Bespoke and Miss Benn

Highlight: A brand new show and Installation from Nutkhut at the Wandsworth Arts Festival.

Lowlight: Windy Wandsworth. The actors nearly got blown away and with ample smatterings of showers throughout the day even getting started was a challenge.
Fill in: I keep a huge coverall in my rucksack for those damp days...It advertises the O2 but I'm dry.

Have worked with the arts company Nutkhut everywhere from Birmingham Town Hall to Buckingham Palace. This brief was to document their latest Installation 'Miss Benn' and their new street theatre project 'Bespoke'.




Despite my partner's insistence that it was not going to rain, the O2 coverall was out several times during the day but coupled with the gusty wind, it wasn't really as effective as it could have been.

Tech Spec: The Installation required use of different lenses to get all its facets and a variety of shutter speeds to record the motion. Point of view was tricky as it had tons of mirrors on the floor, on the ceiling and in the background so not getting myself in the shot required a bit of photographic contortion. The street theatre means being quite flexible to work around the group but I find a long lens works wonders for tidying up composition in this situation

More info: www.nutkhut.co.uk

APPJAG Jazz Awards 2011

Highlight: An evening with the cream of the Jazz Community and the coolest politicians

Lowlight: Not being able to take photos out on the Terrace of The House of Commons with its spectacular views
Fill in: Have done this very enjoyable event for the past four years for PPL who run the evening. Am on good terms with the Head Waiter and Stage Manager so food, drink and good lighting are never a problem!

The brief is to shoot all the presentations with the minimum of fuss, get the Jazz World mingling with the World of Politics and capture some atmospherics of the band. This a really enjoyable event and there is always lots of interesting people to talk to so that presents another challenge. As a photographer at an award ceremony you are kind of with the crew, kind of with the staff and kind of with the guests so you are constantly switching your social mode as well as trying to get the job done.


Lord David Steele presents award and Cleo Laine receives award from Michael Connarty MP, Lord Tony Colwyn with compere Paul Gambacinni.


The Ronnie Scotts Allstars entertain, with the talented Pedro Segundo on Drums.
For more info: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pedro-Segundo/195911920423802


Dominic McGonigal of PPL Jamie Cullum with Michael Connarty MP. VIPS group shot.

For Editorial Enquiries please contact PPL
For articles on evening go to PPLnews
News and Reviews: The Guardian, BBC

Further reading:
Just Jazz - The Traditional Jazz Magazine (July Issue)

Tech Spec: Technically there is a lot going on too. Although the pictures are pretty straight forward you are constantly switching modes on your camera.

For the presentation shots the flash has to recycle quickly as the shots have to be taken fast. I don't like carrying a quantum as I always end up strangling myself with the wires. Plus by the time I have loaded up with two bodies, two fast lenses and a speedlight I'm already bogged down with equipment and adding a quantum and wires will make me look more like an extra from Dr Who than the unassuming, personable photographer I want to convey. I turn the ISO up to about 800, and stick the aperture to F4 so the flash does not have to work so hard. I also use a diffuser to soften the shadows and avoid red eye.

For the speeches and musicians I avoid flash altogether as the room is dark and flash can be very distracting. I turn the ISO up to 3200 and Aperture on F2.8. The light is very saturated but I adjust this in photoshop if necessary. Switching WB during a shoot can be disastrous.

For the reception shots again it is good to be swift and it can be hard to focus as it is pretty dark. It can be embarrassing if your camera is hunting for even a few seconds when a whole crowd of VIPS are waiting for you. So as soon as I have a focus lock I shoot and alter the composition afterwards if it needs it. I also try to get some distance (not always easy in a crowded room) as group shots can be very unflattering to the people on the edges of the shot if you are too close. I turn the ISO down to 400 and shoot at F5.6 and let the flash do most of the work. Normally just getting the right people together for a shot is a feat in itself so I don't have too much control over the backgrounds.

Dog Saved my life

Highlight: A job just around the corner from where I live - and one to warm the cockles of your heart....

Lowlight: It was on a Sunday morning - the only day I get a lie - in.
Fill in: A dog saves life of a pensioner when she nearly gets run over by a 4x4.

I work for a chat mag, and normally the real life stories are pretty grim, but the occasional upbeat one reaches the pages. This one was about a doggie that broke the fall of his mistress as she crossed the zebra crossing outside her home and was nearly run over by a 4x4 driver that did not stop. Aaah! It was a huge slobbery thing (the dog, not the driver) getting it too look at camera took a little while but got there eventually.

The brief with these stories is to get every detail possible from the zebra crossing to the backbrace that the victim was encased in for 6 months to her daughter and son who arrived first at the scene of the crime. It's rather like a post forensic operation after the horse has bolted or a stills version of a crime watch reconstruction. Unfortunately the victim was not well enough to re-enact the crossing of the road for a snap...


The Zebra crossing

The family

The canine hero

The backbrace


Tech spec: I usually keep lighting to a minimum as room is usually limited. One speedlight with diffuser dome, wndow light to fill.

Reggae Britannia

Highlight: The Barbican hold a gig for all those British Reggae artists from my youth - and we get to do the soundcheck!

Lowlight: Soundchecks always run late and Reggae Artists even later, so the cumulative effect could mean we'll be there for the concert anyway.
Fill in: By some amazing quirk in the time space continuum and some obscure law where the off beat reggae rhythms collide with the Bermuda Triangle that is the Barbican layout the soundcheck is only an hour late. A minor miracle.

The Guardian were after a shot from the gig but who they wanted exactly was anyone's guess so I had to shoot them all as I didn't know who the journalist was or what their did it for them when it came to British Reggae - Red Red Wine or just a Nite Club? As it was the soundcheck we could shoot pretty much from anywhere so it was a 50mm and 85mm F2 lenses (so I could make the most of the light) and a lot of sitting around.


Click here for The Guardian review

Tech Spec: Nikon D700 - ISO 6400, Aperture F2.8 (Basically the light was hard so needed all the help I could get to keep shutter speed up). WB - daylight/tungsten (the lights changed for each artist). No flash allowed. Shutter 1/125 (as I said - light was hard. I'd ideally like to be on 1/250 to completely freeze action). Lighting was very uneven so had to wait for artists to be looking in right direction to get good lighting,