We brought photography an iconic illustrator together to celebrate Quentin Blake Box Of Treasures. A series of six of Sir Quentin’s classic books are being brought to life on screen in a full animated series for BBC iPlayer and CBBC. Voiced a wonderful line up of talent; Simon Pegg, Nina Sosanya, Adrian Lester and Alison Steadman. What a dream brief! Working with such creative people to bring these ideas to life, it was so much fun watching the beautiful illustration adding a whole other element to my portraits. Senior Creative – Samantha Ratcliffe Animation CD – Massimo Fenati Production – Georgina Williams at The BBC Support – everyone at Eagle Eye Drama Photo assistant – Phil Hardman Production support – Germaine Walker
Things got steamy on set during the photography for Channel 4’s deliciously dark new drama. Catch Eleanor Tomlinson and Alfred Enouch alongside Sam Heughan and Jessica De Gouw, as two couples who become ever more entangled. Such a great cast to work with to create just the right moments to promote this new series. And if you’re in the US, look out for the show on Starz next year… Big thanks to the amazing team at Eagle Eye Drama, Becky Allin and Carl Palmer at Channel 4, Nile Bates at Starz, lighting tech Pim Van Baalen, and production support from Germaine Walker.
Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Louisa Harland all in one play… count me in. I directed the trailer and photographed the campaign for this limited run pitch-black comedy. Grab your tickets here: LINK
The House of Bernarda Alba starring Dame Harriet Walter. My first poster for the National Theatre! Grab your tickets. Thanks to the brilliant Harriet Walter who was a dream to collaborate with. Massive thanks also to Billy Bull and Jen Dennis, so great working with you . Assistant ace Philip Hardman, production support Germaine Walker.
Michael Palin is a national treasure. And a bit of a hero of mine, I grew up laughing at Monty Python. To say I was excited to meet Sir Michael was an understatement. But I was also nervous, would he be as creative and collaborative as I hoped? Well, meet you heroes people, at least certainly if they are Michael Palin. He was everything a collaborator could want, and also the kindest, nicest man as well. Big thanks Louise Fenerci for the assingnment Cover design by Dan Biddulph Grooming by Emma Leon Styling by Michael Palin Read Richard Coles interview with Sir Michael here: LINK
Working with Aisling Bea is always a joy – not only is she effortless in front of the camera, but you get a front row seat to enjoy her stand-up. I last photographed Aisling to celebrate her 2020 BAFTA Television Award, so I was delighted to be asked to photograph her again to create a set of images to help publicise her new film Greatest Days. Big to everyone involved: Hope Lawrie – styling Justine Jenkins – makeup Narad Kutowaroo – hair Olivia Spencer and Betty Martin – photo assistants Melissa Morgan – retouch Cecily Bain – studio manager Emily and Niamh at Multitudemedia – publicity gurus Clare – top organiser / team Aisling
‘Open Letters’, in collaboration with Self Space and Calling for Mental Health Awareness Week. Nine in ten people with mental health challenges in the UK face stigma and discrimination. And where there’s stigma, there’s silence. In a radical act of openness, Calling and Self Space commissioned real people to write candidly about their mental health in a series of letters. Five of these letters are across London on giant public billboards for all to see. It was a privilege to photograph the brave and brilliant people who wrote them – Icie, Liv, Nadia, Elvis and Raman are the best. We had two deeply meaningful and cathartic days in my studio creating these images together; in a way it felt a bit like therapy, both for me and for them. The stories and thoughts they’ve shared are rarely talked about, yet really need to be talked about. Selected Ad of the...
Wonderful to work with the brilliant Professor Hannah Fry again, to promote her first show with Bloomberg TV, ‘The Future with Hannah Fry’. In this show, Hannah explores a world where computers can read our emotions, a planet transformed by unlimited clean energy, and living until 150 years old – and more. Hannah is an amazing presenter, and a bit of a genius, and I wanted to capture her upbeat personality for her new audience in the States. It was lovely to work closely with stylist Karen Smyth to create different looks and to achieve a variety of feelings across the portraits. More images will be released globally, so you might see them popping up. Big thanks to everyone involved – it was awesome to work with the brilliant teams from Bloomberg and Mirador Talent Management again, and thanks as always to Phil and Olly for their top assistance.
My portrait of James Norton has been selected as a winning image in the American Photography Awards, and will be published in the AP39 book. A further two of my portraits, another of James Norton and one of Nadine Dorries, will also be published on the AI-AP website. I’m delighted to say this is my second year in print and my third on the website. See the full set of James Norton portraits here: LINK, and the Nadine Dorries set here: LINK.
I never know what will happen on a shoot, especially when working with another creative mind. Great fun collaborating with the force that is Carlos Bayala of New London. Besides being a leader in his field, I learned Carlos also has a penchant for tango music and maté – what else could you expect from a proud Argentinian? Thanks to Olly for assisting, Emma for grooming, and Cecily for painting. Thanks also to Fede for courier-ing over some maté over to the shoot!
