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

Dark Days

Dark Days is an inspiring documentary by Marc Singer about a group of homeless people living in abandoned subway tunnels under the beating heart of New York City.
Apart from the vagabond vagrants whose stories are told in shocking detail throughout I’m inspired by the fact that, before he made this film, Singer had never even picked up a camera – much less knew how to use one.
Driven simply by the desire to highlight their plight and move them up the housing ladder, Singer originally intended to shoot on Super 8 but was persuaded to rent a 16mm camera instead.
He planned to shoot for a week but two and a half years later he still had free use of the camera and when he ran out of film Kodak supplied damaged stock, at no cost, for the continuation of the project.
The film’s crew consisted of the subjects themselves, who rigged up makeshift lighting by tapping into the mains supply and improvised steadicam dollies for tracking shots from supermarket shopping trollies.
Dark Days is an amazing collaboration which proves that the most important aspect of film making is integrity, a genuine belief and passion for what you’re doing. and, as Singer himself says, ‘not to be afraid to fail’.
In today’s crazy celebrity driven world where endorsement of equipment is often more important than the actual content of the movie, I found this this film both thought provoking and enlightening.

Tattoos and Taboos

I don’t have any tattoos.
I don’t think I could.
I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to needles.
When I got my ear pierced at 15 I fainted on the High Street outside the shop and forever lost my chance to look cool in front of the girl I was trying so hard to impress.
But I’m fascinated by people who put themselves under the needle to adorn their bodies in ink.
While getting a tattoo is now so commonplace as to be considered ‘normal’ what makes someone want to go beyond convention and express themselves through the artwork on their bodies.
Exploring areas of taboos and tattoos I’m indebted to Emma Garrard and Joe Munroe for inviting me into their world.