What happens when two heavy horses 'Harvest' a Mamiya RZ67 kit with a 1930's bailng machine

Last Weeks narrow escape with an iPad was very widely read

So I thought I would tell a tale of epic disaster in which it was very lucky no one died, or indeed injured

It is a true story too

Many, many years ago I was assigned by a leading British Magazine to photograph heavy horses (BIG working horses which work on the land used for ploughing etc) which were working on a farm, somewhere in England.

It was in the days of film, and I was shooting on Mamiya RZ67 ProII.

A lovely big mother of a camera which for all of its size and weight limitations was a peach to use.

I had a good selection of lenses for it too, including the wonderful 140mm F4.5 macro lens which was a honey.

So I met the farmer and he walked me down a narrow farm track, where a party of school children were ambling, to introduce me to the HUGE and very beautiful heavy horses and the machinery they would be pulling, a bailing machine from the turn of the century in beautiful condition.

Having worked where the best vantage point would be I bought the car up with the equipment

The scene looked a little like this.

I started to shoot some pics in the middle of the field, I realised I had left a lens hood in the car.

I walked back to the car which was about 100 yards away, and retrieved the lens hood, I closed the door and turned around in time to see the horses bolt at top speed across the field toward the gate.

What caused this I truthfully have no idea

The faster they ran the more racket the bailing machine made and the more alarmed the horse came, and the faster they ran.

They ran straight over the Camera bag with a complete Mamiya RZ ProII outfit inside and it was gone.

Yes, gone, flattened by hooves and then harvested up by the machine which was now not only just ejecting hay but spewing out mashed camera gear.

In quite small pieces.

I forgot this in a second when I realised that the horse/haymaker combo was not going to make it through the gate way at that angle.

The horses made it but the bailer didn't.

It was ripped from the horses and was smashed to pieces.

Thankfully the children were no longer in the lane, so they avoided the running horses.

The horses ran back to their stable and were uninjured.

What lessons to draw from this?

Other than to have very good insurance, I'm not really sure.

But it was a shocker.

How long does a 16Gb iPad stay on the roof of a Mercedes E class when driven on a motorway?

This is a cautionary tale

Many of us have all been in that busy parent situation with armfuls of stuff dashing in and out of the house while strapping our kids in the car

'Daddy can we take the ipad for the journey?'

Happy to oblige as ever as it equates to a quiet rapid journey

I could not open the door to the car and I was juggling a ton of stuff in my arms , so with the ipad on the top of the heap I committed the biggest no-no ever

I put the ipad on the roof of the car

'I will remember it' I thought

Except I didn't

Previously I have left a thermos flask on the roof of a car which made a whole 200 yards before reaching terminal velocity and exploding into a many, many small pieces.


So I left my village and joined the M25 at Junction 20, which currently has a 50mph limit on.

Then I took a very sharp turn up the slip road onto the M1

When it joins the M1 the 50 limit is lifted so foot down to the 70mph limit

Amongst the thousand things in my swiss cheese brain at the moment I wondered where the ipad was

 I heard a dull 'flap...flap' coming from the roof of the car

I had my answer

It was on the roof and had been there for nearly 5 miles

Luckily I was right at junction 8 of the M1 so I decelerated without braking taking the exit

Would it even still be there when I stopped

I had after all travelled for half a mile in the dark so I had no idea if it would be there when I stopped.

It was.

Jammed between the roof bars of my car, teetering on the edge.

Rather like this...

I don't know what lesson to take from this other than don't put a ipad on the roof of a car, or anything for that matter.

Lady luck was smiling

Does anyone else have any tales of stuff left on the roof?

Making your 'Boring' corporate head shot work for you

We have all been there

Some relatively staid corporate portrait we have been commissioned to shoot

It can be quite a challenge, there is always the danger of it turning into yet another man in a grey suit in an office shot, which can be.....very dull and boring

Believe me I have been there and got the t shirt on this one on many occasions, who hasn't?

So the night before the shoot do a quick web search on the person you are shooting so you have at least some knowledge not only of their job, and their business, but also who they are and what makes them tick.

This for me is invaluable, as it gives you that vital advantage of playing for time and persuading them to spend a few more moments with you to get a shot which makes them look better and gives you a cool pic which better represents your talents to help ensure you get the gig again.

After all, if the CEO of Acme paper gets a pleasant photographer knocking on the door of his or her office, and that photographer knows a little more about them, takes an interest in their company and their achievements I would contend that photographer would get the next gig over the mouse of a photographer who conforms to the stereotype the CEO has in his or her head.

So hearts and minds it is my friends, it makes the job a lot more fun and makes a ton of business sense

Ok, we now know a little more about our subject, but what is his or her office like?

A quick web search can reveal photographic location opportunities within their office and importantly reveal the high or more often than not lamentable photographs the company currently uses, yes yet another opportunity to up sell your services, you make sure you pop some of your better interior shots on your iphone, ipad or whatever.

You may not get the chance to show your stuff off but if you do you are prepared.

Ok, you have been diligent and checked the CEO out on the web and discovered that the Head office is 5 feet square and a mess.

Now what?

Google street view to the rescue

What did I do before this came along? It has saved me a time or two

Here is a 'scouted'  and commented Google streetview

Is this rocket science? Absolutely not, but it means I have 'done' the shoot the night before and it makes a cool location an easier sell to my sitter and drag them out of their dull office, should the need arise

We have so many excellent tool at out disposal and yet we, myself included, often don't make the most of them

It is a tough photographic market out there, and it is about survival for the fittest photographer who makes the most of any edge he or she can to gain that valuable advantage

Just think, I have been talking about doing a shoot and have not mentioned gear once

The gear is all so often the easy bit these days.

All the fancy gear is just a tool, the brain is where a shoot really happens

Blimey, you can tell what mood I'm in today!

A Brave New Year

                              The View from Ardnacross, Isle of Mull


It has been a quiet on my blog of late

By now I should have blogged about, the Zebra Shoot, my foray into Infra Red and my new affordable digital Download series 'The Story Behind the picture' (which is going rather well, thank you to all of you who bought it)

But somehow I have not got round to it, mainly because I have had a crazy schedule over the last month, with the launch of my food book, building the new website, working on an ambitious and rather big photographic project with my partner Lucinda Marland which we sincerely hope will make quite a splash in 2012(you will be the first to know about it when I'm able to talk about it) throw into the mix a road trip to the Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland and that was December more than full.

2010 was a pivotal year for me in so many ways

And I learned some very big lessons -

1.That things can change very quickly indeed.

2. Engaging in area's and with people that you had no prior knowledge of, can change your world and that of others too

3. Sheer persistence and not taking 'no' for an answer can carry the day

The key in the lock was travelling to South Africa to undertake a week long workshop with some under privileged youths in a South African township

Doing this workshop opened so many doors for me, personally and spiritually

Giving is one of the most powerful things we can do as human beings

But in all probability learned more from them than they did from me

I know and understand that we can't all tear off around the world, but there are many ways in which we can give back, using our photography, on our own doorstep

I suppose what I'm driving at is that we as photographer's, myself included, often get wrapped up with the obsession of equipment and not what we do with it.

One of the high points for me this year was when Diego Huerta and his girlfriend went out to record the Hurricane which hit their city

The only way I feel for a living breathing photographer to grow is to shoot what one loves and learn along the way, not only about photography but about life itself as one does

As the economic recovery continues to be uncertain, with tough times ahead for all working photographers and amateur photographers in their day jobs, I see great challenges ahead, but also great opportunities.

If we did just one thing to make a difference, large or small, and put some of that fancy photographic equipment to use it can make a bigger difference than one might imagine.

So my friends I wish you a very Happy New Year

Let's get out there and shoot some great pictures which make a difference - someway, somehow

Bui Brothers iphone Pano from Zebra Forest shoot

Just one more day before the video and images from the Zebra shoot are up

In the meantime I thought I would post an extraordinary photo form the shoot which was taken by the Bui Brothers on their iphone(s)

Yes, you read right

This 51MB stitch was done on the fly at the shoot

I think you will agree with me that this degree of quality should make us all sit up and take notice

Remember if you want to know more about this and the rest of my Forest shoot series please do join me at my Manfrotto School of Xcellence Webinar on Monday 6th December

They tell me there is still space right now and it is FREE!

Food glorious Food

Followers of this blog know will I'm nuts about photography but perhaps don't know I have perhaps an equal passion for food

So some two years ago I was asked by Andrew Pern of Michelin Starred 'The Star Inn' to shoot his new game food book 'Loose Birds and Game' I leapt at the chance

Hanging out in the kitchen of Britain's top gastro pub and sampling THE finest food

Little did I know what a monster I was taking on, putting few thousand miles on my car and a few inches on my waistline

360 pages packed with my photography, in and out of the kitchen

Out on pheasant shoots, deer stalking exploring the upper limits of high ISO on my Canon 5d MkII

Lots of kitchen action and those plated shots.

Yes, those plated shots (all shot on a phase One P45+)

New territory for me but hoping that this first foray into food photography will not be my last

Assisted by Marie Absolom who has worked with some of the biggest names in the food photography business, she kept me on the straight and narrow and taught me so much.

Mainly that when it comes to food photography time is of the essence and food only looks good for a fleetingly short period of time when you are working with real food, which we did.

The book should be out in the next week or so (so long as the truck does not get stuck in the snow!)  and you will be able to buy it from me direct from my all new website, a great Christmas present for a foodie

I will be sharing some of my experiences over the coming months but in the meantime I thought I would share some of the pages with you

News from the South African Townships,Thanks to the Flash Centre and Velmex

Followers of this blog will know of my visit to the South African townships of Vrygrond and Overcome Heights earlier this year where I held held a Workshop for township youth's under the stewardship of the NGO True North.

It was a success in many respects with some of the students continuing to use the Canon 450D's to earn money in the community, photographing weddings, christenings and parties

The real sadness was that while computers are relatively affordable a good quality wide format printer which is capable of delivering great photographic and graphic results is out of everyone's league.

Why was I so stuck on a wide format printer? Well aside from the considerably lower running costs think of this...

In the townships HIV and AIDS is rife, there is a degree of awareness but imagine if it were relatively cheap and easy to print public health posters and post them in the community?

All of a sudden a printer becomes more than a way of the students seeing their own work and for the more motivated to earn some kind of living in a country where unemployment is the number one enemy.

Fast forward a few months to July and I'm visiting my friends in the Flash Centre.

Its stock taking time and everyone is wading through equipment in the bowels of the shop.

I'm chatting to my old friend Chris Whittle, the owner of the Flash Centre, he knows of my visit to South Africa and he asks me what is next with the project.

He listens with interest as I tell him just what a great impact the project has had with everyone involved and how I was trying to get a wide format printer to the community.

He smiles and motions to a Secondhand but very good Canon W6400 in the corner of the basement and says 'You can have that if you like'.

I accept his offer with indecent haste thanking him profusely.

Then it sinks in.

Chris Whittle of the Flash Centre has donated a wonderful Canon W6400 wide format printer.

Dimensions (in inches) 43.2 x 47.3 x 29.6


Weight 108lbs (around 50kgs)

How on earth am I going to get it to South Africa???????

So I rang Mark Keeley the CEO of Velmex, distributors of the fantastic Canon LFP products.

The conversation went something like this:

Drew.  'Hi Mark how are things?

Mark. 'Great thank you Drew'

Drew. 'The Flash Centre have donated a Canon W6400 printer to the Township project. Do you know of any good shipping companies who could ship it to South Africa?'

Mark. 'That sounds like a worthy cause, can we check it over, refurbish it and ship it for you?'

Drew 'That would be fantastic, are you sure?'

Mark 'Yes, we would love to help. We can throw in some spare ink and paper for it too'

Drew.'Thank you!!!!!!!!

Within the hour it was loaded in the back of my car for its journey to Velmex HQ in South London to start its long journey.

To be honest it was a much longer journey than any of us could have imagined as True North only got their hands on it in the past couple of weeks thanks to Customs and storage issues, leaving the NGO scrabbling to find funds to get the printer released.

So they are now installing it and within a short space of time it will be in full use with the students.

Without Chris Whittle of the Flash Centre who donated the printer and Mark Keeley of Velmex who shipped and prepped the printer it would not have been possible at all.

I cannot thank them enough for their contribution.

Their kindness and generosity will be felt by the the whole community, not just the students.

I will be travelling to the townships again early next year to run another week long workshop with the youths in the townships.

I will report back to you and let you know how the students are progressing, and the difference the printer is making.