Josephine Butler - Liverpool to Kirknewton and then Wigan!

It's funny how lots of things in life seem to come in threes even glass! About five years ago Liverpool Cathedral commissioned me to photograph the Noble Women Windows in the Lady Chapel, this turned out be a very technical job (see case study Noble Women Windows). The photographs were used to produce a booklet about the windows and one of the women represented in the Atrium window is Josephine Butler.

St Gregory's Church

Earlier this year I was approached by Helen Whittaker of Barley Studios, York and asked to photograph the centenary window and sculpture they had made in memory of Josephine Butler, at St Gregory's Church, Kirknewton, Northumberland.

Window and Sculpture

The Sculpture

This centenary commission consists of a window and a sculpture, the sculpture is in copper comprising nine lilies on seven stems entwined with bindweed, the window and sculpture are situated in the entrance porch on the south side of St Gregory's, it's quite a tight space. Luckily the church is remote not having many visitors as the porch door is the only access.

Centenary Window

It still gives me a thrill to arrive at a church and just open the door and walk in! No access problems just the common courtesy of letting the vicar know I'd be around on that day, wicked!

St Gregory's Chancel

Anyway here I am a few weeks later in one of my favourite pubs in Wigan with a glass in my hand and one of the beers on tap is Liverpool Organic Brewery's 'Josephine Butler Elderflower Ale' Wasn't certain about the first one so had to try another couple just to be sure!

Good things come in threes! Or is it trees! Or I've had too much Elderflower Ale!

Window Detail

Careful where you step! 

King's Consort, fear at Silly point with a small amount of poetry thrown in for good measure

Foundation for Sport and the Arts Annual Report 2012, or how to move towards a nervous breakdown in a very short space of time.

This is the last ever FSA Annual Report, with the Foundation winding up it's affairs for good, so the process of choosing who and what would go into the Report seems to have taken forever. Anyway enough of the preamble, suddenly we're off, all six jobs, oh and can they be done in two weeks!

Week one:

Tuesday morning early pendolino from Wigan to Euston, arrive Wilton's Music Hall in London's east end and walk around in a bit of a daze wondering where to start, the interior of this building is amazing, could easily spend a week here!

King's Consort start rehearsing for their evening concert, move outdoors to photograph the crumbling exterior of Wilton's, you couldn't make it up you just couldn't! Concert starts at 8:00pm, these shots are key to the job, the house lights go down and I can't even see the camera right in front of my nose, thank god for simple controls and fast lenses.

Wilton's Music Hall

Thursday off to Helpston near Peterborough, the home of the poet John Clare (1793-1864). One of the best things about my time photographing the annual reports for the FSA is the amazing diversity of the awards, I always come away from each annual report knowing a lot more about the subjects I'm photographing, in this case a completely new find for me 'John Clare' widely regarded as one of the greatest of the English poets.

John Clare Cottage

Friday a short drive! Shooting Vasily Petrenko in rehearsals with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, ever walked into a rehearsal space with an orchestra playing Parsifal at full tilt? no neither had I, amazing! Passing gaps in the acoustic screens it seems every eye in the orchestra is looking at me, perhaps an introduction would have been in order!

Vasily Petrenko with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Week two:

Tuesday up to the north east to shoot at a primary school in Washington, this time it's for the Sunderland Association Football Club Foundation. They're expecting me, know my name and what time I'm arriving, but when I do arrive and introduce myself they refuse to let me past reception to use the toilets, world's gone mad!

Sunderland Association Football Club Foundation

Wednesday another local drive, Warrington this time, things are feeling under control, always a dangerous thought! Chester Jets Basketball Foundation, and it's the youth squad, difficult to keep up! Reminds me of the 'wiff waff' but both the table and balls are significantly bigger oh and more hands in fact more of everything I wish they'd keep still (I've always been impressed by sports photographers).

Chester Jets Basketball Foundation

Friday off to London again Wisden City Cup cricket practice at Canary Wharf, trying to shoot their star batsman at silly point isn't going down well with the coach, he's worried about me, makes a change! It is scary though, the bowler looks like he's a relative of Usain Bolt and isn't holding back! Finally decide to retreat after the ball runs between the tripod legs my legs (I'm kneeling on one knee) and up the inside of my jacket parking itself still spinning between my shoulder blades. On the train back up north I reflect on the fact that I probably won't be in London again for a while.

Wisden City Cup cricket

Two Months Later!

Out of the blue, could I (the next day) photograph the FSA trustees at Dukes Hotel, St James Place, London! So that would be - The Rt Hon Sir Christopher Chataway, Richard Boardley, Dame Janet Baker DBE, The Lord Grantchester, The Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall, Nicholas Allott, The Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Sir Tim Rice and The Lord Brabazon of Tara. Oh and could you photograph the them in a tiny room and you've got them for fifteen minutes!

FSA trustees

PxQB8 Pawn takes Bishop in five moves

Opening move P-Q4 (excitement)

I don't often receive portraiture commissions, so when I took a call from Liverpool Cathedral a few weeks ago I put the phone down in a state of mild excitement.

Justin Welby Dean of Liverpool Cathedral, is now Bishop Designate of Durham, and would need his portrait taking as Dean before leaving Liverpool.

Second move P-Q5 (inspiration)

The thought of a formal portrait filled me with some trepidation but on reflection I decided that if the sitting provided the opportunity of a more informal portrait in a setting of my choice, this was an opportunity not to be missed!

Third move P-Q6 (Reality)

The Dean's PA offered ten minutes for the whole shoot! I quietly pointed out that ten minutes 'would not be enough'. It was decided that to save time we would take the formal portrait in the Chapter House just before evensong when the Dean would already be wearing the correct vestments for the formal sitting. All I had to do now was introduce the idea that an informal shot somewhere of my choosing would be a great idea after evensong (fingers crossed).

Fourth move P-Q7 (Best laid plans!)

Choral Evensong is at five thirty every weekday and I had thirty minutes before the service for the formal sitting. Arriving at the Chapter House just after three in the afternoon would give me plenty of time to set up the lighting and take some test shots, that was the plan, but when I arrive at the Chapter House expecting the usual space I find that it's being used as the Choir changing rooms because of building work in the undercroft, no room to swing a cat!

Fifth move PxQB8 (Click Click)

After much cassock moving Justin arrives on time, he's in good form and relaxed, we quickly fire off several shots, reposition the lighting slightly and shoot again, a quick check and off to Evensong. Now move all my gear to the Lady Chapel gallery through the appropriately named Ambulatory whilst Evensong is in progress (why did I choose to wear leather soled shoes, noisy or what!) if you've never been to Choral Evensong at Liverpool Cathedral you don't know what your missing.

The Very Reverend Justin Welby

Now, would Justin be OK to sit in one of the arches overlooking the Lady Chapel, no problem, it turns out the Lady Chapel gallery is his favourite place as well as mine, job done.

Promotion should follow!

Submerged logs and Sussex 'wiff-waff'

Dancing girls to 'wiff-waff' and everything in-between, must be that time of year again. Foundation for Sport and the Arts Annual Report 2010, or how to take photographs of very fast movement in large spaces with no light, easy.

And we're off, first hurdle the Rutland Morris Dancers in Liverpool.
Lots of young women standing on tiptoes and jumping up and down furiously, dressed in loud outfits with even louder music belting from an overworked and undersized raster blaster all contained within St John's church hall in Liverpool, bloody amazing.

Rutland Morris Dancers

First straight (M62) approaching second hurdle, Skylight Circus Arts in Rochdale.
Does what it says on the tin, but not in a big top, instead a converted Victorian swimming baths, all on a false floor over the original swimming pool, somehow unnerving. Tons of ropes and ribbon hanging from roof trusses, diabolo, clubs and trapeze too many shots present themselves, safe landing in prospect.

Skylight Circus Arts

Downhill now (M5) approaching first water jump Evesham Sea Cadets at Croft farm water park.
Water sports with added water! Torrential rain did nothing to encourage me on the long drive to Tewkesbury, just after Birmingham conditions could only be described as a grey out. Great shots with the combination of the leaden sky with fill flash, and my feet are dry!

Evesham Sea Cadets

Another water jump coming up Burton Leander Rowing Club, Burton upon Trent.
Forty or more people meeting at the crack of dawn on a sunny! Sunday morning, new cox in the eight, interesting. Beautiful light, really helpful people and a great safety boat to travel in, until we hit a submerged log at full speed! Nearly lost the outboard motor, thankfully the water part of the shoot was over.

Burton Leander Rowing Club

And now we're on the finishing straight, downhill again (M1) Atomic Studios, London.
Canon 5D lets me down in a big way, how can I soften the blow for Canon on this one..... er can't the mirror fell off.... terminal.

Atomic Studios

Off to the last now, finishing post in sight Sussex Table Tennis Alliance, East Grinstead.
Still without the 5D but never mind over to the 1D Mk IV, first fifty frames not a ball in shot, this is really tricky! Lads seem to think it's great fun to bounce as many balls as possible off my head!

Sussex Table Tennis Alliance

Time to lie down in a darkened room for a while.