It’s so sad London & the South East have been placed in Tier 4. I hope you all have a great Christmas & 2021 will be a fab year.
Fingers crossed x
RECOMMENDED COOK BOOK OF 2020
Delighted our Kricket book was one of the books of the year and my photos had a very good critic
ASSOCIATION OF PHOTOGRAPHERS AWARDS 2020
It's always an honour being selected in the AOP Awards and especially by a top panel of judges.
This series of Gail’s Bakery Bread was art directed by myself as well as all the photography and styling. Dave helped tear the bread apart with the Food Styling.
ID MAGAZINE ORIGINAL ISSUES
I remember shooting the original issues of ID magazine with fellow photographer Nick Knight for ex Vogue art director Terry Jones.
We used models off the street or friends or from the Blitz club or Camden Market
Art College friends Bridget & Kevin.
Old school friend Neil Wheeler. Neil actually believed he was Brando or James Dean. He had so much energy it was impossible to keep him still; one minute he was standing in front of the background and the next he was crouching on the ground on all fours playing the role of a crazed animal.
Ever time I saw him he was playing a new role. Monday could be Montgomery Clift in a suit and the next day a bum in a vest. Sadly, he was the first friend of mine to day. RIP Neil.
Original issues of ID Magazine are selling for £950.00
With my notes about the models and what they were wearing on the cover
WINTER FORAGING
November is never thought of as one of the best months of the year but Hugh Johnson put all that aside and shot some wonderful season products (warmed by his bushy moustache grown for Movember). It’s too easy to sit at home feeling miserable as the rain falls on the window pain.
It’s a wonderful season for so many free seasonal fruits and veggies.
Foraged and trimmed mushrooms
The simple quince. This little fella can transform your tagine, adding natural sweetness and so much flavour.
Golden (&) Delicious
Never underestimate nature
You can’t beat a freshly dug earthy spud. The smell of fresh leafy soil smells so good, get your nose in amongst it and enjoy nature at it’s best.
Let’s hope there will be more feast than family for the world this winter.
ESCAPE FROM LOCKDOWN
Built in the shadows of Dungeness Nuclear Power Station and wedged between Rye Nature Reserve and a Military training camp, Dereck Jarman's iconic Prospect Cottage is the perfect space to spend an hour as the golden sun rises one more time.
I loved being out in such a remote spot as the world turned gold, it was magical. The 5.30am call time was truly worth it, it was so up lifting. No one around apart from police doing surveillance.
Dereck Jarman’s Prospect Cottage
Dungeness’ moonscape
Golden light is magical
Every person needs a shed
Stairway to heaven.
NEW BOOK 'Curry Cuisine'
My new book is out featuring Curries from around the world. After the success of the original, the publisher DK London has re-commissioned another. It features some of the best chefs from around the world.
Vivek Singh writes northern Indian recipes, David Thompson curries from Thailand, Sri Owen includes her Indonesian curries, Roopa Gulati’s recipes from southern Indian etc.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
I am always interested in the Spanish colonies obsession with death and celebrating Halloween is always such a huge event.
I love the tones and textures of this skull.
THE POLITICS OF HUMILIATION
Excellent article by ad agency legend, Dave Trott.
Everyone is struggling to understand the rise of populism in politics.
When Donald Trump is so obviously awful, how can his base still support him with all the evidence against him?
Trump understands this effect – he said: “I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and I wouldn’t lose a single vote.”
Democrats keep repeating how awful he is, and how stupid his followers are.
They humiliate his supporters and expect them to admit they are thick and ignorant.
Then they wonder why this argument doesn’t persuade them to change their vote.
The blue collars may not like Trump, but they hate being humiliated by people who think they are superior.
Michael Sandel, lecturer on political philosophy at Harvard, has written a book called The Tyranny of Merit.
His point is the myth of a meritocracy is what’s brought us to this point.
The myth that anyone with a college degree is more intelligent, more hard-working, better informed than anyone without.
This leads to the politics of humiliation, and it also breeds a massive backlash.
In America the smug, educated left-wing bred the indignant Trump supporters.
After the USSR fell, the West humiliated Russia as losers, which lead to the rise of Putin the “strong man”, who would restore Russian pride.
After World War One, the Armistice was a chance to reconcile both sides.
But the treaty of Versailles put all the blame on Germany, humiliating and bankrupting them.
This lead directly to the rise of Hitler, to “restore German pride”.
Intellectual arrogance is so assured of its own rightness, no other opinion is possible.
So the other side are treated as deluded fools.
Consequently a backlash is created.
As Nelson Mandela said: “There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated.”
It’s important for us to know the seductive danger of intellectual superiority.
Our target market will often be people who are not like us.
At university, we learn our purpose is to educate the world to a woke agenda.
It’s a noble quest and anything else is ignorant and stupid.
We bring this into advertising and believe that is the whole purpose of our job.
We believe everyone is like us and must see the correctness of our opinion.
But 60% of the UK doesn’t have a university degree.
They’ve never been to university, so they may not (gasp) think like us.
This disparity between those making the advertising and those viewing it results in advertising like the Gillette commercial on “toxic masculinity”.
Where a brand of razor decided to lecture all men on how they should behave.
How did this marketing by humiliation work out?
Gillette had to cancel the advertising, wasting millions of dollars, and apologise.
Patronising arrogance led to Kylie Jenner stopping a riot by handing a policeman a Pepsi.
Pepsi had to cancel the advertising, again wasting millions of dollars, and apologise.
As Sandel says, “The Tyranny of Merit” leads to the intellectual smugness of thinking the sole job of advertising is to propagate a woke agenda.
Believing that every right-thinking person must think exactly like us.
Those who don’t think like us are wrong and therefore not worth considering.
They can safely be ignored.
Even if they are the target market.
BROWN FOOD
As a young boy I was the only child at school who knew what job they wanted to have in the future. I wanted to be a wildlife film maker. Born and bred in the Far East and spending a lot of time on the beach. I was obsessed with Jacques Cousteau and later big cats.
After Art College I didn’t have any contacts for wildlife film making, so took the studio route assisting James Cotier & Terence Donovan in Terry’s Charlotte Street studio. At the time food photography was awful and the least interesting area of photography but 25 years later after seeing Robert Freson’s books ‘A taste of France & Italy” I changed direction and love it.
So many lovely inspiring people work in the food industry. When I started, chefs worked below ground with the maitre d’it having his name above the door but not any more. Chefs have become celebrities. When I’ve flown abroad with chefs like Raymond Blanc & Heston etc it’s always in a private jet.
One cookery writer, I really like is Rachel Roddy https://racheleats.wordpress.com/ She’s lovely and a brilliant writer but her food is always brown and she proudly says she ‘loves brown food’. As a food photographer I’m aware food photos can so easily become brown, so I try to use anything to brighten up the image. Fresh produce (& props) are always a good option.
Homegrown heritage tomatoes
Autumn quinces
Roasted tomato & ricotta bruschettas
Tagliatelle al pomodoro con pangrattato
Chicken tikka
ASSOCIATION AWARDS FINALIST - STILL LIFE SERIES
I’m delighted to have another 3 photos in the AOP Awards 2020, which takes me to 70 images in these awards over the years, which may be a record.
I like this still life series. It’s very simple so each photo has to be just right.
San Francisco sour dough, seeded and waste less loaves from Gail’s Bakery
WORKING BETWEEN RAIN SHOWERS DURING LOCKDOWN
You should be able to take a good photo with any camera whether a £50k Hasselblad or an i-phone and in the same way whether it’s in a studio, bedroom or outside in your garden.
I include a few set up examples using my home grown gourds and tomatoes.
It may look a bit precarious but it shows you don’t need a fancy set up, just the idea and the creativity and patience to make it work. It may look a bit mad & wacky but photography is very simple.
I love my camera bag from Florence with a pug with pink bows.
A family of gourds before the magic
Shooting wide open, hand held at 1/40th. I probably took 60 images per vegetable, with variations with slightly different focus, levels and cropping, then quite a bit of post production on the Mac.
I love taking pictures when it’s a good idea, just like a kid in a sweet shop. I could easily spend a week on a shot if I knew i could make it better and better.
Is my garden greener?
As a Food (& still life) Photographer you quickly learn that most food is brown. Cookery writer, Guardian and friend, Rachel Roddy columnist goes as far as to say the ‘Best food is brown’.
With more demand for vegan & vegetarian organic seasonal food, I’ve made a concertive effort to try to increase green & colour into my food pictures.
Home-grown veggies
Fresh girolles, Condé Nast Traveller
Conchiglioni with broccoli
Tomato linguine pasta with pangrattato
Cabbage parcels stuffed with Persian rice
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR STEAK?
Lockdown shoots
Look at that crispy golden fat!!
LOCKDOWN OVER - ZAYNA RESTAURANT FIRST SHOOT
Great to be back shooting, first shoot with a lovely Pakistani restauranteur, Riz Dar.
Pakistani food at it’s best http://zaynarestaurant.co.uk
Riz Dar, head chef & owner
Love a biryani, often served only at weekends
Jumbo prawns
Mocktails
HOW ARE YOU FEELING IN LOCKDOWN??
Trapped, submerged?
Can’t breathe…
Home alone?
Black child in a white world
Extended paternity & maternity leave
Will restaurants ever re-open?
MORE AWARDS - ASSOCIATION OF PHOTOGRAPHERS SERIES
One glow of light from the Lockdown was having another series in the AOP awards, several successive years and about 100 individual images since I began my career.
I rate the AOP awards as the best photo awards as the judges are either photographers, art buyers or clients that commission photography. Too many awards are judged by people who may not be the most knowledgeable on photography.
Sour dough
Seeded batch
Waste-less bread, such a good use of old bread
CORONAVIRUS
Despite the coronavirus we are still working from my environmentally controlled studio. Surfaces are wiped down with disinfectant and no one is allowed in accept for our team.
We’re all prepared to shoot product shots remotely or with an art director present.
We hope to see you soon
MORE AWARDS at INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS & PINK LADY FOOD AWARDS
Delighted to have won the International Color Awards for the 3rd consecutive and nominated for the Pink Lady Food Awards.
Octopuses Garden in the Shade is part of a 3 image collage shot as a series of tests with Italian School Dinners and Cooked Mussels
GREENE KING IPA
Greene King IPA has always been a huge supporter of British sport.
This summer sponsoring the English Cricket and rugby team with their success in WorldCups.
My poster, press and social media campaign using 6 images focussed on sporty chats in pubs over a beer.
