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    Monday 30 June 2008

    Lou Reed Plays The Royal Albert Hall

    Very poor light and having to shoot from a one position at the side made this a bit of a disappointing return for what was a legend, playing such a famous venue.



    Wednesday 25 June 2008

    Prince Harry Visits Royal Norfolk Show

    This job involved a long trip out to Norfolk for potentially interesting photos of Prince Harry, who, we were told, would be walking around Norfolk show grounds meeting locals and checking out the prize animals on show. Unfortunately, like the Crown Princess of Denmark job it didn't work out as it could have - namely because the accredited photographers had to battle their way through crowds of people to get shots and any official positions to shoot from didn't really allow us to get any amusing photos of Harry with animals.
    The photo below was as good as it got, with Harry shown how to use an old fashioned lathe.

    Tuesday 24 June 2008

    Radiohead Play Victoria Park

    Being a big fan Radiohead have been on my photography wish list for quite some time, so eagerly awaiting this open air gig in the hope of getting some memorable photos of Thom Yorke and the boys.
    Before the concert I checked out some of the other photos taken previously on their tour through Europe and nothing really stood out. However, the stage set up, nice evening light and Thom Yorke's actions and expressions allowed was some really satisfying photographs. I happily left the gig after the alloted three songs knowing I could return tomorrow to watch the show in full as punter.





    Monday 23 June 2008

    Crown Princess Mary Of Denmark Visits Summer Fair

    I had a last minute call to rush down and cover Crown Princess of Denmark who was over in London visiting a summer fair at the Excel Centre in east London. It turned out to be a bit of a scrum, with the few accredited photographers running around from stand to stand trying to get clear shots of her, as she made her way through unsuspecting visitors to the show.
    The job wasn't helped by one of my flashes failing to work, meaning that I could effectively only shoot with one lens and as a result wasn't able to get quite as wide a range of shots I'd hoped. However, hopefully the pictures I did get will be picked up by the European media, especially in Denmark.


    Thursday 19 June 2008

    Royal Ascot - Ladies Day

    Ladies Day lived up to expectations - sunny weather, weird and wonderful hats and some celebs. Dame Helen Mirren, Cilla Black and Bruce Forsyth all made an appearance and were only too happy to be photographed. The only downside for me was having to leave early to cover a Venus Williams private party (bottom photo), therefore missing Autumn Philips, who is demand at the moment following her Royal marriage to Peter Philips.








    Wednesday 18 June 2008

    Royal Ascot - Day 2

    There's a bit of a lull today as things quiet down slightly on the fashion stakes between the opening day and Ladies Day tomorrow. The weather isn't as good either, which doesn't help, but there's still plenty of racegoers and royalty to snap, including Sheikh Mohammed (second from bottom), the ruler of Dubai and highly influential horse owner, who is always seen walking around parade ground.




    Tuesday 17 June 2008

    Royal Ascot - Day 1

    Ascot makes for great photos, and the bright, sunny opening day is full of women making a big effort in glamorous hats and colourful outfits.
    A lot of the week will be spent photographing the fashion, with today and Ladies Day on Thursday being the obvious highlights, but, outside of the racing, Ascot usually brings together a reasonable number of the Royals so it's a good opportunity to shoot the female ensemble wearing interesting hats and dresses.
    Today Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie (second from bottom) were on show alongside Zara Phillips and the Royal Ascot regulars - The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla.





    Monday 16 June 2008

    Mojo Awards & Westlife Book Launch

    I had to endure an hour of hundreds of girls and women singing along to Westlife as they queued to meet the boy band at a book launch at Waterstone's. So it was maybe better that Westlife only posed for photographers for around 15 seconds, before going on to sign books for their adoring fans. In that short space of time, it wasn't possible to get them all to look into one of the several photographers cameras at the same time, so the group shots didn't amount to much (bottom photo). Alongside that and a few individual headshots, it was all that could be had.
    Much better was the Mojo Awards later that evening. Mojo magazine of course deals with a more discerning, older audience than most music magazines, and it's well respected - tonight it drew in such classic artists as John Lydon, Lemmy, Nick Cave, Jimmy Page, Genesis (all pictured below) as well as younger artists Duffy and Alex Turner and Miles Kane of The Last Shadow Puppets (also below).









    Saturday 14 June 2008

    Trooping The Colour

    Trooping the Colour is an excellent opportunity to capture most of the British Royal Family in uniform or dressed up at a very visual parade. Not only is do we get to shoot them in open top carriages, there is also the appearance by the whole family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the fly past, which concludes the ceremony.
    The only downside, as so often with this job, is the hanging around for hours as it's vital to get there early to take the best positions.
    Unlike last year, when we were treated to a huge downpour, the weather was hot on sunny, and there were plenty of strong images of most major members of the Royal Family to come from the day.




    Thursday 12 June 2008

    The Kills Play Rough Trade

    The main reason I went along to Rough Trade East record shop off Brick Lane was in the hope that Kate Moss might tag along with her boyfriend's band, The Kills, to watch them perform this tiny gig in the record shop. Kate is often seen at his gigs, just as she was when dating Pete Doherty, but as there was a no show here I photographed a rather ramshackle performance by her man, Jamie Hince, and his band partner Alison Mosshart. The fact that I see them a poor man's version of The White Stripes, added to the feeling that this was a bit of a wasted evening.



    Wednesday 11 June 2008

    Kid Rock Plays The Shepherd's Bush Empire

    I was shattered after getting back from a trip to New York earlier in the day, but agreed to shoot Kid Rock. He was lively enough to keep me awake to photograph him in his set, as he was pretty good show man, despite his music and songs beings very unoriginal.



    Tuesday 3 June 2008

    Prince William Completes Training With Royal Navy

    I made the long drive across to Dartmouth for a job that offered far more from the Queen in Southampton yesterday. Prince William was completing his training with the Royal Navy and had to undergo a series of tests, which accredited photographers were allowed to capture from afar.
    Most of the shots required a long lens as for the majority of the time he was steering a boat, but there were other opportunities to capture him in his Navy uniform with fellow officers. It meant that after an hour of the Prince completing his tests I had a strong set of images of the Prince doing something different from the usual walkaround with him wearing a suit.



    Sunday 1 June 2008

    Queen Elizabeth II Visits The QEII

    I traveled down to Southampton for the Queen visiting the QEII, but the position of the photo call didn't really allow us to get shots of the Queen and the QEII in shot, so there was no context.