Gallant Gentlemen

I had the great privilege today to meet 8 very gallant gentlemen when I visited RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, to photograph a reunion of a re-assembled flight crew of a Lancaster bomber

Although the men never actually flew together, their ranks and operational roles were typical of a crew in the Second War. No actual entire crew remains from those distant days

Men like 86 year old Flight Sergeant Stan Franks, (pictured) who at 18 was one of the youngest entrants to the Bomber Command, and who joined up "to fly" and not "to kill people". At these thoughts, Stan's eyes welled with tears and I could see that he was recalling his youth and so many of his comrades. "They called us thugs, you know", he said, once again struggling to retain his emotions, "but we had to do it. It was the only way" It still rankles with him that Bomber Command crews did not get a medal for their heroism, and terrible losses though the campaign

All of the men had their own individual stories of life in a Lancaster - like Jim McGillivray ,also 86, who was an Air Gunner. Demonstrating how difficult it was to get into the tail gunners "bubble" at the rear of plane, he recalled how the Perspex would become smeared with oil, making it impossible to see the fighters approaching, so it would be taken out and they flew at 20000 feet and more with nothing but their flying suits for warmth. "But your bollocks froze", he said with feeling

These men with a collective age of over 600 years, still showed the spirit and lion hearts which made them unique in our history. Despite the terrible toll on their numbers they continued to fly missions daily across Europe. I was told of a bombing raid on Milan, where the planes came in at 100 feet, "so low you could see people eating in the street", and how terrifying it was to see anti aircraft batteries open up on them from that range

I salute and feel humbled by these gallant gentlemen. We shall never see their like again, I fear

Groovy Baby!

What a great time the 60s were! I have just had great fun photographing a 60s themed party and even though the majority of guests weren't even born then, the fascination with The Summer of Love and Swinging London continues. Over 100 people turned up at The Old Grammarians Social Club in a variety of costumes from the funky to the frankly ridiculous, but everyone had a great time. The event was a birthday party, but also raised funds for sufferers of cystic fibrosis and Papworth Hospital. I managed to get the Elinchrom/Canon flash issue solved with the advice of partner JR, and the lighting set up worked perfectly. Thanks to Nick and Gillian for asking me to photograph their special celebrations

Quality Wedding Photography

... is getting closer to launch!

Wednesday saw my colleague JR and me at Rushton Hall with our model, Button, who made a lovely bride amidst the Elizabethan splendour of Rushton

We are already taking bookings for 2011, and I know that once the new albums and website go live, we will see a lot of interest in our unique blend of reportage and formal photography

One handed photographers...

... seem to be everywhere! What is it with people who think that they can get a nice sharp clear image whilst holding their camera or phonecam in their outstretched hand? Sure the pic may look ok on the screen on the back of the device, but if or when they view it larger, or dare I say it ... PRINT it... I think they will be very disappointed with their efforts. In my opinion the single most important thing that you can do to improve your photographs is to hold the camera steady - that means TWO hands, and keeping still while you shoot. I have been taking photographs for over 50 years and still need to focus on stillness under some lighting conditions, and would NEVER dream of using a one handed shot unless I was using a 1/1000 of a sec, or less and I doubt that compacts and phone cams are that fast! It was so noticeable in Venice recently, where hundreds of people were on holidays and just walking up to a scene, raising the camera, taking one shot and walking away!!! Will they have memories or just blurry recollections???

James Ledingham...

... is a talented young violinist who I had the pleasure of photographing a little while ago. Now his concert in support of the Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Charity is coming closer, the posters that use my photography are being displayed around Wellingborough. James also has just arranged to have a CD of his music recorded and I am delighted that the cover will also be one of the pictures that I took at the shoot in my studio.

James is a young man who plays a fantastic looking electric violin and I wnated to capture some thing "rebellious" in his portraits... some attitude, rather than a simple picture of him performing. I hope that I have succeeded! Here is the finished poster, with glorious artwork done by by Milton Bayer.com

Venice...

.. is an amazing place for sure, but I was still overwhelmed by the beauty and sheer style of this city "in the sea". I had formed my ideas of how the city would look, after seeing thousands of pictures and TV films about the area - but was totally unprepared for the whole experience that Venice provides

I was fortunate enough to be there in the time of an aqua alta... a high tide that occurs regularly dependent on the moon and the direction of the winds, and this phenomenon graphically demonstrated the peril that Venetians face all of the time. In the early evening as high tide approached, drain covers and cracks in the paving around St Mark's Square began to ooze water, at first trickling slowly across the heat soaked pavements and then gradually becoming a rapidly spreading pool covering many metres in area; slowly the previous busy square becomes emptier as the crowds move to the perimeters, all the time listening to the orchestras playing on in the outdoors cafes and restaurants. It reminded me of the famous scene in Titanic when the string quartet played as the water began lapping around their ankles! Gradually the individual puddles link up and then the whole of the piazza is transformed in to a beautiful reflecting pool which the joyous visitors paddle and splash in....while the moon (the cause of all the troubles!) sails serenely overhead, and the city waits... will this be a tide like the one in November 1966, when the few inches became a few feet and then 2 yards, drowning many beautiful tiles floors and ancient palazzo steps? Venice is living on the edge of disaster - and the Venetians seem to love every minute of their life!

Gee... it's a G10!

I tried out my e-bay acquired G10 on Friday after getting the Land Rover through it's MoT... and the camera seemed to pass its tests too! It took a little getting used to the size and silence of this little box of tricks after the 5D Mk11, and there were plenty of shots that I was not pleased with... but then I am picky!

After a bit of trial and error in Princethorpe Woods, I found the sweet spot and I was delighted with the results. It will never replace a DSLR for quality, but for convenience and portability there doesn't seem anything to touch Canon's little "sure Shot" model, although nimble finger tips are needed for some of the adjustments

No Posts...

... for such a long time... perhaps because I am busy with so many things that are more important! I have been working hard on getting the studio tidied and functioning well, which is now paying dividends as I am getting regular bookings for portraits and family shots, and now have started to receive wedding bookings for 2011!

I an addition, I have completed my manuscript and photography for the Winter's Tale book due out in the Autumn, publishded by Halsgrove again. Oh - and just in case I get a bit of time on my hands I am on the committee to celebrate the Lymphoma Association's 25th Anniversary next year! What is that old saying about if you want something doing give it to a busy person!!!? It's been a life long habit for me though - the old Rudyard Kipling line from If ... "if you can fill the unforgiving minute, with sixty seconds of distance run", resonates very strongly with me. Life is short and sweet (sometimes) and sitting prevaricating and procrastinating is a waste of our most precious resource - life itself!

So now... what am I going to do on my life journey next? A busy day at the studio beckons, then a visit to Venice tomorrow for a few days of good food and photography, before coming back to shoot a 16th birthday party which I am looking forward to greatly.Oh yes... and the continuing news and magazine wotk with JR which is always fun and challenging!

Volcanic sunset...

...tempted by the tales of spectacular sunsets due to the high flying Icelandic ash, I was out over near Polebrook tonight waiting for sunset...today has been really warm with clear skies, so I knew that there would be no problems with cloud, but in the event I think that one or two wispy strands of cirrus would have helped....

The sun went down in a fiery ball that was blinding to the eyes, until it was almost on the horizon where it travelled through the haze ... this pic shows the effect, but I still think that some clouds would have improved matters!

The Lymphoma Association...

....is planning to celebrate 25 years of helping people with various lymphatic cancers and I have been asked to work on the committee to mark this milestone. The LA is based in Aylesbury and was formed by Felicity and Tim Hilder after Tim was diagnosed with the disease.
Now it has a helpline, chatroom and publishes several helpful guides on coping with the various forms that lymphatic cancer can take
I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1998, after being unwell for several months, and the support and help that was freely given was a tremendous gift at the most difficult time. I described it as being given a light to help me find my way through the dark cave that cancer was for me. Sadly after diagnosis, most consultants can offer little more than platitudes about how I "may" be lucky as NHL can be managed quite well (usually!)
In the event I was referred to an absolutely brilliant NHS based haemotologist who has given me wonderful care for the last 12 years, and it would be no over statemtn to say that I owe him my life.
Anyway, the LA will be 25 years old in 2011, and needs more money, support, awareness etc to continue to offer the wonderful help that the members provide to people like me - a sobering thought is that lymphoma is the most common cause of cancer in under 30 year olds, and that someone is diagnosed with lymphoma EVERY 7 MINUTES.....there is no "type" of person that can become ill with lymphoma - it is not a disease that is even fully understood yet. Often very healthy active people, like sportsmen and show business celebrities become ill. I had never been really ill in my life until my diagnosis - the first tim that I went into a hospital bed was when I was having a biopsy in 1998 - you can imagine the sheer shock of being told that you have cancer... when you feel only mildly "under the weather". That is the problem with lymphomas, they "lurk" and by the time the avrage patient is diagnosed it has taken a hold.... I was at stage 4 of 4!!! The images show me getting a new type of radioactive treatment a few years ago... this gave me two years of remission! Please note I DID not take the shaky pix... it was the photographer was was nervous, not me !!!
Please check out the Lymphoma Association's website and think about what you can do to help. Please?

Misconceptions and Prejudices...

... are terrible bedfellows, and I was subject to both of them this week. Two commercial jobs with JR took us to photograph some newly installed playground equipment in Stevenage and Cambridge. The equipment is very high quality and the developments have been landscaped to blen into and enhance the environment. All well and good... so the manufacturers and local authorities involved wanted good imaginative photographs to show what had been created. This clearly means shooting the equipment in use with CHILDREN playing on it.... do you see where this is heading?
The shoot at Cambridge was all going well, with all parents happily agreeing to sign releases for their children to be photographed, when I spotted a young lad terrorising an elderly overweight cat, with a stick, whilst yelling obscenities at the poor creature. I intervened and made him put down the stick and leave... cue a tirade of further abuse from his slightly older pals. I also spoke to them and explained why I had told the youngster to leave the cat alone (aren't I patient!!!)... and then to take the "heat" out of the situation took photos of them all on climbing equipment. Cue intervention from "concerned citizen"... who told me in firm tones that I was "not allowed to take children's photographs without the permission of their parents", and asked who I was and why I was there with my "obtrusive camera" ! I carefully (and politely) explained that whilst I actually did NOT need permission, as the park was a public place, in the event I was acting for on behalf of the council and manufacturers and was also wearing an identity badge to that effect.
I also explained about the boys and why I had taken them... she conceded that she had heard them giving me "a hard time" verbally, but pointed out that as she was a teacher she was concerned that this was "illegal".... after a while she left but half an hour or more returned to virtually accuse me of lying! She had "thought" about my comments and was concerned that even though I may be ok, this was how "grooming" started and it was "wrong"...I gave her the local authority contact phone number, my business card and the manufacturers contact details and still she was not satisfied....
I feel it is terrible how the frenzy and paranoia about perfectly innocent men with cameras has now reached the stage where uninformed people (no matter how well meaning) feel that they must intervene and state "the law". These days it seems that if you carry a camera you are either suspected of being either a terrorist or a paedophile - what has created this climate of fear amongst people? There is now a whole industry engaged in training people to spot and identify "stranger danger" and ultimately this leads to a break down of human communications, where a male adult is almost prohibited from chatting to children, or even in the case of a misbehaving child, offering some guidance and instruction in better behaviour.
Isn't it ironic that some of the worst abusers convicted in recent years have been women, in positions of authority at schools, play groups and domestic situations etc....

Instow Beach...

... was a glorious place to be yesterday evening, a slight nip in the air still, but a wonderful golden light from the setting sun, gave everything a magical glow... the sands here are clean and soft, with just the right amount of "give" to make walking on them a pleasure. I was (naturally!) taking photographs of various marine subjects, when a little way off I saw a woman dressed in red, with what looked like three white rough haired labradors...

They dogs were in fact Maremma sheep dogs, and their charming owner, Penny, told me all about them. They are not used for herding or controlling sheep as in the UK, but for guarding them against wolves in the hills of Tuscany. These dogs form a bond with the sheep that they guard and work without a human interfering! They live withe sheep in the hills and are intelligent enough to know when things are getting dangerous for their flock, apparently. Despite their docile appearance and sweet nature, clearly these dogs are bred for bravery... My pic today shows them posing for me on the beach!

There I was...

... enjoying a quiet bit of pro active photography in the countryside, when I got a call from my colleague, John Robertson, aka JR. "Can you get me to Sywell aerodrome and wait for an hour?", he asked....well of course I could but why would I want to wait when there was a chance of a flight in a Cessna 4 seater!!!?

So less than an hour later, I found myself strapped into the rear seat, snugly sandwiched between my camera bag and the window, en route for Bedfordshire.... a 20 minute flight! Much better than the 3 hours I endured sitting in a jam on the A14 only last week. I can't talk about the reason we were flying around for a while, but it provided me with some great opportunities for unusual views of familiar places. These will all end on my Alamy stock library I hope!

Today's picture shows us about to land back at Sywell, on their new all weather concrete runway - brilliant!

Later I managed to capture the fun pic of the stick man and the balloon - pure luck that I saw the situation developing as the ballon was being blown along the ground towards the painted figure on the ground... a little patience and the shot was made!

Oops...

... nearly forgot to say happy St Patrick's Day!

What a strange business

... being a photographer is! On Tuesday my colleague John Robertson and I were in London's Portobello Road, a most fashionable and trendy area, full of coffee shops, antique stores and street vendors, taking photographs of "Pop Princess" Gabriella Cilmi - a lovely,talented girl who hit the charts with Nothing Sweet About Me, a few months back. Gabriella has a new CD out this month and is also off to Australia for the Melbourn GP so photos were required for the papers down there. By contrast on Friday JR and I were in the slightly less fashionable surrounds of Burscough,near Ormskirk in rural Lancashire to take "dramatic" pictures of new lorries for a PR campaign. I have chosen to put the pic of Gabriella here rather than one of the lorries!!!! On second thoughts... some people like lorries so there is a lorry shot, although NOT the ones that we were being paid to photograph! I just like the colours!

St David's Day...

... and I thought that some nice daffodils would be a good pic for today! But fate had another idea and I found myself photographing a fairly major fire right next door

As I was packing up my car to head off to the woods for some spring flower pictures, the distinctive smell of burning rubber filled my nostrils. Then I noticed the smoke drifting from the top of my neighbour's garage doors...

My first action was to check that no one was at home, then I placed the plam of my hand against the garage door - it was red hot, so I dialled 999 immediately

The fire brigade turned out and sprang into action - levering a gap in the garage doors to see inside, they sprayed a wall of water before shutting the door again. My neighbour's car, a TVR Griffith was inside and burning, and the flames were already licking the roof inside the garage

More fire engines turned out, so eventually we had 4 in attendance and the cul-de-sac was closed off while they did their best to control the fire, which was threatening the upstairs bedroom over the garage

After an hour or so, the fire was extinguished and the full extent of the damage could be evaluated. It doesn't look like the TVR will be going anywhere soon...

REAL Tough Guys!

I felt privileged to get a personal invitation from Billy Wilson, the well known charity fundraiser from Wolverhampton, to attend and photograph an Atmy exercise on his farm at Perton the other day. The news had been embargoed until early on the morning of the event as the troops concerned are off to Afghanistan very shortly

These brave young men and women took on a slightly sanitised version of the Tough Guy course, as the MoD apparently felt that the civilian version was too risky, with its fire runs and electric prods!!!

Never the less the weather proved to be the challenging factor as the water temperature was low enough to risk hypothermia, and I saw several casualties being stretchered to waiting Army ambulances. Fortunately I heard from the MO later that they were all recovered and were eating heartily!

Although I captured many dramatic and gritty images I think that this one show the British soldier at his best - having a laugh despite the conditions!

Tough Guys...

... of all shapes and sizes (and sexes) came to do battle at Billy Wilson's farm in Perton, just outside Wolverhampton today. Although it was snowing slightly when I arrived ad the temperature was a balmy -2c, there was no shortage of runners ready to challenge themselves against this most dangerous and death defying course. Over 8 miles of muddy running, ice cold water, that had to be broken beforethe competitors plunged in, and then the ordeal of fire, cattle prods, and nettles all provided the ultimate challenge. The money raised goes to Billy's charity, a donkey sanctuary, and also to help for the heroes in our community.

It was achallenge getting pix off to the agency as there were absolutely no facilities for Press photographers to work from - thank goodness for a Land Rover and a dongle! I was told that I was the first to file, so I was very pleased with that given the army of phootgraphers around. Funnily enough, most of them were "amateurs" but the expensive equipment that they all carried was enough to bring cheer to Mr Darling - someone is keeping the economy going with new photographic kit!

My picture shows one of the less extreme challenges - this fiery carpet is to be run over after emerging from ice cold water! I don't think this chap will need to wax his legs for a while!

When the Moon is in the Seventh House...

... and Jupiter aligns with Mars... as the song from Hair began!

Well I'm not sure about houses and Jupiter, but there was a rare conjunction of the Moon and Mars tonight, so I went out to take a look, and there they were, about as wide apart as my fist, albeit at a distance of hundreds of thousands of miles! Mars was clearly visible to the naked eye and with good binoculars a better view could be seen, but it is always the full Moon that is the spectacular show ona clear night. Brilliant in it's intensity, yet subtle in it's light across the landscape, it is no wonder that the ancient peoples revered this light in the sky which showed them the way through the darkness.

It was bitterly cold, but I managed to grab a quick hand held shot of the moon at 1000ISO, with a shutter speed of 1/800th at f9 ish.... I should have persevered and got some more but it was freezing!!!

A free airshow!

Was what I got today at Sywell Aerodrome, near Northampton. I had pulled in just to use their,um "facilities", when I heard the unmistakeable sound of aircraft engines, powerful ones, very close overhead...

So rushing outside and grabbing my camera (always near to hand!) I was treated to a practice session by The Blades aerobatic team, which is based at Sywell Aerodrome. Conditions for both flying and photography were marginal to say the least, with a low leaden sky and occasional drizzle, but I shot what I could using high ISO speed to gain some shuuter speed advantage. Sadly, I didn't have a telephoto lens with me or I would have been able to get some closer shots - these guys fly LOW!

Anyway.... here are a couple with my 105mm... cropped to enhance them a little

Between a rock and a hard place...

is a common expression, but that is just where I found myself on Wednesday. I was in Shropshire, taking photographs for The Winter's Tale of Shropshire book, and as there had been a good snowfall that day I decided to head for the area known as Little Switzerland, around Church Stretton. Gathering photos along the way, I was encouraged and excited by the heavy fall, especially noticeable the further west (and higher!) I went. Eventually, I reached the pretty town of Church Streeton and headed for possibly the steepest,twistiest road in the county - The Burway. This single track road runs from the town to the summit of the Long Mynd at about 1500 feet, and in many places is 1 in 4 or steeper for short stretches. Even though the sign warning that the road was "closed" due to snow, was only partly obscured, I thought that my Land Rover would have little problem in climbing the hill....

The first 500 or so feet was ok, if a little adventurous (!) but then around a bend I came to what looked like a mound of snow blocking the way forward. This had obviously fallen in a kind of "mini avalanche" turning the evenly covered roadway into an impossible wall of deep snow. So I carefully began to reverse...it was then that I realised the steepness of the road and the fresh snow on ice, meant that even a 4 x 4 could not grip where there WAS no grip, and as I gently braked felt the car continue backwards towards the edge of the road and the drop into Cardingmill Valley, 500 feet below. Thank God, the ABS kicked in and I was able to stop short of the edge, with enough width of road to get out and check my position.... the only was was forward again.... so engaging all of the controls that Land Rovers have for climbing hills in snow, I started off - to feel the whole car shimmy sideways still nearer to the edge...now with a dry mouth and pumping heart, I had to take stock of the situation as i appeared that I could not go up OR down. The snow was still falling heavily and the temperature was at zero...

I walked back down the road to the nearest houses, about half a mile down to get some help... no one home! So back up to the car, and I dug an area around the wheels to get me started again. Thankfully, I was able to get away from the edge, where my rear wheel was perilously close to, and managed to get into a shallow passing place and let my car come to a rest against the dry stone wall.

Back down the hill again, to inform the police and also to find a hot drink. The police were brilliant and informed the National Trust Area Warden who said he could see my car from his office on the other side of the valley. Into Mr Bun the Bakers for some hot tea in Stretton, but at this stage I was still shaking from the thought of what may have happened. The advice from the police was to secure my car and leave it for the night, so I had to go back up the road an unload my gear. This was a rucksack with all my camera equipment weighing about 15kilos, my overnight bag, a little heavier, my laptop and sundry note books and maps. The lady at the Belvedere Guest House in Burway must have thought I was a madman when I asked if she had a room available. I was laden like a pack horse, my hat was covered in snow, and I was sweating profusely....

After a brief rest, my brother who lives 30 miles away called and said he was coming to get me and to check out as I could stay with them. Luckily the B&B owner was understanding and made no charge for my use of the room for an hour os so, while I gathered my thoughts and strength

The next day,Thursday, my brother and I retuned to the vehicle (climbing the hill yet again!) and as the temperature had risen slightly we decided to try to press on to the summit to find an area to turn around so at least I could drive down facing forwards instead of reversing which had been the only option earlier. NOW the Land Rover technology was brilliant! Selecting the incredible Hill Descent Control and low ratio gearbox, we set off...and I didn't have to touch the brakes once... the computer sorted all the traction out and slowly we inched our way down, passing the place of previous impasse, then gradually noting the change in road conditions as we got nearer and and nearer to the cattle grid at the bottom - we were going to make it!

A stop for tea and hot sausage rolls in Church Stetton and we were on our way, rapidly leaving behind the snow as we headed east towards Shifnal

Later I heard on the radio someone talking about their life and how they had learned their biggest lessons when they had failed... I certainly learned a huge lesson on that road on Wednesday when I failed to take the conditions seriously....

The picture shows my car "parked" safely for the night on The Burway...

Yay! The Times used one of my ski pictures

... under the In My View feature - got a name check too!

What a great place Northamptonshire is!

I have been busy for the past few weeks working on mt book due out next Autumn, called A Winter's Tale of Northamptonshire - showing the county between harvest time and Easter... which has meant lots of snowy landscapes and frozen Peter Brueghel type scenes. BUT I never thougt I would get chance to photograph some downhill skiing and snow board action!

The enterprising folk at Cold Ashby (how appropriate!) Golf Club had the brilliant idea to hook up a portable ski lift on one of the holes, with a nice long slope, and before you know it the lift passes were printed and the boarders were "catching air".

My pix show one of them soaring over my colleague JR, while he was crouching to get that unusual angle that all we photographers seek, and the other shows what happens when you try to smile at the photographer as you exit the ski lift!

We were out photographing this fun action with a view to the nationals... let's hope that the picture editors like them!

New Year's Eve

At The Courtyard Hotel at Stanwick was a fun, if cold, evening in a marquee...good company around the table, but WHY do organisers think that a disco playing a decibel level similar to a jumbo jet adds to the atmosphere???? I would so much like to have talked to some of the other people there without having to shout in their ear! Still, the fireworks at midnight were good...but an interesting thing was also going on in the sky that night. I noticed a steady stream of dullish orange lights crossing above the horizon in a dead straight trajectory, separated by a few minutes...miles away by the look of it, but there they were one after one, passing over. The interesting thing was that when we got home, my mother in law had been looking from her bedroom window and said that she had seen as many as 50 of these lights passing and gathering together in a hauge formation.... so what was all that about then???
Today I am sitting in the gallery in the hope that a few people have got some money left to spend on lovely photographs and artwork for their walls!