Daniel Fletcher is one of the most prominent young designers around. This shoot was to photograph Daniel in his own flat with the patchwork patterns he worked on during lockdown. Daniel created patchwork clothes and blankets, using the offcuts from his other design. He even sent the material out to people with instructions of how to make to make it themselves if that’s what they wanted to do.
Such a nice guy and such a talent!
Shot for Observer Magazine
Dame Eileen Atkins, winner of a BAFTA, EMMy award and Olivier Award, was appointed the Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Dame Commander of the Order of British Empire. Now - how’s that for an opening sentence on your Wikipedia page?!
The thing about Eileen (and yes - I was told to drop the Dame when I spoke to her so I continue on a more casual first name basis here too), is that she is so casual and pleasant to deal with. Her place, a wonderful and charming house in the West London, is a long way away from where she grew up, as the daughter of a meter reader in Tottenham. She had that charm that comes with the more senior generation of the British acting world. There is a relaxed attitude there, a playfulness. I have seen the same in many of the British traditional actors and actresses. They started acting because they loved the work, not to become famous, and the joy they feel due to living the life they have always wanted to is worn on their sleeves.
Eileen was 100% lovely! Fun, charming, natural and playful - all at once. She has just released her autobiography (up to the age of 30) and I bet it will be a great read. Just seeing the pictures from her young days which are in the book is great fun.
Shot for Observer New Review
I had the pleasure of working with Elif in her house. A place with an amazing living room where her office desk is too. Elif is from Turkey and has written books like The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, Three Daughters of Eve and 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Her literature touches on political issues, women’s rights, minority rights and freedom of speech. Her political voice addresses issues around Turkish and European politics, democracy and pluralism. Dealing with topics such as child abuse and Armenian genocide means she has made dangerous enemies. A brave writer, yet not someone who comes across as being paranoid or threatened.
Shot for Observer New Review
First time I worked with Rav was for a mothers-day shoot. I was commissioned to photograph her, her mum and her grandma in one shot. When they turned up I did not only meet very nice, fun and friendly Rav, but her mum and grandma were great characters too. Such a great trio! I have to admit that there was a slight language barrier between Rav’s grandma and me - but somehow the humour and a sense of understanding each other was definitely there.
So - it was with great pleasure that I received a commission to photograph the trio again. This time to coincide with Rav’s new book release - as well as the celebration of light day, Diwali. Rav had also brought some friends over to help enhance the feeling of festivity.
In order to give an impression of us celebrating Diwali - I wanted to create a dark and atmospheric room with candles and food decoration. I was sent props to use and the shoot was to take place in Rav’s place. I was given 2 hours to setup and shoot, but Rav was happy to extend the time a little when I got there. 2 hours was tight, but especially as I got there to see a 3 meter diameter glass dome above the room we were shooting in, and it was a bright sunny day. One thing is to expose the daylight away with flash, but I also needed to bring some atmosphere out with the candles. I took what blankets I had, ripped off the paper backdrop and got ready to cover as much of the glass dome as I could. However - the glass dome was 6 meters above me so the only way to get to it was to climb through a tiny window, in the top end of Rav’s bedroom window, to get to the roof. I am already not a very flexible with my almost 2 meter height, seeing me climb through that window was a sight to behold. (I never knew I could get my knee behind my ears - a move I had to perfect to get out.). I covered what I could of the window and got on with setting up the grand Diwali celebration table with the props I had. We managed to create a setting that had some of the intended atmosphere. Rav’s friends and family were not only lovely to work with, but managed to look and act relaxed and festive.
Rav comes across as a nice and friendly person when on TV. Having met Rav on several occasions now, I can truly vouch for her being the friendly, fun, and a sparkly, kind person. Having met her friends and especially her family, also gives a depth to understanding who Rav is, and she is exactly as you would hope from seeing her on TV.
I hope to work with Rav again, and if her mum and grandma is there too then that’s a-ok with me. Maybe next time we’ll get them all posing as Charlie’s Angels. I can especially see Rav’s grandma Biji getting into that…
Shot for Waitrose Food Magazine
