Blog
On the Trail of Wolves
Wolves were once hunted to extinction in France. However, over the last ten years, a French wolf population has been firmly re-established, initially in Le Parc du Mercantour – the national park that straddles the mountainous border between France and Italy. Today, firmly protected in law, wolves are threatening the existence of another rare breed in France: traditional sheep herders. 20,000 sheep have been killed by wolves in France in the last 5 years.
Monte Carlo or Bust
I photographed 3 museums, 3 restaurants, the royal palace and a cactus wonderland. I traipsed down countless steps into the bowels of the earth to admire stalactites. I hiked in the summer heat along a coastal footpath. I got tangled in a throng of cameras at the cathedral, photographing tourists who were photographing wedding guests who were photographing the just-married couple who were being photographed by their photographer. All this and more for the New York Times 36 Hours in Monaco travel guide….
Monaco: License to Shoot
Photographers often say that France, with its thorny privacy laws, is the trickiest place in the world for street photography. I suspect people who say that have never tried it in Monaco. While it has its showy side, Monaco is well-known as a safe haven for some of the world’s higher earners, and this is a reputation that the principality works hard to protect. Paparazzi photographers are about as unwelcome as a rabid stray dog at Crufts and, unfortunately, any roving photographer risks being tarred with the same brush. Photographers wanting to shoot anywhere in the principality, for whatever purpose, need a License to Shoot.
All the Fun of the (Trade) Fair
As I write, the Cannes Film Festival is under way. But this is not the only event that brings people flocking to Cannes every year. Le Palais des Festivals hosts a number of international trade fairs. A dazzling array of acronyms beginning with ‘M’ give titles to these business events. MIDEM is for the music industry, MIPCOM , MIPDOC & MIPTV the TV business and MAPIC for retail property, among others. MIPIM is the one of the biggest events, and it is devoted to large-scale real estate.
Ovarian Cancer Portraits
Up until this year, I didn’t know that regular stomach bloating could be a sign of anything more sinister than a diet too heavy in cabbage. Ovarian cancer may be less well-known than some of the other cancers, but its survival rate of this disease draws attention. Shockingly, once diagnosed, only 40% of women survive beyond 5 years. Symptoms often pass unnoticed, being as ordinary as feeling full quickly or bloating.
I met the head of marketing of Ovarian Cancer Action at the London ceremony where I won Professional Photographer magazine’s Press Photographer of the Year award, and she was now recruiting a photographer to breathe new life into the charity’s image. It was a privilege to be able to help raise attention to this cause.
Freedivers
France, is considered by many (especially the French) to be the home of freediving. If silver screen fame of ‘Le Grand Bleu’ [Luc Besson’s ‘The Big Blue’, the most successful French film of the 1980s] is not enough to convince you, then a healthy crop of French freediving champions and the fact that France hosted the first ever freediving world team championships just might.
Last September, the team championship event was back in the South of France, and I went along to meet today’s top international freedivers.
Constellation Cookfest in Monaco
Alain Ducasse is known as the Godfather of French cuisine. A fortnight ago, he did his reputation proud. Michelin-starred chefs flew to the South of France from all over the world to help Ducasse celebrate his 25th anniversary at Monaco’s Louis XV restaurant. They ate, drank, cooked and made merry, all 240 of them. And a certain photographer managed to squeeze in one or two tastings between frames…
Corsetmaker in Paris
François Tamarin is a one-off. A corsetier (corsetmaker), he has a boutique in Paris, where he designs and tailor-makes corsets. Customers come from far and wide to be squeezed into his creations. Indeed he is not just any old corsetmaker. François has just been awarded one of France’s greatest honours, and I’d been commissioned to take his portrait. The New York Times had sent me to Paris to photograph a series of artisans who had just been named Meilleur Ouvrier de France [Best Craftsmen of France].
A Tale of Two Covers
This is a behind-the-scenes tale of two assignments. Shot for different clients at different times, both were corporate portrait commissions for magazine covers; both subjects were men at the top of their game.
Subject number one was Mikael Krafft, founder of Star Clippers cruise company. Private Banking Magazine has asked me to take the portrait aboard his private yacht. The second shoot, for Marketing Magazine, was for a feature on the CMO of Mars, Bruce McColl, who’d won the coveted Advertiser of the Year award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Portrait of Chrissie Wellington
Chrissie Wellington is something of an exception. Right now she is the world’s no. 1 female Ironman triathlete. She has been crowned Ironman World Champion at Kona (Hawaii) four times and is the first British athlete to hold this title. For those who don’t know, an Ironman consists of a 4 km swim (outdoors, in a lake), a 180 km bike ride and a 42 km run (yes, you finish the race with an actual marathon). Chrissie has competed in 13 Ironman races. And won them all.