Watch the birdie!

13th December 2012

A perk of the job is to meet people you may not usually have access to. Sir Ian Mckellen was due to meet me briefly for a cover for Time Out mag. I love shooting actors as I find it even more of challenge to reveal their true persona and to stop them behaving ‘in character’ to the camera.

Celebrity jobs are a recipe for nerves and restrictions. There is always an over amplified sound of the clock ticking as the PR hovers over your shoulder counting down to your last second of your allocated 15 minutes. However this forces you to think and act fast but really pushes the boundaries of how much of a genuine image you can capture. I learn every time. This time I learnt I should have perhaps shot less really chose a few moments, perhaps just one roll. With pressure to perform it seems almost impossible not to shoot an extra few frames.

With a mere 24 hrs. to prepare and the brief of “festive holidays, but not Hobbit themed” I got my thinking cap on and prop shopped early the next morn.

I had the angel they name Joe Starbuck at my side as together we defied the relentless obstacles that seemed to throw themselves at us.

My idea was to place a robin on his shoulder/head and have them in conversation. I also bought some fake snow to create the illusion that only he had been ‘snowed on’. My main aims..avoid a cheesy image..connect with the subject..

Here’s result number one:
I must admit for last min reasons I was informed the Hobbit theme was now on the cards and I lost out to some postproduction. However I had an awesomely fun time, learnt a ton as always and met one of the nicest people I‘ve ever had the pleasure of shooting.

Joe you were (and are) legendary ta xx