Perrier-Jouët at Collect - The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects at Saatchi Gallery

Last week at 2pm the phone rings with one of the agencies I work for, Campbell Bell Communications. I'm in my pjs sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and pottering through a wedding edit and thinking about what I was going to cook for my friend Andy that evening. 'Can you be at the Saatchi Gallery at 4pm to photograph an event. Such is life as a freelance photographer. I grabbed my bag and headed over to cover the opening evening of The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects. On display was work by Hitomi Hosono, the inaugural Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon Prize 2013 Winner. You can see the events I shot for both the launch of the prize at The Ritz and the selection of the winner at the St Pancras Hotel. The salon judges included artist Kate MccGwire, designer Stephen Jones and executive director of the Crafts Council Rosy Greenlees who said ‘We were faced with a challenging decision and exceptional talent within the shortlist of nominees, yet recognised Hitomi Hosono as an outstanding artist whose unique artworks truly evoke a contempoporary and beautiful interpretation of Art Nouveau’.

Pacifica Spa Shoot

Yesterday I spent the morning at the newly refurbished Pacifica Spa taking a few images for their website.  It's so new that the signage is not up yet so I look forward to returning.

Perrier Jouët Arts Salon Dinner - selecting the winner

Back in January I blogged about the inaugural Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon Dinner which was meeting for the first time to launch a prestigious arts prize.  They came together again at the end of March to discuss the shortlist and make their selection of the winner.  I can't tell you who won as it hasn't been officially announced yet but the committee enjoyed a delicious food and champagne supper at the Royal Suite at the newly refurbished St Pancras Hotel in London. It's not something I do much of but my clients Campbell Bell asked me if I could film a bit of the event for a small showreel - here are my efforts.  I quite enjoyed it and look forward to incorporate film into my events offering in the future.

Stevie & Stuart's Engagement Shoot at the British Museum

Sometimes the terrible British weather can bring fortuitous results - such as a previously arranged engagement shoot at Virginia Water being moved to the British Museum as a wet weather alternative.  I am always very happy to try alternative locations for shoots and this was somewhere I have been wanting to shoot in for a while.  The light is beautiful, the backdrop stunning and on a Thursday morning not too busy - other than a few bus loads of tourists and school children.  After a while I think Stevie and Stuart even forgot they were in a public place and we just enjoyed the space and freedom of this incredible place.

Faye + Hugo's London Wedding

This summer my friend and fellow photographer Lorna ended up with a foot in plaster.  Not a good situation for a wedding photographer - you kind of need to be super mobile and for hours on end.  I was more than happy to step in and help her out at the intimate London wedding for Dutch couple Faye and Hugo. Having been living in London for a few years and big fans they wanted to mark their wedding in true London style which meant red double decker buses, union jack bow ties and Chelsea Town Hall.  Their bigger wedding happened later back in Holland later in the summer.

We caught up with them at Chelsea  Town Hall where the guests arrived on a London bus from The Hilton Hotel in Paddington.  The ceremony took place at the Chelsea Town Hall and the couple arrived together, Hugo walking Faye up the aisle in front of a small number of family and friends.

After champagne on the street the group headed back to Faye and Hugo's gorgeous flat in Notting Hill for cake and champagne.  Their friends had clubbed together to buy them a garden bench inscripted with their names and the date of the wedding.

A few hours later everyone regathered at the stunning private members club, Home House, for an evening meal and speeches.

Portrait Project One: Kunle

Over the summer I undertook a personal portrait project.  On the back of my own transition from a career in marketing into a more creative world I was intrigued to explore some of the more creative people amongst my friends.  I was fascinated by their working environments and the spaces which inspired their work. It was a fabulous journey of discovery, as well as a delightful opportunity to hang out with some of my nearest and dearest plus get to know some more casual acquaintances better.  All were wonderfully hospitable and patient with me. I thought rather than do one post about all of them I would pick out a few and highlight the amazing creativity they have.  Today I’m going to talk about L. Adekunle Salami. One of the reasons I love London is that you never know where you might end up of an evening.  A few months ago I was passing through London and was finally able to take up frequent invitation from my friend Richard to attend a poetry night that he DJ’d at in Camden called Beat (Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation" in 1948 to characterize a perceived underground, anti-conformist youth movement in New York).  So I found myself on the streets of Camden on a warm evening in a pub, Charlie Wrights, that from all outward appearances seemed to be shut, but no, inside was a handful of poets and faithful followers (not numbering more than the poets) and after a wait to ensure that everyone had turned up the first poet took the stage (more of a mini platform).

From a psychiatric nurse drawing on her experiences to another poet talking about a bi-polar bear, angst and psychiatric illness were frequently delivered through humour.  The venue seemed entirely appropriate; dark, dingy, with squashy sofas to sink down into clutching cheap wine.  Kunle came on last and played 'She said sorry'.  Just his voice, his harmonica and his guitar in the darkness and his words sent chills down my spine and I desperately wanted to photograph him.  We met up a couple of weeks later, strolled down the embankment, drank whisky in Soho at 11am and ended up in the basement of a music shop on Denmark Street.