Article Posted: May 21, 2010
I was approached to shoot a little piece for Topman recently. It’s for their ‘Latest Trend’ section on their website. This trend is called TOKYO SURF. We shot on location in a park in west London and had to fight for space amongst the peacocks that were wandering about. I had fun shooting it and hopefully it will be the first of many.
Article Posted: May 19, 2010
I recently got an email from Siouxsie who asks if I fancied coming and shooting Randy Twigg play at the Bar Music Hall in Shoreditch. Having a free evening and being intrigued by Siouxsie’s description of both Randy & André, I knew it was going to be an experience. I went and checked out their music on their MySpace and it only confirmed that the night was going to be a good one.
I turned up on the night of the gig and hung out with them before their set and I instantly warmed to them. André, a native Berliner was very softly spoken seemed shy and unassuming but ridiculously good looking and disgustingly photogenic. The gorgeous Randy, originally from Toronto but has been in Berlin for a few years, was in personality the complete opposite. I liken to her to being a cross between a tornado, a Tasmanian Devil, Jenna Jameson and Mick Jagger. In a 100% complimentary way of course. It’s hard not to fall in love with her. The one thing they do have in common is their love for Whisky, the beverage of choice all night.
It was a Saturday night, and like most East End bars, the venue was filling quite nicely. Randy Twigg was on first and I don’t think the crowd had sufficiently prepared themselves for what was about to happen. André positioned himself behind the drums doing his last minute checks and Randy plugged her bass into the amp and approached the mic. They fired into the first tune and the jaws of the crowd dropped as I don’t think they has seen or heard anything quite like Randy before. I certainly hadn’t! She virtually didn’t say a word in between the first few songs. She simply growled like a cougar into the mic which I found highly amusing and beautifully theatrical. It wasn’t long before André rolled up his sleeves to the extreme and took his top off completely, drumming away with sweat and enthusiasm dripping off him showing off his muscular physique and various tattoos. Glancing into the crowd I could see many a girl swooning.
The partying continued into the night after their set finished. I can safely say my life has been enriched by meeting this pair of extraordinary people.
I just couldn’t condense the mountain of shots I took on that evening, so I have put a gallery in my projects section if you fancy a peek. Click on the pic above or check it out here. Let me know what you think and please go check out Randy’s MySpace if you are up for some ‘Post Apocalyptic Yacht Rock’.
Article Posted: April 27, 2010
Another little spoiler from Friday. This is Pip, the other model from Profile that I shot at the same time as Zoe. We channeled the spirit of Guy Bourdin with a sprinkling of retro Jerry Hall and came up with this. Kim and Issy (they dubbed themselves ‘The Wafters’) did a fantastic job getting that hair doing unnatural things with Issy on reflector fanning duties and Kim on her knees out of shot armed with a hair dryer. Most fashion photography is, but this one in particular couldn’t have happened without everyone pulling together to get these results. What a team! Sent the series to Pip’s agency and the response was that they loved it and were going to go put on some Roxy Music.
Article Posted: April 25, 2010
(click on the image for a closer peek)
A little taster of things to come from my beauty shoot on Friday. This Polaroid is of Zoe from Profile Model Management who was joined by Pip, also from profile. Both girls were fabulous to work with and we had a great day. I had the dream team of Sandra Bermingham looking after make-up and Kim Roy on hair. I was assisted by a new face to me, Issy Oakes. She was a real trooper and a total pleasure and we battled together in the heat of the afternoon. I’ve only had the time to have a really quick look so far, but from what I’ve seen, I’m excited to see more.
This was shot at the Clic la Mode studio in Woolwich. I hadn’t shot there before, but I dare say I’ll be back again. If anyone is looking a for a well appointed London studio, I could definitely recommend contacting James and checking out Clic.
Article Posted: April 21, 2010
Recently, Simon Pollock (aka gtvone) and I were given the task of putting together a promotional video for a fantastic competition. It’s for a MASSIVE haul of awesome camera bags from the fabulous people at ThinkTank. If you aren’t familiar with ThinkTank, I encourage you to go check their gear out. I personally now own the cavernous ‘Logistics Manager’ together with the ‘Humongous Bazooka’ and I am loving them. You can tell they are designed by photographers and not bag designers and they are built to last. Anyway… I digress!
The little stop motion video above (nearly 1,000 frames worth) is to promote a competition as I mentioned. For more details head over here. It’s free to enter and you really should get involved as the winner will pretty much be guaranteed to never have to buy another camera bag ever again!
