Posts from — May 2012

I’ve always shot a lot of corporate photography, and whilst many of these shoots merge into a pinstriped haze, there are a few jobs that stand out.
 

 
I first visited the London Metal Exchange (LME) in 2005 as rookie photographer with a Nikon D2H in my hand and felt myself being left behind in the seemingly chaotic activity. Traders wave their hands frantically to send signals across a noisy floor, while juggling telephones and scribbling notes. The building itself is decked out in garish red seating and flashing LED displays that must have been installed in the affluent 80’s.
 

 
Established in 1877, the LME is the last open outcry exchange in Europe. It trades around $US 11.6 trillion annually, the stress is obvious. In 2012, trading is tighter and the LME has become an interesting news story with a take over offer from Hong Kong immanent.
 

 
This time round my allotted 30 minutes vanishes in the excitement but at least these days I can keep up with the traders, even if only for half an hour.
 
The images in this post were taken for Bloomberg News, please contact them for reuse.

I make a pretty decent cup of tea, I always remove the bag before adding milk and I regularly get compliments. Yesterday my skills were put to the test when I made a cuppa for Leader of The Labour Party, Ed Miliband.
 

 
I received a call on Saturday morning and was sent to Central London with a very odd challenge. I had to illustrate a concept that came from the newsroom. They wanted to run with the headline “What have they been putting in Ed’s tea?”. Miliband had just ended a successful period, with his party making gains at the local elections and with his opposite number David Cameron getting battered at the Leveson Inquiry.
 
The paper had already cleared the idea with him. Surprising after they compared him to the plasticine star of Wallace and Grommit just a few weeks earlier. It’s worth a read too; here.
 
My very specific challenge was directed to the point I needed to find the right cup. A quick hunt on Putney High Street and I’d found some mugs, whittling it down to a choice of two, I eventually plumped for a classic, institutional white cup. Better still, I found it in a pound shop, so I was quid’s in.
 

 
Having set up my lights and shot a few test frames, Ed arrived and I prepared his tea so we could get down to taking some pictures. We mostly talked about… Tea! and my choice of mug as opposed to the blue ones available at the venue. I only had about 5 minutes but that was plenty to pose him up differently and make sure I had what I needed.
 
Aside for some shifting cloud cover which forced me to relight him, the shoot went well and is in today’s paper. Read the story for The Independent on Sunday by Paul Vallely here.
 
So, with my status as a quality tea maker upheld, I can now confirm the Leader of the Opposition takes “A dash of milk, no sugar” and more importantly noted “It’s a lovely cup”. He drank the lot!