Oxfam

 

This is a first for me. I was asked to shoot an advert for Oxfam that was going to be animated. The technique is called parallax and involves shooting the subject in a very particular way. Click on the image to see the effect.

Project work for Shelter

 

Shot another instalment of my work for Shelter this week. Traveled down to Chirstchurch to photograph Karen, Gary and their two kids. They were made homeless from the home they had lived in for several years. the landlords own children were returning to the UK and he needed the house back. That began their nightmare of living in 'temporary accommodation'. The other residents were all single young people who mainly used the house as a dump. The landlord was happy to keep Karen and Gary there as they could keep an eye on the place'.
After several months they were moved to a new home were they are happily rebuilding their lives after the experience. Gary self wrote a book on the experience which you can download from Amazon.

Project work for Shelter

 

Shelter, the UK charity working with the homeless, have approached me to help them rebuild their library of images and work on future campaigns with them. I've been working on a project about poverty in the UK this year so was very happy to also collaborate with them on this. Hopefully I'll be able to show some more of the work during 2014.

R.I.P Sean

 

I just found out the very sad news that one of the families I was working with have suffered a death. Sean, who was partner to Claire and father to Ellie-May committed suicide last week. He was a lovely guy and we talked a lot about many things. One of his real interests was astrological physics and we discussed the pro's and con's of quasars, pulsars, black holes and quantum physics.
His life had been very harsh but he was really hopeful that this time he would get it right. Unfortunately things didn't workout like that and it seems he couldn't take it any more.
I'll miss him as will all his family and friends.
R.I.P Sean.

Gold and Best in Category at the AOP Awards

 

Still recovering from the AOP Awards last night. My project work on the El Salvadorian gang MS-13 received a 'Gold' and 'Best in Category' award. Needless to say I'm pleased to get the award and hope this will give the work and issues around it some more exposure.

Save the Children Interview

 

Save the Children asked to interview me about the UK project work I'm doing with them. It's based in Keighley in Yorkshire and focuses on three young families all struggling to find work and make something for themselves and their children. At times it feels like they're pushing water uphill but they keep on going as best they can.

Willow Foundation

 

I've been asked to contribute to an exhibition in London for the Willow Foundation. They work with young people with serious illness's or disabilities to give them a special day. I went up to Old Trafford to photograph Luke who suffered a double kidney failure.
The exhibition will take place in October.

Benin

 

Jumped on a plane and headed out to benin for it's Independence Day. I've seen interesting stuff from it in the past but this year it was more like Swanage Summer Parade in the rain. Heading back to the hotel I saw this scene under one of the bridges in the capital.

Adidas Exhibition

 

The guys from TBWA, Nick & Steve Tidball, put together a show of the images we shot for the Adidas D Rose event at the
community centre in Hackney where it was held. It was as a big thank you to all those people who helped us out on the day
putting it all together and on the day itself. It's great to see the work out there in the context of it's location.

Life Force Magazine

 

Adidas

 

Got one of those great commissions the other week. It was for creative Nick Tidball. It was at a DRose event and they got local players to jump and look as if they're floating in air for a new campaign. Loved shooting it and love the results.

Magazine Article

 

I was interviewed about my El Salvador MS-13 project for Photo Professional Magazine. It's in the June issue. You can see a copy of it in the articles sections of my Bio page.

Project with Save the Children.

 

Heading up to Bradford toady to hopefully get started on a project about poverty in the UK and the effect it is having on families and children in particular. It's taken over 18 months to get off the ground so feel good to finally get it started.

Exhibition at Front View Gallery

 

I've got a new exhibition launching tonight. It's the show of my Shibuya book and is on at The Front View Gallery, Whitstable, and will be on for three months until 25th August. It's the first exhibition of the book and will also incorporate a video I shot at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It's all about the grind of the market we have to live and work in.

Skaters in Maputo

 

Had some free time in Mozambique whilst on a shoot for The Brand Union NY. Did a little digging and found a group of skateboarders.

They call themselves Associacoa do Skate de Mozambique- ASM have their own facebook page: Associação do Skate de Moçambique - ASM

They street skate around suitable locations in Maputo and with the help of funding from Skate Aid they built themselves a couple of ramps that they use above an underground car park. What they have is quite basic but this doesn’t stop they’re enthusiasm for the sport.

Creative Circle Award

 

Found out today I'm a winner in the Creative Circle Awards. It's for Best Photography for Outside Craft. Once again it's from the Nike campaign I did with Wieden & Kennedy. It's the first year that Creative Circle have recognised photography so very pleased to be part of it.

PhotoPlus Magazine

 

PhotoPlus magazine asked me to send them one of my favourite images that I'd recently taken. Always a difficult one as I'm not the best judge of my own work. I always feel it's up to the viewer to decide what's good. So I went for one from my project in Cape Town shot in an old apartheid era transit post from when the dreaded Pass Laws were in operation. It show a moment of laughter and that people will always make the best of what they have.

Creative Review

 

This months Monograph in Creative review features the images of the murals I took in Tahrir Square, Cairo. It pepicts the martyrs of the revolution and representations of the forces they are fighting. It's a call to arms for the people to stand up and fight.

El Salvador

 

The Penas Ciudad Barrios is a maximum security prison for members of the Mara Salvatrucha Gang, or MS, in the South of El Salvador. It was built for 800 inmates and now house's over 2500. The prison is practically run internally by the gang who have organised a bakery, basic rehabilitation and are even left to run the hospital.
As you enter the prison you soon realise that there are no guards around. They only stay on the outside and let the gang run the joint, which they do very well given the conditions. On hand to help the guards are the army who man most of the sentry points
For almost a year now there has been a truce between the the gangs in El Salvador, the MS and the 18 Street gang or B 18. As the leaders of MS are mainly incarcerated at the prison it has become a focus of the negotiations.