Farewell Tony Benn

It has just been announced that elder statesman Tony Benn has died aged 88.

Tony was a left wing politician of great principles and a brilliant speaker, a man who made you think.

Wether or not you agreed with him, he wanted to make you think.

A firebrand in his day who stood up for what he believed in at any cost, in later years he was out of step with the Labour party which was so dear to him.

He wanted to be an MP but this meant renouncing his peerage, effectively a gift from the queen, something that was unheard of.

Famously when he left politics he said he was 'leaving parliament to spend more time in politics'

His diary which he kept daily since 1940 gave an insightful view into the world of politics.

Voted on the BBC politics show as 'The UK's Political Hero' ahead of Mrs Thatcher.

I photographed him in his flat in Holland Park late last year.

His flat was packed with memories of a great life lived.

Before I left I asked him if he could give one piece of advice, what would it be?

He paused, mulling over what I had asked him before replying

'Say what you mean, mean what you say and do it if you can'

Wise words indeed.


*note, I shot this image on the amazing Carl Zeiss 55mm Otus lens at F1.4. I will be posting a comparative test review shortly of this remarkable lens.

Iceberg what iceberg?

I write this from my bed having contracted tonsillitis at either BVE or the Photography show.

Despite the discomfort I have felt driven to write this post.

The moment you see a featherweight Sony A7R next to truck sized  Nikon D800 in-the-flesh you realise that the game is going somewhere different.

Though perhaps someone should tell the management at Canon if this interview with Canon CEO Masaya Maeda on DPreview is anything to go by.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2097339172/cp-2014-canon-interview-we-dont-see-the-smartphone-as-an-enemy

He makes a lot of valid points but to some extent he is living a little in the past.

To hold up the EOS D70 as a sample of their stills innovation, in the face of the (relatively) rule rewriting new kids on the block is delusional to say the least.

Much can be lost in translation but this is worrying to say the least.

Where next for Canon and Nikon?

Around the end of last year there was considerable speculation that Canon would be releasing a medium format camera system in 2014.

Let me state right here I have no insider knowledge on this at all, but I strongly doubt that Canon will take this path.

Canon have invested so heavily in the EOS mount and lens system it is difficult to see them investing millions of Yen on developing a new lens system for a niche camera which would sell, in Canons terms at least, in very small numbers, with no prospect of selling the lens system to the millions of 'conventional' EOS users.

This rumor I think only surfaced as Canon, and Nikon are between a rock and a hard place at the moment with the compact camera market collapsing due to mobile devices, and the rising tide of 'alternative' cameras from the likes of Fuji, Samsung and biggest by far Sony.

Sony are a curios company in terms of still cameras, having none of the heritage in the stills market that the big two have, buying its way into the market with the acquisition of the the ailing Minolta some years ago, and there it may have rested but Sony have been the most aggressive company in terms of coming up with new cameras and pioneering new technologies, not always successfully, but they do keep on innovating and their latest offerings have improved to the point that they can no longer be (unfairly) ignored by the Canon and Nikon fan boys.

Enter the Sony A7 and the particularly interesting, to my eyes Sony A7R which, by dispensing with the mirror, packs the same full frame sensor as used in the the rather porky but excellent D800 into tiny lightweight package, and delivering, according to most tests I have seen, better quality too, at a handy price saving over its sensor sharing cousin.

Not only does it outperform the Nikon in image quality, but from the varied tests on the web I have seen offers considerable images quality benefits over the likes of the Canon 5DmkIII and 6D too.

Where does this leave Nikon and Canon?

In the past they have been able to somewhat ignore Sony but the time has come where they both need new and relevant to the marketplace products, the approach particularly from Canon of producing 'me too' products like the EOS M needs revision and fast.


The danger for Canon is they will rest on their laurels with the Canon 5dMkIII selling in huge numbers, this is great news, but I believe they need to look forward and innovate.

I like many others would like to see Canon make a higher megapixel full frame camera sometime soon.

And what of Nikon?

They have made some interesting product of late in the shape of the Nikon DF(though why has it taken a company with such a rich heritage so long to exploit its fine past, in a digital form?)

The problem for Nikon which Canon does not have is that they are reliant on Sony for their sensors, and somewhat at their mercy, meaning that in all probability Sony are going to get the best out of the sensor with Nikon trailing.

I predict that many more of us will own cameras from Sony, I admit I have started to consider the A7R for specific projects, the only thing stopping me are the last remaining Sony quirks which make it a none starter, such as there in no way to connect via hardwire a cable release and anecdotally(though not verified) tales of limited battery life and battery charging the camera directly from the mains via slow USB cable.


It's a crying shame that Sony have got so close with the A7R but failed to take into account these key details, but as sure as they listened to the market regarding their Minolta flash hotshoe they will eventually get round to fixing these issues.

Not quite the last chance saloon for the old guard but they need to do something and pretty fast too if the are to have a bright future.

RIP John Button

I learned with some sadness that Jenson Button's dad John button, had passed away suddenly this week

I have photographed Jenson Button on several occasions and I've always found him to be a really great guy, the archetypal British gentleman racer, polite and highly professional.

The sad news took me back to the first time I met Jenson and his dad at his very first Formula 1 test for Williams F1 at Jerez in Spain in early 2000.

Much was riding on the test- it was a shootout between Jenson and Bruno Junqueira , whoever was fastest would decide who got the Williams seat.

While Jenson was tied up in team briefings and seat fittings etc I got to spend a little bit of time with John Button.

My memories of him was a very warm, straightforward guy who was justifiably very, very proud of his son and just wanted him to do very well, and who was only too pleased to be photographed with his son while he had his shot at the big time.

The next time I photographed Jenson was when he won the F1 world championship and I actually remembered to take the photograph that I took with me the photo shoot, so often people don't actually get to see the photograph is shot of them - the media just move onto the next thing and promises to send photographs so often forgotten

Jenson was pleased to see it and thanked me - you could see he was pleased 'I shall have to give this to the old man' he said with a smile.

It's nice to say thank you sometimes.


Technical note

Looking at the photograph on the system it once again made me realise how far things have moved on.

I shot on film Fuji100 ISO neg film, and as so often is the case these days when I go through my archive I'm shocked at how 'bad' film was, though in fairness quite a bit of this could be down to struggling with a kettle to process my C41 film in difficult circumstances at the circuit, never mind the scanner which perhaps wasn't the best there was.

I seem to recall shooting the image on a Canon EOS 1 with a 24-70 zoom lens, I lit the shot with a Norman 400b through a Chimera Medium softbox, under exposing the sky by around one F-Stop by the looks of things 

A bright New 2014 - In with the New

I have not posted in a while.

This can only be a good thing, as when I post it tends to be when I have time on my hands - and I have precious little of that right now, with 2013 being probably my most successful in a decade.

How have I managed to pull it off in these hard times?

By following my own advice(see 'Turning Pro') but more importantly I have shifted my attention to shooting images which are more relevant to the way we consume media via the web, tablets etc(I'm not quite ready to go fully public with my adventures in my 'career' but soon I will be)

2013 saw a lull in my Forest series and I look forward with few regrets on this.

In the next few days one of my very biggest projects will be breaking cover, the fruits of a made for TV documentary shot some 2 years ago, which I felt the time had come for to release on the wider world, involving amongst others David Hobby, Jarek 'Arum light', The Bui brothers and Douglas Black Heaton, shot all over Europe.

I will post on this as soon as it is out and about.

So I look forward to 2014 and look forward to further embracing the remarkable age we live in and all the glittering possibilities it has to offer.

Wishing you a brilliant and happy 2014.

Meeting Mandela - The greatest moment of my career.

I'm often asked what is my favourite photo that I have taken.

I cannot easily answer as there have been so many highs (and lows!) over the years.

Often truly amazing things happen and you achieve great things in difficult conditions and there is no photo to show for it.

Or perhaps there is a moment, not captured by you or anyone else on film for that matter.

In the early to mid 1990's I worked quite a bit in South Africa, covering many different issues from political to environmental.

I was in Johannesburg working with journalists Fred Bridgeland and Ross Dunn of the Sunday Telegraph and there was an opportunity to photograph the recently released Nelson Mandela at a press breakfast.

Being a member of the foreign media I was issued with the name badge with my publication and nationality on it, complete with a mini Union Jack flag.

I shot a whole load of photos of Nelson Mandela addressing the press, not the greatest stuff I will admit, but it was an age before wireless flash was really going on (if only....).

I can't think of anything to say about Nelson Mandela which has not been said a million times before, but his lack of bitterness and an openness to reconciliation are lessons we can all learn from.

After the press breakfast I skulked out of the room to the entrance hall, where I was completely alone, leaving the press throng behind me to try and get the rolls of film in order so I could get them processed for air freighting back to the UK (not a pixel in sight...just imagine it!).

I was deep in faffing around mode preparing and labelling my films when I heard the swing doors to the press breakfast room open. I turned around and I saw an entourage of bodyguards with Nelson Mandela at the centre leaving the press room. Camera not in a ready state to use and even if it had I would no have used it, as they walked by I caught Nelson Mandela's eye and smiled at him.

What happened next will live with me forever.

He broke away from his somewhat nervous bodyguards and stepped over to me.

He reached out his hand to shake mine, his grip was firm and powerful and he had a spark in his eyes which was undimmed by the loss of his liberty for 27 years and a smile which radiated a warmth which would have melted the coldest of hearts and glanced down at my name badge.

'Thank you so much for coming to South Africa to tell the world what is happening here....thank you.'

I think all I could manage was 'It's my greatest pleasure'. My response was lost in this special moment. It was over in seconds as his guards politely and somewhat nervously motioned him away.

The moment lives with me beyond any other in my career.

Nelson Mandela was no saint, nor would he have claimed to be but when President FW De Klerk bravely started the process of dismantling apartied to a brave new world of equality Nelson Mandela took the opportunity without bitterness or rancour to help South Africa take its long deserved seat at the 'world table'

I don't often get into politics even though I'm deeply interested in current affairs but I believe that even though Nelson Mandela had retired from politics he was omni present in the conscience of the the ruling ANC party.

The world will rightly miss Nelson Mandela but South Africa will feel his loss even more. With some challenging times in the current political scene in South Africa, the key players perhaps should reflect on how South Africa made a relatively bloodless transition to where it is now. It could not have happened without the great generosity of spirit, forgiveness, selflessness and above all else, love of Nelson Mandela.

May you rest in peace and may we all continue to learn and be inspired by your remarkable example.

Latest Forest Shot -Behind the Scenes Video

Here is the behind the scenes video form the Moose shoot which gives you a bit of an idea just how BIG an Elk (Moose) is, and how much nerve you need to get on one!



I hope you enjoy it.

There has been a potentially sad twist to the shoot regarding the fate of the Elk which I am just checking out now before I post about it.

Have a great weekend