoming A Father
He is this cool. You know Jimmi, he's done a lot of great work in a lot of great shows and to shoot him for Shortlist was cool enough, but skating too? Yes, Am definitely ok with that.
Jimmi Simpson for Shortlist
It's very hard to accept the fact that I've just won the Sony World Photography Award in the Professional Portrait category for my series The Last of The Crooners, you know. If you've read any of these posts of mine, you'll hopefully be aware that I busily get along with my projects and of course do what I can to get them all the attention I feel they (and I) deserve. Trust me, I work as hard as I can with whatever angles I have available to me to work that but NEVER did I dare to dream (cliche, sorry) I might get this little pet project picked up by the biggest photo comp in the world and have it actually win the big one.
That's just pure bonkers.
But there I was, on stage on April 21st, making a speech (10-15 seconds, max) thanking my wife and the judges and Sony and WPO and... and... and... what I've learnt is that one of the hardest elements is to allow yourself the moment to accept that this has happened and you've maybe, this time, earnt it. Why that is so hard to do is for therapists and pithy Instagram truisms so dear reader, I'm just going to sit back and reflect on all the times my efforts were completely ignored and how this time, they just weren't.
Thanks x
Well...This just happened then.
Big one. Well, 12 inches square to be exacting. This is the cover of the vinyl we've produced for The Last of The Crooners project, which will be available to purchase from the Palm Tree in Bow, E3 for 20GBP from the 21st April. It's a gatefold album with 11 tracks recorded live in the pub, it has a lovely little insert portfolio of portraits from the project and I LOVE IT. The launch night on the 21st with have a few pictures on the wall from the project, live jazz and me and my friends, including you I hope.
LP artwork for Last of The Crooners vinyl
New work for Huawei P20 launch
Really enjoyed shooting these with Doner London for Huawei. Being in the hands of experienced creatives really promotes an air of trust and freedom on an ad campaign and I was super grateful to be in the mix for this one with this solid team. Cheers chaps for the fun shooting.
Now then. So much to tell you.
I've been busy on a new thing, shooting a portrait of the best pub in the world (FACT), the Palm Tree in Bow, E3. It's such a consistently reliable place for great music (and fun), I've only been going there for about 17 years or so but I really love it and have done since I first met the Barrett family who have kept the place tiptop for the last 40 years. It's had singers hosting the jazz nightS every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for all that time and it just lends itself to what I do so magnificently, I had to ask THE BIG QUESTION. Ever wary of how your passion can wildly intrude on your personal life, I really had to think about whether I wanted to take it there with this place, but my internal push came to shove and I just had to commence - once they had agreed of course.
New Project - The Last of The Crooners
It soon became apparent that this was the right call when that shift of energy occurred and the frowns of concern become smiles of, well, you know, happiness? Relief? But I'm so proud of the tone of the portraits and how they've been so well received at the pub. There's a LOT of stakeholders in something like this and I've really felt the responsibility of getting it as near to my truth and theirs as possible on this one - people really care about this place and I owe them all my efforts to produce this project in their vision too.
I've really gone for it with this one. My friend Andy Gangadeen (look him up if you don't know, incredible man) and I have produced an vinyl LP of live recordings from the pub with 11 tracks of 11 singers, which will be available to buy from the pub at the exhibition launch night on April 21st this year. You can only buy it from the pub as you really need to know the environment to feel this music I think. It's that unique. Life won't look like this forever and the Last of The Crooners is a portrait of a thing that's no longer a thing - but is still a thing at the Palm Tree. Come see for yourself.
NEWSFLASH: I entered it into the Sony World Photography Award and it's been shortlisted in the Portrait Category. I'm so happy, honestly. Selected from 122000+ images, to have this recognised is an incredible compliment and I'm honoured.
Saul Adamczewski for Q Magazine
A pleasure to meet Saul Adamczewski, ex-Fat White Family and present day solo artist with new stuff on the way. Shot somewhere in South London for Q Magazine. Very obliging and calm, too.
Eldmodur show with G. F Smith, 27 Eastcastle St, London
Well that worked out pretty well. Eldmodur made it to the walls and here's a couple shots, of the show, the free posters and the Private View which went off with a fizzbang on Feb 15th. The good people came and were very generously catered for by the team at the Show Space. I love shooting projects and I really love the process of getting them to exhibition. I've relaxed over time now and have, more or less, managed to set aside the inevitable self-doubt that tends to creep in just after the edit stage that used to tend to undermine a body of work I had really enjoyed shooting. That was a long sentence and is probably a chat for another time but the show is up until the 28th and has some lovely, big prints and frames produced by the team at G. F Smith Photographic. If you like what I do this is the perfect example of a project in full fruition.
The moment she does this it's job done I think. Great tone from her glam squad, solid performance from Mabel, megacrop courtesy of a Hasselblad H6D-100c. In the can. She's ace you know, more here, and a really nice brief to start the year from Music Week.
Mabel for Music Week
RSBC shoot of Robert Montgomery's new sculpture
Love everything about this. More info here but very happy to contribute and donate a day to this fantastic organisation. Cold shoot up on Devil's Dyke in East Sussex. More info here.
I photographed UB40 at bloody last
I've only been waiting since I was ten to meet these fellas and after working with them and One Green Bean in Antigua in December (slap me if you ever catch me moaning) we met up again for their press shots. Obviously, they're cool. And they are this funny. And I loved Signing Off when I was a kid, and Present Arms In Dub, which they graciously signed for me = lifegoal achieved. They've a new LP and have put a bunch of darkness behind them - well, they certainly had on our shoot day. Everything lovely.
Phoebe aka Vegan Magic
Look at Vegan Magic on Instagram - she's a wonderfully glorious animal lover, vegan campaigner and passionate believer in putting out a positive energy into the world. I bumped into her in the park once and just loved this jacket. Then we spoke and I loved her message, so we did a shoot. The sun Gods favoured us and here we go. Shot to card on a Hasselblad H6D-100c with a bounce and that's it.
Like, what's the worst that could happen? You might meet me, you might get some free artwork on beautiful G. F Smith papers, you might discover something about the correlation between the brutal Icelandic weather, the incredible harshness of their weather and the inescapable successes of Icelandic athletes in the sport of crossfit? Surely that's not too bad.
Oh yeah, and big apologies too for being the worst blogger in all time. I feel terrible. So much has been happening all the time, it seems like this becomes the last priority when we are (I am) all so busy shouting our heads off for the short-lived glory of the multitudinous social media feeds we endure now. This being the best platform for expression still somehow seems to have fallen by the wayside a touch - so again, my apologies. More soon I swear.