June 2010. Client: Diverse Productions – Home Movies
Diverse Productions are doing a program for the BBC called Home Movies presented by Kirsty Wark and Dan Cruikshank. The program involves a lot of time sitting on sofas talking to experts interspersed with home movies and this is where the real visual interest comes from so I wanted to incorporate this in the background of my publicity shots I was commissioned to take, as well as capture an essence of Wilton’s Music Hall where it was filmed. I had plenty of time to think about what to do, but the usual few minutes to execute it… Here is how: DVD projector onto back wall, soft box bounced off the lowered ceiling on right, Kirsty and Dan were grabbed between takes, job done!
May 2010: MBN, The FA and the National Football Museum
The (remaining) ‘Boys of ’66 squad’ presented Fabio Capello with a signed England shirt. I was there for MBN, the FA and the National Football Museum. He seems a very ‘hands-on’ bloke and his English is getting much better. I set up the ’66 squad and a space for him to sit down (we only had Fabio for 30 minutes; he didn’t stay for lunch) and down he sat and grabbed Gordon Banks and Geoff Hurst’s knees. There was no need for me to ask them to smile. The room was very crowded so I had to use a wide angle lens and bounce the flash off the ceiling (I say ‘flash’, it was an Elinchrom 500 flash head plugged in with a radio transmitter – I could light up the whole room no matter who he decided to put his hands on).
April 2010. Client: Camden Sustainability Team
I followed Nick Cowley this week. He is an HEA (Home Energy Advisor) for G-Ten and the client was the Sustainability Team for Camden Council. Nick can assess your house and give you advice on how to use less energy by replacing all the light bulbs with energy efficient ones, put reflectors on your radiators, rig up a monitor on your meter and check the walls and roof insulation. It was a job full of visual demonstrations which is increasing rare in our service economy and a real joy to photograph. My favorite is this one in the attic, the sun shone in to illuminate the curious house owner and stair well and I just bounced the flash (SB-800 if you’re interested) against the brick to light up the inspection with a warmer yellow (brick) light.
March 2010. Client: MBN Promotions
I’m 5ft 8″ and (not forgetting the) three quarters; I stand as tall as any average man but this wasn’t enough when I was in a room with both the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race teams for a charity dinner event hosted by Martin Bayfield (the rugby international) I may have exaggerated the height a little with the camera angle in the far left photo but it felt like I was a small child again.
So they all go to a top university, they are all tall and they are all fine specimens of athleticism (I wasn’t the alpha male in the room today). The client was MBN Promotions and I’ve photographed many sports stars, old and new, for them over the years.
January 2010. Client: The British Museum
4000 BC? No, 4000 ISO! There isn’t much light in the British Museum so as to preserve their many artifacts from the ravishes of light over time so in the preNikonD3S period which finished at the beginning of 2010AD taking photographs with no flash and being able to see anything in them afterwards was a problem. I am so old I remember putting film in my camera and worrying about pushing the development two stops; I now regularly shoot at 3200 ISO and the results at 6400 ISO are very good too.
This job was for theHistory of the world in 100 objectsproject. Did you know there are still people out there who can make flint tools?
January 2010. Client: Business in the Community
Now, I’m a dedicated pay-as-you-go Oyster card holder and this particular morning’s London transport wasn’t pleasant or indeed quick… but if you ever get the chance to go through London on the same means of transport as HRH Prince Charles, complete with four motorcycle outriders and police escort it is much, much quicker (and I didn’t have to touch in).
I did a few sneaky royal waves out the window to immobile motorists; is that wrong?
The client was Business in the Community
March 2010. Client: MOSAIC
I was in 11 Downing street to photograph Alistair Darling, our current Chancellor of the Exchequer for the charity Mosaic. The dynamic range between eyebrow and hair wasn’t enough to need an HDR double exposure image though. My new Nikon D3s was up to the job in low light.
2nd April 2009. Client: Linklaters
I enjoy the contrast in lifestyle from dealing with photographing legendary 20th century figures one day and then be scrabbling about in the rubbish bin for used recyclable waste the next.
Linklaters, the international law firm in London, is so big it is like entering a small community I’m going to call Legal-town. Managing just their own waste is a big job and is taken seriously. I set up the studio lights and equipment in the restaurant area (close to the bins) and arranged rubbish on a backdrop of the company colours.
31st March 2009. Client: Bokförlaget Forum AB Sweden
I had the good fortune to photograph Nelson Mandela at his house in Johannesburg in 1998. I just sold the use of the photo to a Swedish publisher for the front cover of ‘Mandelas Arv ‘ by Richard Stengel.
Thank you on-line translators, but I’m guessing the title of the book is not ‘Mandela’s inheritance tax’. I’m going to go with ‘Mandela’s Legacy’.
2nd March 2009. Client: King’s Cross Construction Centre
Ever wondered where you can learn how to be a bricklayer or carpenter? The King’s Cross Construction Skills Centre teaches local teenagers and adults to do just that. The idea is to supply the King’s Cross site across the road with a locally sourced skilled work force.
On a shoot like this the equipment gets covered in brick dust, cement and wood shavings and so does the photographer. I had to go to The Goldsmiths Guild Hall soon after, probably the most ornate building in the City. Nobody noticed as I unwound the extension cables and a small garden wall fell out.
26th February 2009. Art on the Underground. Southwark Tube station
I followed artist Jessie Brennan as she took a group of London Underground staff on a creative voyage for Art On The Underground. The Southwark Tube volunteers took brass rubbings from the Tate’s escalators through to constructing their own cardboard city in the underground foyer, all this while answering travel enquiries from bemused passing commuters. I wonder if Picasso could have been as prolific if he had been wearing a TFL uniform.
Art on the Underground is Benedict Johnson‘s client. We cover for each other’s clients when the other is busy (or break their arm while skateboarding).
New website for Alastair Fyfe photography
We’re happy to announce that Alastair Fyfe photography has launched a new website.
The new site features Flash image galleries showing some of Alastair’s recent work. If you don’t see what you need, please contact us.