BAFTA Film Awards 2023
It was a dream come true photographing the official portraits at the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards. Austin Butler oozed charm, Cate Blanchett celebrated her fourth golden mask, Ariana DeBose exuded energy, and Rami Malek gave me one beautiful jump; it was a joy to have the top talent on the planet in front of my lens. I am so grateful that the wonderful photography team at BAFTA trusted me to capture the magic of awards season, and I can’t thank Claire and Jordan enough for the commission of a lifetime. Huge thanks to the many minds and hands who made these images possible, it truly takes a village: Claire Rees – Bafta Photo Director Jordan Anderson – Bafta Producer Jeska Hayter – Bafta Photo Coordinator Tayjib Kerstan – Bafta Production Intern Simon Godfrey – Set Builder Danny Murphy – Lighting Supplier Philip Hardman – Lighting Assistant Oliver Mayhall – Digital...
Angela Rayner – The Sunday Times Magazine
I recently photographed Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Angela Rayner, for The Sunday Times Magazine. I’ve photographed several politicians and find most of them to have something in common – they are trying to hide things from you. Angela was the anomaly here, she felt totally open and brutally honest in front of my lens. It was a truly refreshing experience. As brilliant as Angela was to photograph, this was one of those shoots where nothing seemed to go my way to start with: whilst we were setting up my camera packed in, cue a quick change to my spare body, then as time was ticking away I just couldn’t quite recreate the lighting set up I’d tested. But thankfully I had a fab team around me, so thinking on our feet we adapted to the space we had – and in the end I feel came out with something...
BAFTA Film Awards 2023 – Hosts Shoot
I was delighted to photograph the hosts of the 2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards, Richard E Grant and Alison Hammond. You might start seeing their faces plastered across billboards around London – send me a snap if you do. Richard and Alison were a brilliant and energetic duo – they danced around the set, posed with (surprisingly heavy) BAFTA awards, and cracked up when they realised they had already met before, but both forgotten. You can see this in action in the timelapse below. I am excited to also be photographing the winners at the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday 19th February – so watch this space. Thanks to Claire and Jordan at BAFTA for the fab commission, and to my assistants Phil and Olivia.
‘Muck And Mayhem’ – The Sunday Times Magazine
Back in the days when the weather was substantially nicer I spent time at Diddly Squat Farm photographing the team – cow herding with Kaleb, field walking with Lisa, chatting with Charlie, and (trying to) chat with Gerald. Plus of course capturing Jeremy too, whilst he told me about his cows. Thanks to Lisa for encouraging Jeremy to do this American Gothic recreation, to Russ O’Connell for the great idea, Grant Wood for his brilliant painting, and to my assistant Phil for saving my canvas background from falling in too much mud. Read Nick Rufford’s article here: LINK
Tom Allen – Channel 4 – National Comedy Awards
I recently had the pleasure of shooting comedy’s funniest (and most charming) man, Tom Allen, for Channel 4 in celebration of him hosting the National Comedy Awards, on Friday 17th February. I wanted to show Tom in his most natural environment – sprawled on the roof of a black cab, surrounded by adoring fans and paparazzi, of course. This was a really fun and creative shoot, involving some clever behind-the-scenes tricks. I’ve put together a short video below showing you how we achieved the final shot, featuring fake headlamps, a cherry-picker, and a blank wall. Thanks to Lucille, Alice, Suzi and Susie at Channel 4, to Kit and Leah for MUA and styling, and my assistants Oli and Pim.
Portrait of Britain Vol 5 – Shortlisted
I am proud to announce that my portrait of Gordon Brown has been shortlisted in Portrait of Britain Vol 5. It was fascinating to photograph the ex-Prime Minister in the back room of a Holiday Inn in his Scottish hometown; it all felt a million miles from Number 10, until a besuited security guard walked into the room. Moments later, the man I’d seen a thousand times on the television walked into the room. If you would like to see it in the flesh, the book will be hitting shop shelves in the coming weeks. It’s wonderful to be part of such a varied set of portraits celebrating the diversity of our nation. Massive thanks to Russ O’Connell for commissioning me for this shoot, and to Hoxton Mini Press and the British Journal of Photography for including my picture in their publication.
James Norton – The Sunday Times Culture
I ended 2022 photographing the brilliant James Norton for The Sunday Times Culture magazine, to mark the new series of Happy Valley on the BBC. Although playing a murderous villain on TV, in reality James is (thankfully) the total opposite and was great fun to work with. Having asked him to bring a few pieces of his wardrobe, I learned he is also the owner of some fantastic knitwear. The Sunday Times Culture magazine describes James as ‘nice guy turns TV’s number one psycho’, two sides which I tried to capture for the cover. To prepare to capture the movement of James’ coat, I roped in my studio-mate Matt for some rather dizzying test shots, which you can see in the outtake below. Massive thanks to all involved, including Adam Hearn for the great commission, Jessica at Tapestry, Liz at The Wall Group, and my stand-in Matt! If...
Power to the People – The Observer Magazine
For my first cover for The Observer Magazine, I visited a quiet and unassuming street in north London – and set off some smoke bombs. In a time where the word ‘energy’ is often followed by ‘crisis’, it was inspiring to meet the residents of Lynmouth Road, whose goal is to turn their home into its own solar power station. Wouldn’t it be cool if the streets all over the UK could be like this – providing power for themselves from the sun? Special thanks to everyone involved, especially those who clambered up to the roof-top where residents Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell are sleeping as a crowdfunder for the project. Thank you to Kit Burnet at The Observer Magazine for the fun assignment, Dan and Hilary from POWER for rallying together their neighbours for the shoot, and to my assistants Oliver and Adam. Anna Fielding’s accompanying article is fascinating...
Returnal – Bafta Game Awards
To mark their wins at the BAFTA Game Awards 2022, I photographed Returnal’s creative director Harry Krueger and actress Jane Perry at the BAFTA HQ. In a triumphant double-whammy, Returnal won Best Game, and Jane won Best Actress for her role in Returnal. It was fascinating to hear about the process of creating, building and starring in a virtual universe, and to capture Harry and Jane’s achievements in the ever-growing gaming industry. Many thanks to Claire Rees and Jordan Anderson at Bafta for the brilliant commission, and to my assistants Pim and Oli.
American Photography 38 – Winner
I’m honoured to have my portrait of Michaela Coel for BAFTA was chosen for this year’s American Photography 38 book. I travelled to New York to see the launch of the book and to meet many of the other fascinating photographers featured. This portrait was photographed for BAFTA at their 2021 TV Awards this was a dream commission from the brilliant Claire Rees and Jordan Anderson – an evening bursting with talent. Click here to see the full set from the shoot: LINK