B.T.S*
*BEHIND THE SHOT
Context is everything….
SHOOTING THE QUEEN
At first glance it looks like a little old lady sheltering from the rain. Maybe she’s waiting for a bus. Look closer and the pensioner turns out to be the Queen.
She was opening the Lawn Tennis Association’s new headquarters just outside London, and I’d been assigned the classic royal photo opportunity of her planting a tree or cutting a ribbon. Possibly both. I honestly can’t remember.
I arrived hours early, endured the usual security checks, and joined the inevitable stampede toward the press pen. My spot was, frankly, a bit shit.
It was raining. Properly raining. We were soaked. The Queen arrived beneath a transparent umbrella and it became clear we were in entirely the wrong place for the picture we’d all imagined.
We could all see exactly where the photograph needed to be taken from and it wasn’t inside the pen.
So I made a quick calculation and thought Fuck It and jumped the fence.
Quick light reading. 70–200mm lens. Heart racing. I ran the few metres to the right spot, fired off a handful of frames, and hopped back in to the pen before security had time to react.
The pictures ran everywhere over the following days. The next year, much to my own amusement I was named Royal Photographer of the Year. A few years after that, the image was selected for the Royal Collection.
My takeaway? The best pictures generally aren’t taken from inside a press pen.
Canon Eos 1D MKII
Canon EF 70-200mm IS USM
1600 ISO
1/250
f4.0
36 FRAMES WITH HIGGINS
The late Irish snooker legend Alex Higgins, photographed shortly before his passing.
During the four-hour drive to meet him, I had ample time to imagine the photographs I would make and the lighting I would use. In hindsight, that was wishful thinking. The moment he stepped out of the car at the location, he launched into a tirade, berating me and threatening legal action if he caught a cold. To be honest I was pretty shocked, both by the outburst and by his appearance. It was clear that the man was really ill.
I managed just 36 frames of him on the steps of the manor house before he retreated inside. This image is the final frame. There was no opportunity for lights or backdrops; the light is entirely natural, and the pillar of the house became the background. That was the shoot—over almost as soon as it began. He refused to do anything further.
It is also one of those very rare occasions that I knew instantly that I had taken an image that was more than the sum of its parts. It would resonate with people on multiple levels.
After completing the interview the photographs were meant to accompany, he played a single frame of snooker, took an antique cue, and then left. A deeply troubled man. He passed away shortly afterwards.
Canon Eos 1D MKIV
Canon EF 85MM F1.8 USM
640 ISO
1/125
f2.0
NOT BLACK & WHITE
At first glance, you see a woman celebrating the Indian festival of Holi.
Now, if I tell you that this is almost the only frame I have in which there is not another photographer or tourist in the image. If I told you that there were multiple tour companies and photo workshops at the ashram, running around like visitors to a zoo.
The woman is one of thousands of widows banished by tradition, abandoned by their families or communities following their husbands’ deaths. Often ostracized due to superstition, they seek refuge in the city of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, living in ashrams or begging while dedicating their lives to chanting in Krishna temples in search of peace.
I was there on assignment for a news agency, which is neither a justification nor an attempt to distance myself.
Now, when you look at her face, what do you see?
Context is everything, and it is not always black and white.
Canon Eos 1D X MKII
Canon EF 24-70MM F2.8L USM
400 ISO
1/500
f4.0
I had spent the morning outside 10 Downing Street shooting the usual comings and goings through the big black door. No one that interesting to mention but bread and butter stuff that all agencies must do in London.
I had a bit of a break as no one was officially due for another hour or so and it was a quiet news day so I decided to break the monotony by going for a walk through the neighbouring St. James Park. It was a beautiful Autumn day as I sauntered around the ponds as tourists fed the ducks and office workers ate their expensive sandwiches washed down with over priced coffee.
When I'm on these walks with no real purpose or goal I often take a lens that I normally wouldn't in the hope of shooting something from a new perspective or looking at the world around me in a different way. In this instance I had a fixed 300mm lens. Not the subtlest or lightest piece of kit but pin sharp and about as long a prime focal length you could hand hold at the time.
The Pelicans had caught my attention due to their size and prehistoric appearance. People were taking pictures of their children standing beside them and laughing as one would flap its wings and frighten toddlers or would catch a slice of bread thrown in its direction.
I remember thinking that I would not let a child of mine anywhere near them due to their size and unpredictability. Anyway, one of the birds seemed a little more boisterous so I kept focused on him in the of chance something might happen.
And sure enough. In the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the crowded park he (it could be "she" I don't know) scooped up an unsuspecting pigeon in one swipe of his enormous bill and began the process of trying to swallow it. I was shocked in a "what the fuck" kinda way and continued shooting.
Children began screaming and parents and childminders gathered up their darlings and attempted to shield them from the grisly spectacle. What a spectacle it was. The pigeon flapped and struggled valiantly but ultimately it was futile. It wasn't over in a flash as you'd expect. There was several minutes to observe and try and comprehend the midday cannibalism we were al witnessing.
After the dust/pigeon had settled and the event was over I checked to see what i'd got. ONE frame where you could see the pigeon perfectly inside the pelican bill or gular pouch as I later found out.
Within a few minutes of filing the images to the picture desk and explaining what exactly was going on I started to receive calls from our clients wanting more information. Multiple interviews ensued over the next few days. One newspaper even asked one of their photographers to go and replicate the moment...HOW....WHY?
I'm not sure what the moral of the story is here. Any idea?
PELICAN PIGEON & SWALLOW
Canon Eos 1D MKII
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
400 ISO
1/1250
f4.0
Thousands of images. Dozens of hours. And it all came down to the very last frame.
I was assigned to cover curling. Not exactly one of the “sexy” Olympic sports. Snowboarding and downhill went to others, while I spent over two weeks watching stones slide left to right… then right to left.
Curling starts before the opening ceremony and runs all day, every day, until the end. No downtime. No beers with colleagues. Just bus, rink, bus, bed. Repeat for 14 days. It’s a grind.
And it’s hard to make interesting pictures. Same rink. Same target. Very few variables. You live for the tiny moments, a celebration, a glance, a split second of emotion.
I had a remote camera directly above the bullseye. Fired it for two weeks. Two weeks of average frames. Soul-destroying stuff. After a week the bosses felt sorry for me and offered me a day off to go shoot something else. I declined. No way, I was leaving this place.
Final day. Final game. Gold medal match between Sweden and North Korea. I pressed the remote trigger one last time.
That final frame appeared on my screen. I’m not ashamed to say a tear rolled down my cheek, lol.
Luck, perseverance, skill — who knows.
TAKE IT FROM THE TOP
Canon Eos 1D x MKII
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
1600 ISO
1/500
f 5.6