Scotland

Outtake from a recent assignment up in Scotland

Recent Tearsheets // HUCK // Boogie

When I got an email the other week asking me to spend an afternoon shadowing the legendary street photographer Boogie I was excited and rather nervous all at once. How do you go about shooting a street photographer shooting on the street? I knew it was going to be a tricky one. I decided that in order to be able to work quickly and discreetly it was best that I went lightweight and for that reason I opted to shoot the whole assignment with my Fuji x100s and my Fuji X-Pro1. This for me was a little bit of a gamble because although I shoot with them here and there on jobs I'd never gone on a job without a backup DSLR. They worked well though and apart from the odd missed-focus on the XPro-1, performed brilliantly. But enough of the camera geekery. It was great to spend an afternoon with Boogie and get the chance to see how he moves and shoots in his environment. You should check out Huck magazine and piece written by Rob Boffard for the full interview and examples of his work and if you're interested in learning more about the man himself then watch Cheryl Dunn's fantastic documentary on street photography - Everybody Street. You can purchase a copy on vimeo here. 

Recent Tearsheets // The Redbulletin // Crashed Ice

I was recently commissioned by the RedBulletin UK to photograph a story on the Crashed Ice races being held in Helsinki, specifically to follow the exploits of a team of young hopefuls from Scotland. I followed their journey from the initial training in skate park near Glasgow in Scotland out the competition itself in Helsinki. This was the resulting spread.

Recent Tearsheets //

I was recently commissioned to photograph a group of high flying European based Research Analysts for the US magazine Institutional Investor. These are the results. Thanks to Charlotte Draycott for her help on the day. For those interested in the shoot (or investment analysis..) there are some behind the scenes videos of the shoot here.

Recent Video work: Parkour

I recently had a commission from the the Financial Times to photograph and film the journalist Anthony Lavelle attempting Parkour under the expert tuition of Parkour trainer, Shirley Darlington. The resulting spread featured in the Financial Times Magazine (1st march 2014) and the video is now up on their website but you can also see below. Apart from the sound issues (faulty mic on the day) I'm pretty pleased with the results - especially considering it was shot in a couple of hours alongside a stills commission and inclement weather (which always makes editing sequences a headache). Thanks go to Daryl Higgins for doing second camera on the day. 


FT PURSUITS Parkour 2013 from Greg Funnell on Vimeo.

Tearsheets // Tenerife for Thomas Cook 'Travel' Magazine

Some recent tearsheets from a shoot I had in Tenerife - seeing a side to the island which isn't often explored. Had a fantastic time there and the escape from the winter for a bit of sunshine was much appreciated. Really loved the city of Santa Cruz too - a fairly vibrant place which felt almost Latin American in places - will definitely be going back.

Simon Parkes for Euorstar's 'Metropolitan' Magazine

I was recently commissioned to photograph the former owner of Brixton Academy, Simon Parkes, for Eurostar's 'Metropolitan' Magazine. It was one of those shoots where you just wish you could put down the camera and go to a pub with the subject - he had so many interesting stories to tell (...which is handy because he has a new book out about his time in charge of the Brixton Academy back in the days when Brixton was still considered a no-go zone by many people). You can read some interviews with him here and here. For me the photography is the perfect excuse for me to meet people like him in the first place - and for that I am ever grateful.

Another out-take from the shoot below and the opening spread as it ran, showing Brixton and the Academy at night.

Recent Portrait: Kim Gordon and Bill Nace for HUCK magazine

Toward the end of last year I was tasked with photographing the band Body/Head which consisted of Bill Nace and Kim Gordon (formerly of Sonic Youth). The current issue of Huck carries my image of them on the cover. It was the last picture I took on the shoot I took it with a polaroid passport camera (which sadly you can no longer buy film for). Below are some out-takes from the shoot.

And the cover as it ran on HUCK magazine

Recent Short Film // Client: Dainese

Just before Christmas I was flown out to Italy to shoot a stills look-book for the Italian company Dainese, a company best know for the body protection wear for motorcycling and winter sports. We were however shooting their new range of outerwear. I'll pop some of the results of that when I can. However after completing that commission I was asked to stay on and help shoot a short documentary on the Downhill Ski World Cup with the filmmaker Ben Marshall. The video below is the result of that collaboration.

Recent Portrait: Doug Coupland

This was one of those situations where you spend ages planning the shoot in your head, reading up about the subject, reccing potential locations at the right time of day, figuring out where the sun will be etc etc only to turn up and it all go out the window. The powers that be wield their wills. Your shoot ends up being crammed into a few frightful minutes, in which you try to cobble together something that works whilst trying not to look like you're in a total flap, meanwhile suppressing your immense annoyance that all your ideas have been ejected out of the window and are lying in pieces in the road. By all accounts, a typical day for a portrait photographer.