Just Popping to the Blog.

The excitement will never quite be replaced-my first credit, in print on something other than Oxfam news. Got I was excited! Whilst still at college, I somehow managed to blag my first real job to photograph the seminal reggae band Steel Pulse for an album cover. When I say seminal, I had no idea who they were. We met (along with my co-conspirator Mike Hogan) at their nearby recording studio in Frensham in Surrey. I remember them looking at this ghostly white pair of scrawny teenagers and asking us, 'What do you know about reggae music then?' 'Er, Maxi Priest??" said Mike. Somehow we managed to leave with a spoken deal and plan but no discussion of money (funnily enough). Cut to several weeks later and we are shooting together in a nearby sand pit with them on horses on 10x8" neg. The lead singer's hair was wrapped so tall that we had to find a car with 3 tiers of seats and he sat with his head at right angles. Quite frankly, I had never come across an...

The only trouble when one hands over the' finals' to clients down the line, is that there is always so much more that would be great to add as a kind of post it note: 'Thing was, I know we had 2 hours, but your leading, main shot, was tagged on in the last 5 mins.' 'He wouldn't do it'. 'She was not told about it'. You get the picture. Well in the case of this shoot for the cool store LN-CC, it was more a case of 1 small packed room, 3 people and no you can't move the clothes. Infact, no you can't move the people or their expressions either. Hence my maxim that you will only survive as a skinny snapper to fit in those corners, and the make do and mend approach is one to hold on to. Excuses are pointless at the end of it all. The Editor will only want results!

Variety is the word this week: James Corden (wearing lipstick), 10 hours of yoga and 2 days of hanging from a studio rafters over a bed with couples in for Marie Claire. Nothing that college can prepare you for anyway. With my final old Bowens pack going to the spark in the sky and 1 of my new Profoto heads spitting the dummy, this has been also a week of learning t relove daylight and other people's equipment. The OFM trip to Monte Carlo was a great reminder that by wacking up the ISO on a 5D, I just don't need much flash. I have a live on set shoot on 'This Morning' on Friday so we'll see whether I stand by these words then. It would certainly ease my Oesteopathy bill.Here are some of my thoughts on cover design as requested by the wonderful Tom at Stylist Magazine . I think I am in good company here-