Blog
Cannes Anti-Surrogacy Star
For the second time in recent years, I was sent on assignment to Cannes as photographer for a cover story about a woman who’d learned, as an adult, that her mother was not her mother. Last time, two babies had been accidentally swapped in the maternity clinic; this time, I was making a portrait of an international spokeswoman on the subject of surrogacy. Given the prospect of changes to UK law which would favour parents who use a surrogate, a British tabloid directed its microphone to the South of France, to profile Olivia Maurel, herself born of surrogacy – and today a passionate anti-surrogacy campaigner.
Hot Stuff in Nice
As I write, an August heatwave sits heavily on the South of France and there is one place I am glad not to be photographing today: the Chez Theresa snack bar in Nice. This little restaurant has been known for making one thing since 1925, and making it well : socca, a chickpea speciality of the French Riviera. Today, the dish is only made traditionally at 3 places in the city, and working with an open, wood-fired oven, in which 300°C and lively flames are essential, for socca’s crispy-yet-soggy texture, is not for the faint-hearted.
Sandal Makers of Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is the westernmost outpost of the French Riviera, a long-favoured summer destination of the jet set. So it was a surprise to be sent there on assignment to photograph…an artisan’s humble workshop. Nestled between stores of international luxury brands, the Rondini family’s shop still echoes with the sound of hammers out back, where they have been making sandals by hand since 1927.
Sebastian Coe
Who remembers Seb Coe? I was commissioned to make an editorial portrait of this ex-Olympic-record-holding runner in Monaco. Forewarned of his dislike of photographers and detecting his impatience during the long interview with my magazine journalist colleagues beforehand, I shook things up when we finally started the shoot with a warm-up relay run, up and down the corridor. Seb may no longer be an athlete today, having moved into politics and the presidency of World Athletics, but he is still happy in trainers, and he turned out to be a great subject to photograph.
Fig Trees: Climate Change Heroes?
Last spring, I travelled south, across the Mediterranean to Tunisia. Photographer and writer both on this occasion, I made a reportage for a magazine cover feature on the subject of an unlikely hero in the face of climate change: the Common Fig. Figs seem to resist drought better than almost any other fruit tree, not only providing hope to farmers whose other crops are failing, but also boosting biodiversity in arid lands with their ‘supertree powers’. In addition to words and photography, both analogue and digital, I turned to an alternative printing process to show the range of varieties of this tree, making anthotypes out of fig juice.
Patagonian Fire Chef
Francis Mallmann is widely regarded as the most influential chef in Latin America, and he boasts restaurants worldwide – the South of France included. I was invited as photographer to make the portrait of the ‘king of live-fire cooking’ at Château La Coste, home to his eatery in Provence. On this cover shoot, assigned by luxury lifestyle magazine Club Oenologique, I discovered for myself that Mallmann not only makes a mean sorbet, but wears his favourite tree and sews dresses for fun.
Corsican Charcuterie
As autumn draws into winter, plumes of smoke rise all over the island: above slow fires, special preparations of pork are cured. I was commissioned as photographer to travel to Corsica for a reportage about the artisanal production of the island’s famous charcuterie delicacies -figatellu, coppa, lonzu- and the native, semi-wild, ‘Porcu Nustrale’ pigs from which they are made. The assignment, for a German magazine devoted to meat, was not exactly vegan-friendly.
Paula Radcliffe
British long distance runner Paula Radcliffe held the record of fastest marathoner in the world for 16 years. Today, she lives near Monaco, where I made her portrait for the cover of People Health magazine. Incredibly, she achieved her long and successful career as an athlete, despite being a lifelong sufferer of asthma.
Equine Gold in Azerbaijan
The Karabakh is one of the oldest breeds of horse in the world, and the national animal of Azerbaijan. I travelled there as photographer on assignment for Aramco World magazine for a cover feature this spring about these breathtakingly beautiful, golden horses – who were at risk of extinction only 30 years ago.
De Gaulle’s Grandson
A convoluted journey took me to Barcelona recently, on a magazine assignment to make portraits of an unlikely pariah. His grandfather was once voted the greatest Frenchman ever, yet Pierre de Gaulle has, in publicly voicing his controversial opinion of the conflict in Ukraine, incurred the displeasure of both the mainstream French press and the government.