Miss Macabre

This is my last Assistant, the performance artist Miss Macabre. Rebecca was brilliant so thank you to her. Thanks also to Bill and his granddaughter Jayne who run the Rivoli Ballroom where we shot. The Rivoli is a perfectly preserved 1950's ballroom. If you haven't been it's definitely worth a visit.

Jessica Hynes

Hello! This was my first shoot for Good Housekeeping magazine. I was really excited to hear I'd be photographing Jessica Hynes (previously Stephenson) and she was lovely. Jessica is in the November issue on sale now. You also get a free Superfood recipe book. What more do you want?!

Doing the Lambeth walk

These photos were taken for the Capital Community Foundation, a brilliant charity based in Kennington who raise funds to help London's poorest communities. Thanks to Alex and Gabrielle who walked the streets of Lambeth with me trying to persuade people to have their photo taken. To find out more check out www.capitalcf.org.uk.

Wimpole Hall and Farm

Last month the NT Photographic Manager Chris Lacey and I spent a very pleasant few days wandering around Wimpole Hall and Farm in Cambridgeshire. I forget the countryside exists living in a big city and it was lovely to be reminded. Wimpole is a huge estate with a working farm and is very popular with young families. My brief on the farm was to get shots of the kids interacting with the animals. Cue lots of "gently darling"!

Stylist

My first piece in the Stylist, photographing a writer at a Masterchef for journos. I've never actually watched it but now I have I realise I would be bloody awful. Far too much pressure! So congratulations to Tash, (the Stylists entrant) who won by a mile!

Sandra

Burke & Hare

These shots were taken for the National Trust on the set of the new John Landis film Burke & Hare at Knole in Kent. I loved being there watching the crew and the extras milling about.

Sunny the Butcher

I was getting a bit concerned about finding a decent background for my Assistant Butcher until someone pointed out there was a deer's head in the corner of the room. Not what you expect to find in a Halal Butchers in Southall but there you go. Thankyou to Zia, Sunny and not forgetting the poor old deer.

The Assistants

So far. Nearly finished. Just a halal butcher's assistant away from a set.

Mr Spicer

This is Ben, the latest Assistant in my project. Ben is the Assistant to Sam Taylor Wood. No pressure then!

The Amazing Josephine

They weren't exaggerating about Josephine being amazing. Desiree was brilliant. Finding a room half full of pink balloons was also quite fortunate! Thanks very much to Christopher Howell, the magician and his glamorous Assistant Desiree x

New Zealand

These are taken in Wanaka, a town on the South Island. I can't remember why we went there or indeed what we did when we were there but this campsite has always stuck in my mind. It was utterly in a time warp.

Assistants Continued

Hello and Happy New Year. The Assistants project is coming on now. Below is Elizabeth, my cousin and a Teaching Assistant. There was no lazy nepotism though Elizabeth went through a gruelling selection process as you can imagine. Elizabeth was the perfect subject, relaxed and in no hurry.


Below is Graham an Artists Assistant. I had no idea how common it was for Artists to have Assistants. Graham was telling me that the high profile Artists can have 20 Assistants beavering away in the background.

Lastly for now are Katharine and Sarah, the PAs to Nicholas Coleridge, the Managing Director of Conde Nast. They were brilliant, I stayed for far too long but we made good use of Nicholas's lovely office. Thank you to all my Assistants!