Category Archives: People

Gardeners’ Question Time Christmas broadcast


I’ve listened to BBC Gardeners’ Question Time for years, so when recently asked by Gardeners’ World Magazine to photograph the Christmas recording, I really looked forward to a behind the scenes view of how the show was put together. It was also the first time they had all panelists together for one broadcast. The production company’s office is located in a small side road near Old Street Tube station, and like many London streets, the building numbering is a bit haphazard.  Whilst checking the address on my phone, I was approached by a very nice man who asked me, “Are […]

Pickersleigh Road motors


I visited the Morgan factory in Malvern this week. I’ve never been there before, and it was quite refreshing to be able to walk around a car workshop without being asked to produce  a multitude of passes. A nod from MD, Charles Morgan, was all that was required. My colleague Peter Nunn came to interview Charles Morgan for a feature – and with the outside hope of driving the new Morgan three wheeler. As this doesn’t appear until next year, the best we could do was have a look at the three wheeler pedal car. With a price tag of £3000, […]

Rain doesn’t stop play


Just over a week ago, I visited Batsford Arboretum, near Moreton in Marsh and the garden at Mill Dene. I had a  great drive through the Cotswolds on fantastic Autumn day, to see trees at  their best. What a difference a week makes. On a shoot at Capel Manor a few days later, I had to create a large plastic tent to shelter from the wind and rain whilst  photographing garden products. Then today, I photographed journalist Sally Nex at her allotment. Despite the best efforts of the various weather sites, we couldn’t find a time slot to keep us […]

Away Pitch


Earlier this year, I was invited to submit an image to an exhibition called ‘Away Pitch‘ at The Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton on Trent. Curated by artist Vitor Azevedo, the exhibition combined art and poetry. Works were placed with local sports people, who recorded their reactions and responses to them in the form of books, photographs and recordings. The launch was held in July 2009 at The Brewhouse, and included a dance performance combining sportsmen and professional dancers, a youth community dance piece and the unveiling of the Pitch exhibition. Over 170 people attended the event that was well received and […]

Eadweard Muybridge


Last week I visited the new Eadweard Muybridge exhibition at Tate Britain. On leaving the gallery, I saw a note on the foyer wall saying visit the cafe and download the Muybridgizer app for your iPhone….. The exhibition was fascinating. There was a wide range of work on display and a lot was new to me. Before his experiments with time sequences, Muybridge made a lot of money in the United States from some of his landscape photography, particularly with stereographs. These were small cards with two photographs of the same subject, each from a slightly different perspective. Seen through a […]

Car Photo – a classic magazine from 1985


A couple of weeks ago I was handed a copy of Car Photo by my friend and colleague Ian Dawson. A supplement to Car Magazine in 1985,  it was the benchmark of automotive photography at that  time, and certainly influenced the way I worked. As a rooky photographer on What Car? Magazine, with barely three months under my belt, I remember flicking through a copy in my local WH Smith and thinking bloody hell! Ian was one of the contributing photographers and he kindly searched out his last spare copy, as mine had disappeared after several house moves. What is great […]

Helen Yemm and Thorny problems


Last week I had the pleasure of photographing the Telegraph gardening columnist,  Helen Yemm for a project I had just started. After we had finished, we chatted over several cups of coffee in her kitchen, where  I noticed a large wooden sign behind a door. It turned out to be a souvenir from a Q&A session she did for the Telegraph, and  I believe it will take pride of place on a wall somewhere, once a space has been found. In the meantime, I thought I had to get a snap of her with her prize!