Paul O Grady

A few weeks ago I shot Paul O'Grady at the Hilton Hotel by Tower Bridge in London. This shoot was lots of fun, it was so great to meet Paul and hear his stories (of which there are many!)

We slated the Pope's visit, talked Gay rights, and voiced our disgust at the cuts set to happen under the new Government! Don't get me started!......

.....Oh, we also had lots of laughs.....

The Perfect Interviewee Part 2

Here is installment number 2 in the 'Perfect Interviewee' series. I was camera and lighting (DOP) which was great. Really want to do more film stuff.
Anyway next week the 3rd and final installment of this series will be out - and it's the most entertaining by far!

The Perfect Interviewee part 1

A couple of months ago I shot 3 corporate videos for a company called SKS. This is the first in the series, about looking good and presentable for a TV interview....more to follow......

Johnni J

I recently shot my good friend Johnni for the World of Wonder. He is a TV Producer at WOW and so much fun to work with.
Johnni wasn't actually that keen to get in front of my lens. Not because of my photography but he just hates having his photo taken. And we also weren't really sure what to do with him!
Here are some the shots, I was quite pleased with how it went in the end....

Manchester Tattooist Louis Malloy

I recently shot award winning tattoo artist Louis Malloy at his studio in Middleton, Manchester.

Louis designed David Beckham's famous back tattoo depicting a bald, winged, angelic figure. Beckham calls the tattoo his 'guardian angel' and premiered it in 1999 after work finished in April that year.
Other celebrities tattooed by Lou include Spice Girls Mel C, Mel B, Victoria Beckham and Ronan Keating.

In 2007, Louis became part of Discovery Channel's documentary programme 'London Ink' featuring the daily happenings at his tattoo parlour.

It was a pleasure to meet and shoot Louis. I liked that he didn't want to necessarily be depicted in the stereotypical way tattoo artists are often depicted, holding a needle and covered in tattoos himself.

Below is my edit from the 30 minute shoot.....

ADAM BUXTON

Here are some contact sheet selects from my recent shoot with Adam Buxton. Adam is a British Comedian, currently starring in The Persuasionists. He is probably most well known for the 1995 Adam and Joe show, a Channel 4 comedy series with Joe Cornish. Adam and Joe went on to host radio shows on XFM and 6 Music. Adam was easy to shoot, a man of many facial expressions.....!

JON RONSON - WORLD OF WONDER

I just shot a portrait of writer/ documentary film maker Jon Ronson. Jon is most well known for his book, 'Men Who Stare At Goats' which has been turned into a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. Jon also writes columns for the Guardian and has made a number of Documentary films.

We shot at Jon's house in Hampstead and had 20 minutes (with losing light) to catch the below shot.....

....don't you just love Jon's dog???!! I think Floppy makes the picture. (no offence Jon, obviously i think you look great too!)

Tu @ Sainsburys Christmas Commercial

Here is the final Christmas TV Commercial I shot for Sainsburys back in October. It aired on National TV the first week of December

BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE MERRY CHRISTMAS SHOOT

Here are the behind the scenes from my recent still life 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' shoot, shot for Tu Clothing at Sainsburys and also handily used in my Christmas cards!  

The lettering was great.  We had a huge version of the word 'MERRY' made up so that the clothing would sit perfectly on the letters as though they were pedestals.  We had the 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' made up to sit together (Merry on top of Christmas) in smaller letters so that it would fit on the set and the big 'MERRY' was in post comped onto the smaller letters for the final frame of the advert.

TU November '09 TV Commercial

Below is my Tu Clothing ad, shot for Sainsbury's in October and shown on UK National TV a couple of weeks ago......

THE AMERICAN'S ENCOUNTER WITH A BRITISH BULLDOG

My favourite moment from a recent shoot is pictured below.  

The model/ actor below, Austin, was fresh to London from LA for the very first time.  Instead of showing him some of the usual tourist hot spots, we whisked him straight to London's East End, where I was shooting in the rain on the streets around various council estates.  

Walking back to our winebago, I spotted this bulldog tied up in a van.  After asking the owners permission and enquiring into whether the bulldog was a friendly character, I asked Austin to go and acquaint himself.  Nervous at first, we eventually got him in the van where he got well and truly mauled (in a playful way).  My assistant and I were howling with laughter as I shot it.....Austin was a great sport!

TU Clothing - Autumn TVC

Below is my Autumn execution for Tu Clothing at Sainsbury's. This was shown on UK National TV for 1 week in September.......

BEHIND THE SCENES: SHEBA-CARGO SHOOT

I recently shot an advertising campaign for Sheba cat food. This was in association with Cargo and Natmags.
The shoot required me to source 2 Russian Blue cats to use as models (one main one and one back up). I also had to hire a cat handler to look after the cats and to make sure they performed on set. The cats became like mini celebrities on the shoot, requiring their own private green room and a silent closed set when we were shooting. If cats get upset whilst shooting, they 'stop working' (the cat handlers words) and you can't get them back. So the entire set had to be carefully managed to ensure this didn't happen and we could get the shots needed.

SHEBA - CARGO - NATMAGS PROMOTION

Here are some of the tearsheets from my recent Sheba - Cargo - Natmags shoot. The ads are featured in Cosmopolitan, Company, She, Prima, Good Housekeeping and other Natmags publications. They are also Point Of Sale in Cargo stores across the country.

TU SUMMER FOR SAINSBURY'S

So here is the finished product, the latest TV Commercial for Tu clothing, the Summer range by Sainsbury's. I shot it a couple of weeks ago and it airs in the UK tomorrow and will be on for 1 week.
Enjoy!

BEHIND THE SCENES/ TU CLOTHING AD FOR SAINSBURYS

So, below are a sample of the Behind The Scenes shots from my latest TV Commercial for Tu Clothing by Sainsbury's. It was a fun, fairly relaxed day. We got what we wanted and a nice time was had. Thanks to all involved. The advert airs this week, from 19th May onwards...........