Help For Heroes

Just got back from a fantastic 2 day photographic workshop I was invited to give at Tedworth House in Wiltshire.
Tedworth House is a Personnel Recovery & Assessment Centre for wounded, sick and injured Servicemen and Women run by the world renowned charity organisation – Help for Heroes.
Help for Heroes is exactly that and aims to provide as many facilities as possible to support the recovery process in helping those who have served their country adjust to their injuries and deal with the emotional, physical and mental realities of a new life.
As someone who believes that anyone with an interest in photography can become a photographer it is always a privilege to be able to pass on the knowledge, experience and passion that I have in the hope that it might inspire others.
What was inspiring for me were the characters that I met throughout my stay.
From the injured ex-Paratrooper who loved wide open landscapes and wrote the most astonishing poetry to the quiet guy who said very little and then stunned me and the rest of the group with the raw, natural talent that was literally just bursting out of him to express itself in original photographic images.

Troy, Richard, Mike, Sam, Roli and Alex – I salute you all and thanks for sharing your weekend with me.

Thanks also to Hardy Haase at Flaghead Photographic for generous loan of Quantum Flash and Hedler Lighting Equipment



Happy Holidays!!! See you again in 2012

Happy Holidays to all my family, friends, colleagues, readers of the blog, blog supporters, and everyone I know and have had the chance to meet and work with in the past year.
Have a great 2012 and enjoy the festive fun and celebrations in what’s left of this year.
Looking forward to what the future will bring and all the new and exciting opportunities, acquaintances, friendships, travel, work and meetings ahead of all of us.
It’s been an incredible year so thanks to everyone!!!
Until then I’m signing out till 2012 – have fun and see you then.
Enjoy
cheers John

Banger Racing Kids

Before making the move into motion I did some audio visuals and had great fun making Banger Boys so thought
I’d return to take a few snaps the next time I got the chance.

Thanks to Tom Ralph for helping out and being as inspired and enthusiastic as always

Banger Boys by John Hicks from John Hicks on Vimeo.

Early Work by John Hicks

I’m rubbish at archiving my own work.
The minute I’ve got the shot in camera I’ve lost interest in it and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve left a trail of negatives and archive prints to their own fate – many lost along the way.
I came across these images of some of my early work just recently.
It’s frightening to see the pure and instinctive photographer I started out as become diluted by the business and the advice of so many people I really shouldn’t have listened to.
I didn’t have a clue technically but I spend my life now trying to get back to that place where I first started out – fresh, true, orignal and free