Rosie Nobbs – Harpist

29th March 2013

Rosie Nobbs is a true life force, she’d been gigging the night before and hadn’t gone to bed till well after sun up, and yet still turned up chipper as anything with her new pride and joy, a gorgeous carbon fibre harp. She sat playing in a howling icy gale while I snapped away, it was wonderful.

Terry Gilliam – Film Director

26th March 2013

I sent Terry the image I shot of his hands, and the next day he sent this one back. Genius.

This isn’t the final image of course, though I rather wish it was. Typical of a man with such a great imagination to have taken my idea and made it much better. I had just ten minutes in a dark stairwell in a Soho editing suite to try to catch Terry’s hands is a suitably whacky way. I’d spent much of the night before making daft shapes with my hands, trying to find something that made me think of Terry Gilliam. This shape seemed to me to be a mixture of the Jabberwocky and the Knights of Ni, perfect for him, and fortunately he got it straight away. He was deep in the edit for his latest film The Zero Theorum and working flat out, so I was very grateful for his time and kindness.

Mike Lindup – Keyboards. Level 42

When will this winder bloody end! It was a cold, grey and basically deeply grim day so I had to shelve my original idea and work with what I had. We shot it in Mike Lindup’s studio at his home in London using what little light deigned to trickle through the window. He has beautifully structured and long fingered hands, much as one would expect for a pianist, and I wanted to try to convey this in the image despite the lack of light. Up went the ISO, and Mike obligingly kept his hand rock steady. It was a really pleasant shoot as he’s such a nice guy, and we chatted about his work and passion for photography over a cup of tea and a biscuit. I’m especially grateful for his comment on the collection to date “After a while it feels like you’re looking at faces”, it’s so gratifying when someone understands what this project is all about.

Sue Arnold – Journalist

12th March 2013

Another bitter but thankfully sunny day. We sat in Sue Arnold’s kitchen talking in hushed tones as her husband was having a kip next door. He runs the delightful Popeseye restaurant, a must to visit if you like your steak, and had been up all night working. As well as being a great journalist Sue also makes the puddings for her husband’s restaurant, many of which sat temptingly on the sideboard. As with so many of my subjects she was buzzing with ideas for other hands, and rang a friend of hers who’s a good mate of Jamie Oliver, sadly not a goer, but very kind for trying. I’m finding chef’s really hard to recruit!

Perry McCarthy – The Stig

Perry aka The Stig (The Original) very kindly agreed to let me photograph his hands at his home in Essex. It was a sub-zero but mostly sunny day, so we were able to shoot inside, even though the light through the window was a little limiting. It was a real joy of a shoot as he’s a great bloke, and was really into the whole project. So much so in fact that he rang up a mate of his there and then, Mike Lindup from Level 42, to get him involved too. And as if that wasn’t enough also said he’d let Nick Mason (Drummer, Pink Floyd) know, who has subsequently agreed which is fabulous. It’s really great when subjects agree to take part of course, but when they come up with ideas and recommendations for other people I’m deeply grateful. Not just for the contacts, but also for the fact that they’re sufficiently enthused about the project to help out. Thanks Perry, you’re a star.

Utterly still. Canon 5DMKIII. 80-200mm 125th F16

7th March 2013

A breathless dawn yesterday on the reservoir near Yeovil. I was actually hunting for an aesthetic jetty or a decent tree, but all I could find was this spray of twigs, which I simply flipped 90 degrees clockwise.

Kim Creswell – Willow Sculptor

5th March 2013

Kim Creswell lives deep in the countryside and is a part of it. Her yard is full of beautiful traditional caravans that she renovates, and her land is proper working land that she works hard. At the time of the shoot she had an injured hand from hedge laying. Her sculptures are quite stunning, as you can see from the one below. Do check out her website, willow sculpture is unique in that it lives, grows and breathes long after Kim has finished creating it.

Kim Creswell – Willow Sculptor. View her website >

John Makepeace – Furniture Designer

4th March 2013

I was rather nervous about shooting John Makepeace for some reason, but I needn’t have worried, he was charming and very accommodating. He has the most beautiful house and grounds that reflect his remarkable body of work and I wanted to capture some of the intricacy of his creations in the shape of his hands. I’m pleased with the result.