Two Puddings

Highlight: Getting to see a photography exhibition!

Lowlight: Taking a photo of a photo of someone who was in the photo and also in the photo of the photo. Well,not a lowlight but a weird-light!

Fill-in: This was an event at Bishopsgate Institute with Robert Elms and Eddie Johnson and included an exhibition of snaps from the 60s when the pub was in full swing.

Tech spec: D700 for quiet, prime lenses for maximum light!

Slambassadors Buckingham

Highlight: Seeing Joelle Taylor with a tan.

Lowlight: Taking wrong turning twice with half the The Poetry Society crammed into my car getting a lift back to London.

Fill-in: My sense of direction is not great at the best of times, which is fine when I'm on my own, but when you have a car full of people, most of whom book you under the misguided illusion that you are an organised and together person and you are trying to get them home then it doesn't do to keep missing junctions on the motorway and having to turn round all the time.

Tech spec: I used the D7000 as it is quiet. The contestants are very young and I try not to get too close or put them off too much.

The Poetry Review

Highlight: After months of emailing back and forth finally book a portrait sitting with Bernadine Evaristo.

Lowlight: Only taken me 25 years of living in london before I finally got to k now of the exsistance visit Keats House.

Fill-in: This was a reading from The Poetry Review edited by Bernadine Evaristo and is was full of unpublished poets so the material was very left-field but I actually understood some of it. Hurrah!

Tech spec: Appalling light so it was out with the D7000 (quiet shutter) and on with the prime lenses. I try not to shoot whilst the poems are actually being read.

Holocaust Memorial

Highlight: Feel good factor - yes! This event is very uplifting.

Lowlight: Having to listen to harrowing Holocaust accounts first hand.

Fill in: This annual event is one of the most inclusive events I do even though it is focussed around the Holocaust. Leaders of all religions attend and it is always centred around young people. I feel very privileged to be able to hear first hand accounts of experiences of the Holocaust and to meet the survivors.

Tech Spec: Discretion is the main key. Staying unobtrusive and not clicking away in the more reflective moments. I use a D7000 even though it is not as good as the D3 on higher ISOs simply because it is quieter so I feel free to shoot more.

PPL Youth Jazz

Highlight: Meeting some people who knew where Sandford was - my home town - or should I say home village.

Lowlight: Lots of talented young musicians - I have trouble on the comb and paper.

Fill-in: A group of young Jazz musicians from Devon take to the floor at the House of Commons to entertain APPJAG (All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Society). A cultured way to start the year

Tech spec: With ten musicians on stage, the main challenge with this is dodging all the mikes and music stands, staying out of the way of the audience - and of course watching foregrounds, backgrounds, framing, lighting and after all that catching the definite moment....Thank God for my Yoga training as I had to get into some pretty weird positions.

Mayors Christmas Carol Concert

Highlight: Carols, mince pies and mulled wine in Southwark Cathedral at Christmas Time

Lowlight: As always in this Cathedral - very low light!

Fill-in: Brief - to document event and get a group shot. Sounds easy enough but getting a group shot of the key people who are all in different places at different times requires a little help from a black hole and a time machine. Fortunately Nikon does a kit that fits into a camera back for a very reasonable price.
Tech spec: I use prime lenses for this event as even F2.8 at 6400 ISO gives me a shutter of 1/60 which is too slow when doing long shots and as I have to shoot from quite a way back long shots are my only option. I used the fab Nikon 85mm F1.4 on the D7000 to get some extra zoom and the 135mm F2 on the D3. Oh, and the Nikon Black hole with time machine to get group shot.

MU Xmas Party at House of Commons

Highlight: Seeing Andy Parsons - one of my favourite comics

Lowlight: Having a mad fan moment with Andy Parsons

Fill-in: This annual event brings together the Musicians Union, Equity and The Writers Guild together under one roof for drinks and a bit of lobbying. Yes, that's musicians, actors and writers in a room full of politicians with lots of drinks and some rather superb fancy cakes and sandwiches.

Tech spec: Flash snaps! Turn on the flash, I tend to turn the ISO up to 400 to get the ambient light in. Although higher ISOs are often looked down on by purists, these shots are not going to be double page spreads and a bit of ambient light with a reasonable shutter speed means you can capture the mood of the party with asking people to pose every five minutes.