Harry Patch at the age of 107

Canon EOS 1D mark II, EF 50m.  1/50sec @ f2.8, 200iso.

I’ve just heard the sad news that the last survivor of the First World War Harry Patch has died at the age of 111.
I was fortunate to have photographed Harry on several occasions and he always went out of his way to make sure I got some great pictures.
I took this photograph as he celebrated his 107th Birthday at his care home in Somerset. What a great man.

Troops march through Colchester

I braved the pouring rain to photograph the 16 Air Assault brigade marching through Colchester Town centre following their recent return from Afghanistan.
As well as getting some shots of the troops marching I was on the look out for any Muslim protesters, as a Muslim extremist group disrupted a recent march in Luton. There were no disruptions so I found a great position up on the Town Hall balcony and got some nice frames as they marched towards me.

The crowds brave the terrible weather

Canon EOS 5D mark II, EF 200m.  1/500sec @ f5.6, 1000iso.

Witch Doctor John Odima

My portrait of a Witch Doctor made it in to the final edit of this year’s Press Photographers Year competition.  146 photographs were selected from 7,877 so I am delighted.

I shot the picture of the 91-year-old Witch Doctor John Odima in Kogelo in Kenya for the Sun. The witch lives in President Obama’s ancestral home and claims that he helped Obama to become the next President of the United States.
Sun reporter Oliver Harvey and I went to visit him in his tiny mud hut. He had chicken feet hanging from his roof, a live toad in a bucket and other dead animals including a rat. I used the small amount of available light from a window and got him wearing his hat, I then asked him to place his hands on his cheeks and open his mouth. He was slightly mad and with his crooked teeth I couldn’t have asked for a better subject. I shot about twenty frames at 6400 ISO at 15th of a second and only two were sharp. There wasn’t much time to photograph the witch as many locals started to gather outside his home. A lot of them had various problems and were desperate for the Doctor to help them.
The picture can be seen at the Press photographers Year exhibition at the London’s National Theatre from July 4th until August 31st.

The Exhibition at the National Theatre