I was delighted to see the e5 Bakehouse open in a railway arch opposite my house and have since become evangelical about the quality and taste of his multi-seed, occasionally popping over at 11.00pm on a Sunday evening for an oven warm freshly baked loaf. Ben and I got chatting and came up with a bread for pictures deal, documenting the process. Here are a selection, the walnut and raisin (2nd down) is delicious with a layer of butter..
New Age Games
The New Age Games is a sports activity program which is open to all Hackney residents who are 50 years old or above. The aim of the games is to encourage older people to try out new sports such as archery, swimming, aerobics and darts.
Education Photography
I was recently commissioned by Monkton Combe School near Bath to produce images for their website and prospectus. I try to show pupils and staff involved in real activities whether at work or play in a documentary style. A wider selection can be viewed at the school website.
Poet In The City
I was recently asked to contribute an image on the theme of the " individual in the city " for Poet in The City. It's an organisation which aims to promote poetry to new audiences, building bridges between business and schools. The picture was originally shot as an architectural image for Computer Associates at their base in Slough. Having composed the frame I had my assistant assume the role of " poet " on the steps. It's this detail that appears on the recent event invitation.
Post Code Wars
There has always been conflict between two different areas, between countries, between region in countries.But it seems that over the generations it has broken down to even smaller areas with young people fighting with each other just because they come from two different postcodes.
Young actors from Hackney addressed the issue in a play called " The Road " set in a post apocalyptic dystopia. A panel included Ian Levy, who set up the Robert Levy Foundation in memory of his 16 year old son who was murdered in Hackney in 2004. It aims to engage young people in positive activities and help create a better image of the borough.
During the debate a young audience member offered an enlightened if naive solution " why don't we just abolish the post codes ". If only it was that simple.
GKN Engineering, New Website Photography
Here are a selection of screen grabs from global engineering group GKN's website redesigned by Excite Communications. Over the last 4 years i have photographed products and people for their Annual Reports in countries as diverse as China, India, Germany, Brazil and Italy. The brief was to come up with a selection of documentary images showing people, processes and products at the various factories.
Excite communications required the pictures to be Letterbox in shape with the subject right of frame allowing space for the band of yellow left of frame with the text info.
Kirsty Young, The British at Work, BBC 2
I was recently commissioned to photograph Kirsty Young for The BBC 2 series The British At Work exploring the changing nature of working lives since WWII. The crew were filming at the Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent and i would get the opportunity to shoot some portraits between takes.
Pete Postlethwaite RIP
Actor Pete Postlethwaite was once memorably and affectionately described as having a face like a clenched fist. According to Stephen Spielberg "probably the best actor in the world today ". I was fortunate enough to photograph Pete on a commission for Channel 4 Television/Lupus Films. He was recording the voice over for an animation of Oscar Wilde stories for children in a West London Recording Studio and i would have 15 minutes with him in a small office next door.
Pete ran through the gamut of his characters expressions from surprised to bemused via mock indignation and mild fury.