30 years on …..

As our TV screens, our iPhones and our computer screens bombard us with images of a 21^st century Royal Wedding, I am transported back down memory lane to my own recollections of another royal wedding and the resultant photographs taken by me when I was the youngest photographer on the Sunday Times press core covering the wedding of Charles and Diana for the paper.

Ironically I have waited 30 years before seeing all the images that I captured on that day because at the time they were whisked away at great speed by motorcycle courier before surfacing four days later in a Sunday Times magazine special. Today’s press photographers will be beaming their images to satellites from their various positions on route , possibly seeing the printed versions within just 20 minutes of shooting time.

Recently when I visited the Sunday Times Archive I was able to view my 35mm colour transparency film images on a light box after 30 years of wondering what they had 'come out like'.  Leaning over the light box, I was transported right back to the early eighties and the crowds dressed in red, white and blue.  At the time I was more interested in the pictures I could take of the people - as the youngest photographer I was a bit low in the pecking order and I didn't get a good view point of the procession - so I concentrated on going out into the crowds to capture the characters and eccentrics that make up all quintessential British celebrations.  In the eighties it was punks frolicking in the fountains and crazy grannies with their grandchildren all dressed up…..what will it be this time?

Seeing these images for the first time nearly 30 years later has given me some closure, as they say, as the editing process is so much a part of the whole photographic business.  I can rest assured that I wont have to wait another 30 years to see how today’s images turn out.

Sarah Outen – a true inspiration!

People keep asking me about my first “First Woman” – why did I pick Sarah Outen to photograph as the first woman to feature in my growing number of portraits depicting amazing women who have achieved a first (sometimes more than one!) in their lives?

Well, let me go back to the beginning and you will see how Sarah has proved to be the inspiration for my whole First Women project. Back in the summer of 2009 I typed in “First Women” and came across Sarah’s Blog on the Internet – at that time she was focused on becoming the first woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean (and she completed the task in just 124 days). As soon as I read about her inspirational journey I was hooked and didn’t even wait for her to return to dry land before contacting her to see if she would let me photograph her for what was then an embryonic project!

I caught up with Sarah at Southampton Boat Show and then went to Rutland Water in Leicester where I was able to take some great portraits of Sarah and her faithful boat “Serendipity” or as Sarah nicknamed it - “Dippers”.

Nearly two years later Sarah joined me on the stage at the Accenture International Women’s Day Celebration and we had the great honour of both kicking off the event – with me doing the warm up act – and Sarah inspiring everyone with her tales of “can do” in the finale!

And proving that she really is a woman whose actions speak even louder than words, I was fortunate enough to see Sarah at London’s Tower Bridge departing for her next great adventure at the beginning of April: London 2 London – via the World.  It goes without saying that I am following her Blog and regular updates as she sets out on her epic journey around the world – take a look: http://www.sarahouten.com/blog/.