Greg Funnell's Photoblog

Portrait: Edith Bowman

2012-01-25T12:05:00.000Z

I recently had the pleasure of photographing TV and radio presenter Edith Bowman for the Observer Food Monthly magazine. Despite having a horrible cold on the day of the shoot she was full of energy and a joy to photograph. I felt too embarrassed to tell her that I was still in uni when she used to have her radio show 'Colin and Edith' on BBC Radio One.

Portrait: Gary Humphreys

2012-01-23T11:00:00.007Z

A portrait of Gary Humphreys of Markerstudy Insurance, along the magazine spread as it ran.

Midnight is a Place

2012-01-22T22:24:00.000Z

The is a new image from my series Midnight is a Place, which you can see on the website here

Portrait: Hazel Gale

2012-01-22T12:00:00.002Z

As part of the commission that I wrote about here, I also shot some images on the Bronica- here's the contact sheet and image.

Portait: Andrew Youngson

2012-01-22T11:00:00.001Z

A portrait of fellow photographer Andrew Youngson shot in Brixton few weeks back.

Portait: Rap Battle

2012-01-21T18:00:00.001Z

Some young guys at a Rap battle that I was commissioned to photograph last weekend in north London.

London: St Pauls

2012-01-21T17:26:00.000Z

A shot from my first black and white roll through the Bronica. It's been good to shoot just for fun with it recently.

Portrait: Kit

2012-01-21T15:30:00.000Z

From a roll I put through the Holga

Female kickboxer- Hazel Gale

2012-01-20T18:34:00.000Z

Last week I undertook a commission for an experimental publication called The Good Times, put together by The Church of London design agency. It's aim was to combat the January blues. The whole thing was commissioned, written up, designed and printed in 7 days and handed out on Monday 16th, statistically the most depressing day of the year. The paper was full of good news stories and interviews with inspirational people of all kinds. You can see more about the project here. I was tasked with photographing Hazel Gale, a hypnotherapist who also competes as female kickboxer. We shot these at the gym where she trains over in East London - you can find more about Hazel here.

Portrait: Andy, Iraq War Veteran

2012-01-18T20:56:00.000Z

This was part of a commission I had just before Christmas, to travel up out of London and photograph Andy, an Iraq War veteran and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) sufferer for the Legion magazine . It was a really interesting and enlightening job, having the chance to hear someone like Andy's experience and to be able to understand a little better the subject of PTSD. One of the many reason's I really enjoy the job and the relish the opportunities it gives me; photography is only a small part of it.

Guatemala: Rosa and Don Antonia

2012-01-15T18:57:00.000Z

Portrait: Stephanie Turner, 'Slam Poet'

2012-01-11T16:59:00.000Z

A portrait I took for the Guardian towards the end of last year of the spokenword poet Stephanie Turner. Great fun to shoot and we were blessed with sun which was nice. Read more about her here

Work in Progress: Scrapbook

2012-01-09T16:39:00.000Z

Some images of my scrapbook which has been a work in progress for a while now - something I occasionally work on causing guaranteed havoc on my desk. One day I'll get together some proper images and put something on the website.

Follow me: Instagr.am

2012-01-09T16:22:00.000Z

In case anyone reading this uses Instagr.am I can now be found on there too - feed here. Above, a shot of the Shard in London at sundown.

Portait: Omar

2012-01-07T19:24:00.000Z

Portrait: Farmer, Rwanda

2012-01-05T17:12:00.000Z

Travel: Helicopter, Rwanda

2012-01-03T23:11:00.000Z

Travel: Lake Kivu, Rwanda

2012-01-03T23:01:00.000Z

Portrait - Wood Collier

2012-01-03T19:31:00.000Z

Here are some images I shot in Dorset in the autumn of last year of a Wood Collier, Ad Pearson. He was in the process of burning wood to make charcoal.

Seaweed Pete

2012-01-03T18:51:00.000Z

A shot from the end of last summer working on one of those project's that sadly won't see the light of day. 'Seaweed Pete' as he's affectionately known is a local character in Poole, Dorset, who runs a very successful restaurant. On this day however he very kindly took us out into the bay on the hunt for seaweed.

Goodbye 2011, hello 2012...

2012-01-02T12:49:00.000Z

Some shots from over Christmas. Walking the dog in Sussex, walking the family in Dorset, and riding the trails in Wales with my bro.

Polaroid: The lights of Las Vegas

2011-12-30T22:01:00.001Z

Polaroid - Barstow, Ca

2011-12-21T11:44:00.000Z

Quick refreshment break on the road to Las Vegas.

Polaroid - Downtown LA

2011-12-20T17:29:00.001Z

Polaroid - Hotdogs & Shakes

2011-12-19T20:55:00.000Z

Polaroid - Nevada

2011-12-19T20:42:00.000Z

Somewhere outside of Baker...

Snap: Los Angeles, corner

2011-12-09T19:35:00.000Z

Tearsheet - Ben Saunders, Magnificent Man magazine

2011-12-07T15:16:00.000Z

Here's a shot I took of polar explorer Ben Saunders that was recently used on the cover of Magnificent Man magazine.

Cerebal Ballzy - extras

2011-12-05T19:45:00.000Z

Some more images from my two days on tour with the US punk band 'Cerebal Ballzy' earlier this year.

Tearsheets - Cerebal Ballzy

2011-12-04T16:34:00.000Z

These are some tearsheets from spending two days on the road with the US punk band 'Cerebal Ballzy' for HUCK magazine earlier this year. Below's a shot of the lead singer Honor Titus I snapped on the Rollei. I'll put up some more outtakes on the blog tomorrow.

Tearsheets - Mountain of Hell

2011-11-28T17:34:00.000Z

This was one of slightly tougher assignments this year; covering a Mountain Bike race at 3200m in the French Alps, whilst enduring 120kph winds and no transport (lot of walking between stages). Still I was pretty happy with the results and the guys at The Church of London did a great job with the design of the final piece. The whole story can be seen here on my website. In the meantime here's an amusing vid I found that actually shows me (green jacket) in the act of shooting the image below. Amazing what pops up on the internet.

Mountain of hell 2011 Les Deux Alpes on pinkbike.com

Turkey, Rose Harvest

2011-11-28T13:56:00.000Z

I shot this image earlier this year at a Rose Harvest that was taking place near Isparta in Turkey. They harvest the petals in order to produce Rose Oil and Rose water which are used in the cosmetics industry.

American Landscape 3

2011-11-28T11:29:00.000Z

S. Main Street, Yazoo City, MS.

Estonia

2011-11-24T15:09:00.000Z

There's some new images up on the website from Estonia - you can see them under the RECENT WORK section.

American Landscape 2

2011-11-24T10:59:00.000Z

Highway 1, California

American Landscapes

2011-11-22T22:17:00.001Z

On the road to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

I'll be putting up more images from last month's journey through the US as and when I can get round to scanning them.

Fabien Riggall - Future Shorts

2011-11-19T18:51:00.000Z

Here's a shot I took for part of Honda's Dream Factory series, the subject Fabien Riggall, is the founder of Future Shorts and the Secret Cinema. Incredibly interesting and astute chap with some great ideas to boot. Below is the layout as used in the Guardian magazine and a lighting test shot from another setup with the trusty HKT standing in.

Ski shoot - Extras

2011-11-14T16:02:00.000Z

Here's some images that didn't make the edit from the shoot I did in Zermatt back in August.

Ski Shoot, Zermatt, Switzerland - Dainese

2011-11-11T15:14:00.000Z

These pages are the result of one day of shooting on a glacier in Zermatt, Switzerland. They appeared as 6 double page spreads in a magazine put together by the very talented Church of London for the Italian firm Dainese. It was a tough shoot with long days of travel, scouting and shooting but in the end I was really happy with the way it all came out.

FT shoot: Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw (extras)

2011-11-10T09:15:00.000Z

I've put up a few extras from the shoot with Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw from a few weeks ago. I actually preferred the shot above to the one that was used in the magazine in the end. I had been trying to create a more serious look of scientists discussing the universe with a timeless feel to it. We were shooting in a busy pub in central London and we were lucky to secure a corner table after a big group finished up and left. As I started shooting I realised the light (that I tweaked and enhanced with a snooted flash camera left), the setting (furniture and windows) and the posture (conversation around a table), had a sort of Baroque or Dutch school of painting look to it. I figured that it could work quite well given the subject matter of science. Of course it's impossible to tell whether ideas like that translate to the viewer!

Tearsheet: FT Weekend magazine

2011-11-02T05:34:00.000Z

I had a spread in last week's Financial Times 'Weekend magazine', which involved spending some time with Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw in a pub whilst they chatted about the universe. One of those occasions where you just wish you could just put the camera down and really listen. Clever couple of gents.

Out of the Office: In California

2011-10-10T06:05:00.000+01:00

Updates might be a little slow over the next few weeks as I'm currently on the road in California doing a bit of work. Snapped this the other night on the beach in Santa Monica, LA.

Chef, Richard Turner

2011-09-27T23:32:00.000+01:00

This was an advertorial for Grey Goose Vodka, and took place on the back of a video shoot that Richard was also having to do. It's never ideal having to juggle the talent between the video and stills side of a production, especially when you both have limited time and both sides are trying to make the most of it and do a good job. I was again shooting solo for this and only grabbed a few frames before I had to break down the lights because the first punters had started to filter into the restaurant.

Chris Wheeler, The Heritage Orchestra

2011-09-27T23:15:00.001+01:00

Chris Wheeler of The Heritage Orchestra shot for Honda. This was an out-take from the shoot and didn't get used, but I quite like it. It was taken in a fantastic old haunted manor house on the Welsh border where Chris lives - one of those locations with far too many great options and no where near enough time to take advantage of it. Especially when you're shooting solo and thus dragging all the lights around on your own!

Caravan, Estonia

2011-09-24T13:53:00.000+01:00

A little scene I spotted last week whilst on assignment in Estonia

Leonard Street

2011-09-14T09:49:00.000+01:00

Portraits: Mike Figgis

2011-09-12T11:30:00.001+01:00

These are some more portraits of British film director Mike Figgis, shot in his London apartment for the FT magazine. Big thanks to Tony for assisting and making sure we were able to do a couple of different set-ups, also credit has to be given to Mr Figgis for being patient and open to ideas. These images were very much supplementary to images I needed for the piece so it was a case of trying to grab them once we'd got the main shots. I think the top one is my favourite at the moment.

Tearsheet: FT Weekend magazine, Mike Figgis

2011-09-08T23:31:00.000+01:00

This is part of a spread I had in the FT Weekend Magazine, the week before last. It's from a shoot I did with the British film director, and jazz connoisseur, Mike Figgis. I'll post up some other images from the shoot soon.

Snaps: Zermatt, Switzerland

2011-09-05T23:01:00.001+01:00

Some more snaps from a recent shoot in Zermatt, all shot on the Fuji x100.

Zermatt, Switzerland

2011-09-02T20:57:00.000+01:00

These are two snaps from the train on the way to a job in Zermatt earlier this week, up in the Swiss mountains.

Snap - Morocco, in the shadows

2011-09-01T23:21:00.000+01:00

A quick snap I found recently whilst going through some of the stuff I shot in Morocco. Charlie, Tony and I cast as shadows, Essaouira, Morocco.

NEW: Rwanda work up on the website

2011-08-22T10:04:00.000+01:00

These images and more from the series can now be seen here on the website. They tell the story of Beatrice and her family who live in the mainly rural district of Shingiro in northern Rwanda, close to the border with Uganda and the DRC. Beatrice contends with bringing up a family of six children with no electricity and limited access to water, by farming the land in a mainly female co-operative. Through the work of the charity ActionAid she has been able to organise the village and take a lead role in the co-operative, whilst the local school, built by ActionAid, has meant a better chance for her children.

Rwanda - village girl

2011-08-19T18:27:00.000+01:00

I tried consciously to avoid taking this kind of photo whilst working in Africa earlier this year. But something about this girls' facial expression meant I broke my own rule.

Rough Scan: Street

2011-08-17T23:45:00.000+01:00

This was a street snap shot earlier this year on Oxford Street in London, it was taken with a Rolleiflex. If you're into street photography (and Rollei's) then it might be worthwhile checking out the Vivian Maier exhibition that's currently on at Photofusion in Brixton (runs until 16th September 2011) - it's pretty inspiring stuff.

Rough Scan: Boy with Balloons, Turkey

2011-08-13T19:31:00.000+01:00

I so wish this neg was sharp, sadly it's not. Think I shot it at about 1/4 sec and the focus is just out - could have been nice.

Aldwych, aftermath of a V1 attack, World War Two

2011-08-13T18:38:00.001+01:00

This photo as always intrigued me. My grandmother used to keep it flat in an envelope tucked inside a book on gardening, and for may years it stayed there hidden away on a shelf. After seeing the project 'The Consequences of Vegance' by the photographer Chris Floyd, and my friend Andrew Youngson's recent project 'Soldbuch', I was inspired to dig out the photo and have a proper look. Both projects delve into personal histories of the photographers and their families, relating to the war and events that have shaped them, whilst revisiting the ground where the events took place. I started to realise that the picture showed a moment in time when my own very existence itself had hung in the balance. My grandma had been working in a building on Aldwych when the V1 rocket struck.

The V1 or to give it its full name the Vergeltungswaffe 1, which translates as 'retaliation weapon', was often referred to in the UK by it's much less threatening nickname, the 'doodlebug'. It was simple, yet deadly; the rocket would run until its fuel ran out and then the engine noise would stop and the bomb would fall. My grandma distinctly remembers hearing the rocket overhead, the buzzing, whining engine and then the deathly anticipation when the engines cut and everyone held their breadth knowing that it was on it's way down. That warning gave her enough time to shelter under a table before the explosion ripped through the building, blowing out windows and sending masonry, glass and debris in every direction. At the time 46 people were reported to have died, but the area was sealed of for a numbers of days, probably in part due to the sensitive ministries and departments caught up in the attack, including the air ministry, the figure of 200 dead is now seen as more realistic.

A photo of the attack moments after the bomb struck, taken from the direction of Fleet Street

For a number of years whilst studying at the University of Kings College London I walked past the same spot where this bomb struck without ever realising it, nor understanding the significance of that day, and how it could have turned out so very differently.

I find the picture itself fascinating and I was reminded of it recently when seeing the riot footage on the television and in the newspapers. There's something about seeing the very heart of urban life so heavily disrupted and thrown out of joint - it makes you realise the fragile nature of society we live in and how quickly and easily things can be turned on their head. It's a picture that seems to hold a thousand different stories. Below are some details from the image.

Rough Scan: Ichbolay, Guatemala

2011-08-10T15:56:00.000+01:00

Shot in the village of Ichbolay, whilst on assignment in Guatemala back in May.

Brixton Riots 07/08/2011

2011-08-08T19:05:00.000+01:00

Shot this in the early ours of this morning on Effra Road, Brixton. I arrived a bit late to see the full on riot but I did see the tail end of the looters making their escape from Curry's. In the shot above a girl is caught in the beam of a police helicopter as she sits on an upturned rubbish bin. A line of riot police stand guard across the road in the distance. I'm hoping the madness isn't going to continue, but I fear last night was only the beginning.

Deir al-Zour, Syria, during happier times

2011-08-07T20:14:00.000+01:00

I was in the Syrian city of Deir al-Zour around this time four years ago. It's horrible to think what the citizens of that city are now facing as their own government send tanks against them - my thoughts go out to them.

In the photo above children jump off a bridge into the mighty Euphrates river.

Rough scan: Turkey

2011-08-04T21:47:00.000+01:00

Portrait: Micah Lester

2011-08-02T10:32:00.000+01:00

Here's an outtake from a week long assignment with Micah Lester back in April.

Clifton Mansions: Final night

2011-08-01T23:22:00.000+01:00

These were snapped a few weeks ago during the final night of Brixtons' Clifton Mansions operating as a squat. The send off was overrun after somebody posted it on facebook apparently.

Tearsheet: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

2011-08-01T21:13:00.000+01:00

Recent portrait of Elham Al-Qasimi I had used in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper.

Olympic Stadium

2011-07-30T17:29:00.000+01:00

Shot this the other night whilst doing a little job over in Hackney Wick

Essaouira, Morocco

2011-07-26T23:03:00.000+01:00

A shot I took whilst in the port city of Essaouira, Morocco, last month.

Feature - Cold Water Surfing

2011-07-26T10:36:00.000+01:00

Below is one double page from a feature of mine published in this month's HUCK magazine. I was commissioned to cover the UK leg of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic held up in Thurso on the north shores of Scotland. I've also published new gallery on the website for the feature, and that can be seen here. Big thanks have to be give to Micah Lester, the surfer featured, for letting me follow him round for a week, literally from the moment he rose to the moment he crashed out at night. He's a fantastic guy, totally chilled, no pretense and a total pro at what he does.

Tearsheet - Ian Powell, Price Waterhouse Coopers

2011-07-25T13:35:00.000+01:00

This is from a shoot a month or so back with PWC head, Ian Powell. Really pleasant CEO who seemed very accommodating. It also happened to be in one of those building with so many great options for pictures that you don't know where to start. Below are a few other images from the shoot.

SX70 polaroid: Alps

2011-07-25T10:08:00.000+01:00

Shot this with my SX70 and Impossible Project film last week whilst on a last minute assignment in the Alps. Was a very cool job - hopefully I can reveal some more about it once it's gone to print.

Pro Surfer, Micah Lester

2011-07-11T19:13:00.000+01:00

These are two portraits I did of Micah Lester as part of a magazine commission back in April. They're part of wider story that will be going live on the website soon.

For any camera geeks out there, the image above was shot on the Polaroid 600SE using old expired Polaroid 'Chocolate' film.

Morocco - Fantasia

2011-07-11T00:02:00.000+01:00

Portrait of a young fantasia rider, Morocco

London street photography

2011-07-10T21:58:00.000+01:00

Went the to the London Street Photography exhibition at the Museum of London today - it's free and well worth a look (you can find more info on it here). Needless to say I was all inspired when I came out, and subsequently snapped this photo of a 40ft man on the Fuji x100.

Turkey

2011-07-08T14:23:00.001+01:00

Ourika Valley, Morocco

2011-07-07T20:25:00.000+01:00

Back from Morocco - it was a great little break, and had a lot of fun although I didn't shoot a huge amount of images, mainly just relaxed and tried (unsuccessfully) to collect thoughts whilst enjoying the delights of a lavish 3-day wedding. Ended up mainly using the Fuji x100 for images - this is a panoramic of the Ourika Valley in the foothills of the Atlas mountains. It was shot with the built in panorama feature.

Gear: Fuji x100

2011-06-22T18:08:00.000+01:00

This new camera is a recent purchase - a retro styled digital camera with some pretty impressive noise handling and great 35mm equivalent f/2 lens (see my other posts here and here with pics). For any x100 fans - the lens hood isn't the official one made by Fuji but one that I found for less than half the price online (read China). I'm going to be using this camera pretty much solely a diary camera as it's a lot easier to carry around than my 5DII, so expect to see more pics posted up here.

It's so pretty that that I thought I'd take one of those classic arty/wanky 'here's-my-camera-happened-to-be-perched-on-moleskins-and-passport' shot that you seem to see everywhere these days - implying some form of jet-setting lifestyle that will occur if you buy this camera. Speaking of which I am off abroad again tomorrow, this time Morocco. How apt.

BTS: Turkey shoot

2011-06-21T20:45:00.001+01:00

Just got back from a shoot in Turkey - I was documenting the rose harvest for an exciting new project I've been commissioned to do. Here's a quick snap of yours truely and some of the local rose pickers.

Portrait: Tim Willis, High50

2011-06-14T10:30:00.000+01:00

Tim Willis, Editor-in-chief of the new online magazine for hip over 50's, High50.

Belfast trip - Fuji x100

2011-06-08T15:40:00.000+01:00

Some snaps from a fleeting 24 hour trip to Belfast last weekend to catch up with some friends of mine over there. All shot on the new Fuji x100.

New toy - Fuji x100

2011-06-08T14:43:00.000+01:00

These are two shots from my first outing with the new toy, the Fuji x100.

Portrait: Mountain gorilla tracker, Rwanda

2011-06-04T13:18:00.000+01:00

This guy was one of number of gorilla trackers I met, I photographed him just as we were starting our descent and the morning rains had started, bringing with them the mist. About two or three of these guys will stay with the gorilla groups all day, waiting patiently at a distance until they bed down for the night. That way the following day when the next team come up the mountain they have a good idea where the groups will be, allowing them to send legions of tourists up the mountain in the most efficient manner.

Corporate Portrait: Matthew Fosh, Novae

2011-06-01T21:17:00.002+01:00

Portrait: Tribal dancer, Rwanda

2011-05-31T21:54:00.000+01:00

Dominique Rwarekeyaho a former poacher who's now working in the tourism industry doing traditional tribal dancing up on the northern border of Rwanda.

Tearsheet - Rwanda Bicycles

2011-05-27T16:48:00.001+01:00

My pictures in a feature I shot in Rwanda for HUCK magazine a few months back. The rest of the images from the project can be seen on my website HERE.

Rosa, Guatemala

2011-05-24T23:34:00.001+01:00

Rosa, Imperial Limon, Guatemala

Tearsheet - Chris Tarrant

2011-05-24T11:43:00.000+01:00

Cover that I shot of Chris Tarrant at the beginning of this year. Another spread and image from the shoot below.

Portrait - Primate tracker, Rwanda

2011-05-17T23:26:00.000+01:00

Emilien Havwgimana, 25, a primate tracker in Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda.

Before becoming a tracker he used to be a porter carrying tourists bags, he was offered the job of tracker because of his hard work and enthusiasm. This photograph was taken during his first year in the role.

Tearsheet - Martin Dalby, CEO Center Parcs

2011-05-17T12:53:00.001+01:00

Tearsheet from a job I had up in Nottingham back in March. A 3+ hour drive up for 30 mins of shooting and then 3+ hour drive back! Luckily I had Tony with me helping out, otherwise the drive would have been very dull. The Center Parcs treehouses are pretty luxurious, with hot tubs and fancy open plan interiors. However I still think I'd prefer to stay in Nick Weston's version. (More on Nick's latest project here)

Here's another below using a bit of lighting

Portrait: Genocide orphan, Rwanda

2011-05-16T18:38:00.000+01:00

Sophie Gahongayire, 26, a worker in a paper factory, Kigali, Rwanda.

Both Sophie's parents were killed during the 1994 genocide when she was 9 years old. Her brother became a soldier, forcing her to become the head of the family. She has worked in the paper factory for a number of years, making fresh sheets of paper from recycled ones. The paper is then turned into greetings cards and sold around the world.

Tearsheet - Financial Times

2011-05-15T19:49:00.001+01:00

Images that I shot for a FT travel feature on Rwanda

Fun and Frolics in Guatemala

2011-05-11T13:53:00.002+01:00

I got back from my assignment in Guatemala at the beginning of the week and I've now got my head buried in checking notes, captioning and general post production work whilst trying to stave off the jet lag. It was quite an eventful week, especially last Tuesday evening.

We'd spent the day trekking through the jungle and had taken canoes to get to the village of Icbolay where ActionAid run a child sponsorship programme. The name Icbolay comes from the maya-kekchi name (the local dialect) for the "yellow mouth" serpent (Nauyaca). Never a good sign in my experience.

Apparently though we didn't need to worry too much as they were rarely seen. Good job, I thought, as we hadn't brought any anti-venom. Within about half an hour though had our first sighting and we'd have another before the trek was through, this time on the river bank as we silently glided past in our canoe. Fortunately on both occasions guides had forged ahead of us and both snakes were dead. The local reaction to and excitement at seeing them however, made me realise that they weren't a common sight. On the way back I posed for a quick picture with one. The rest of the day passed without event, that is until later that evening.

We were staying in a local ranch style motel on the edge of the forest. The only other guests were some local guys, rocking the cowboy look, with big old pick-up trucks and a tendency to stay in their rooms, shutters down, TVs blaring. It all seemed a bit Cohen brothers 'No country for Old Men'. After finishing dinner at the bar I realised I was falling alseep in my chair and not wanting to appear rude to my colleagues, made my excuses and headed for bed. It'd been a long tiring day trekking in very humid conditions so I opted to have a quick wash in the shower before bed. Having done so I wandered back into my room and reached for the hand towel hanging on the back of my chair. As I dried my hands however I felt a sharp pain in my finger and looking down I saw in dismay the evil looking tail of this little critter disappear into the folds of the towel.

Naturally, not knowing the slightest thing about scorpions I was a little bit concerned...actually lets be realistic, I screamed out loud like a small child. I had no idea how venomous or not the creature was. I managed to remain compos mentis enough to put back on my trousers and boots before running back through the compound down towards the bar where I hoped my colleagues were still going to be. Luckily they were still sat at their table working. The assistant camera woman Nike was quick to translate the situation in Spanish to the barman. Next thing I know he's picked up a shotgun and a searchlight and is running out the door. I remember thinking that this was slightly over zealous at the time, it wasn't until later that I realised what was going on. As I had headed back to bar in a panic I'd spotted a guy running in the other direction - turns out he was an intruder and the Guatemalans a few doors down from me apparently ran out of their rooms in their 'wife-beaters' and cowboy boots toting pump action shotguns trying to chase him down. At the time though it felt like a small matter even as the gunshots blasted away in the background. My colleagues quickly roused the drivers from their slumber and we headed into town to find a doctor. Luckily for me we managed to wake one up and I got treated. Paul the cameraman shot a little vid on his handy-cam and I've put some frame grabs below.

Generally the reputation of the scorpion is worse than the reality - very few scorpions species are deadly, certainly there are few if any in Guatemala. Of course I wasn't to know that, but the sting is seen almost as the equivalent of being stung by a bee or wasp....which in a way is a little bit disappointing! However I'm glad I was with who I was with; Tara, Paul and Nike were all incredibly composed and managed the situation better than I could have possibly hoped for had I been on my own.

Lesson learnt? Always shake out the towels....

Rwanda: Guardian Multimedia piece

2011-04-27T13:23:00.000+01:00

The multimedia piece that I photographed for the Guardian and ActionAid is now up online and you can see it here.

Thurso, Scotland

2011-04-26T11:34:00.000+01:00

I was on assignment up in Thurso, at the very northern tip of Sctoland last week, to photograph the O'Neill Cold Water Classic. I spotted this chap, Mike, a kite surfer instructor and just had to snap a portrait. It's shot on my 600SE with some old Polaroid film they no longer make called 'Chocolate' - I had been holding back from using it, as it was my only packet, and I didn't think I was going to be that excited by the results - however they look great. I have a bunch of other portraits I shot with it, but they'll have to wait for now. I will be posting them up here at some point in the future though, so keep your eyes peeled.

Brixham, Devon - Travel feature

2011-04-20T20:35:00.000+01:00

A few images I took a month or so back in Brixham, Devon as part of a travel feature I shot for the Guardian

Recent Corporate cover

2011-04-19T21:06:00.000+01:00

On a slightly different tone to rural poverty in Rwanda, in fact you could argue the complete other end of the spectrum. This was one of those shoots where I was glad to have spotted the opportunity for an interesting backdrop over the bland boardroom that I was being briskly nudged towards. Still a bit tricky to light when it's only you on a windy roof-top. Luckily there was an extra body from the magazine who was game to try out the strength of their arms and hold up my lighting rig!

Back from Assignment: Rwanda

2011-04-11T17:39:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the slow rate of updates, only got back from Rwanda this weekend and I've had a mountain of post production and captioning to do before heading off again on assignment this Wednesday. In the meantime here's a sneak peak of some of the work from Rwanda.

These were both shot in the northern district of Shingiro close to the Ugandan and Congolese border and focus on the work of female farming co-operatives. I was working alongside ActionAid and the results will be in the Guardian (G2) and online in a multimedia platform. I will keep you posted!

Rwanda

2011-03-29T07:54:00.001+01:00

Out in Rwanda on assignments - back in London 9th April

View from a window

2011-03-11T22:47:00.000Z

I loathe winters in London. January and February are usually the worst, they're usually quite quiet too. Not this year though - February was just one thing after another. This is good in many ways but has left me reeling somewhat. I had to turn down a trip to the North Pole, one of those chance of lifetime moments, as it clashed with another job...only to have the clients change the dates of the other trip...meaning I probably could have gone after all. Bugger. I guess you just have to believe/hope that everything happens for a reason. I suppose at least it's warmer in London...and there are no Polar Bears....

HKT

2011-03-11T22:24:00.001Z

HKT at a train station on the way to a shoot a few weeks back.

View over the strand

2011-03-06T20:42:00.000Z

Polaroid snap taken whilst I had roof access to a building on the Strand the other day.

Stevie Williams, pro skater

2011-03-04T14:07:00.000Z

Photographed US skateboarder Stevie Williams last week for HUCK magazine - had about ten minutes in around the streets of the hotel where he was staying. He was totally beat from flying in earlier that day yet he was kind enough to let me steal him away from the hotel bar to get these shots. You can see the interview over at HUCK here

SX70 - Impossible Project shot

2011-03-03T19:25:00.000Z

Another Impossible Project Colour PUSH attempt. Shot this one down in Brixham, Devon whilst on assignment. Such an unpredictable film - incredibly difficult to be able to gauge what kind of image you'll get from each situation - which I wouldn't mind so much, if it wasn't so darn expensive!