"Brendan at the Chelsea" Rehearsal shots for the Lyric Theatre

Brendan at the Chelsea starring Adrian Dunbar at the Naughton Studion in the Lyric Theatre. Based on the Irish legend that was Brendan Behan staying at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC during the 1960's. Another fantastic production by the Lyric in Belfast, if you have not seen it there is still a chance to catch it until the 19th June!

The Crucible at the Lyric Theatre

I was recently commissioned to photograph the fantastic production of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' at the brand new Lyric Theatre here in Belfast. A brilliant version of this famous play, directed by Conall Morrison with a stunning set by Sabine Dargent.

The cast are amazing in this powerhouse of a play, although 3 hours long, not a second is dull and the drama zips by at a frenetic pace. If you have the chance I strongly urge you to go and see it!

Comic Relief - Red Nose Day

Comic Relief asked me to shoot Jedward.



With a camera...


Actually it was great fun, the boys were mad as a box of frogs, and the kids at the school loved them to bits and had a brilliant time. It was utter chaos, but great to photograph. The school had written to Comic Relief asking if it would be possible for Jedward to visit, a bit like 'Jim'll Fix It' if you're my age and remember that.

They burst into the school hall to a stunned audience who started screaming immediately, Jedward then proceeded to create complete anarchy, eventually the teachers regained some form of order and they had a space hopper race which was surprisingly competitive! (I think Jedward really wanted to win!!)

All for Red Nose Day which is today, so if you feel like donating go to their site at

https://www.rednoseday.com/donate

Matt Smith in 'Christopher and His Kind'

Last year I worked on the BBC drama 'Christopher And His Kind' about Christopher Isherwood, who's book 'Goodbye To Berlin' the film/stageshow 'Cabaret' is based on.

Shot here in Northern Ireland and starring Matt Smith as Christopher Isherwood it dramatizes his experiences in 1930's Berlin. It's being screened this Saturday (19th March) at 9.30pm on BBC2 and will be worth a watch!

This was a great project to work on, as the costumes and makeup were stunning, especially on Imogen Poots and we had some fabulous locations to recreate 30's Berlin. I love photographing period dramas!

I finally got my first cover of the Radio Times, and a fairly decent spread inside. It's quite ironic really as in the past I have twice nearly got a cover of the Radio Times only to be bumped on both occasions by 'Dr Who', which is of course played by Matt Smith!!

The cover was shot in my studio, and art directed by Jo O'Leary from the BBC. One of the hardest things about being a stills photographer on a film is getting access to the actors as time is always so tight. We decided to shoot the background in-situ on set and then Matt in the studio against a plain background as we would have more time to light it and ultimately more time with him.

Titanic - The Mission

Channel Four commissioned me to photograph a recent program they were producing called 'Titanic The Mission'.

It follows four volunteers as they try to reconstruct different details from the famous ship. They were filming all over the UK, but part of that was of course here in Belfast where they were reconstructing a scaled section of the bow.
We had to wait until the film crew had their lunch to get the portraits done as it was impossible during filming.

The guys were great, they reminded me of a pop group, and I think I shot them with that in mind. Loved the big props lying around like the sledge hammer and massive spanner!



I was very happy to get the cover of the DVD edition!

Rhys Ifans

This is going back a bit, April 1999, or there about, photographing the brilliant and slightly mad Rhys Ifans for The Daily Telegraph. I had only seen him in Twin Town at that point, which I thought was a brilliant film, and he was about to appear as Spike in the film 'Notting Hill' hence the reason for the photo shoot.

The location was in some rented apartments in central London, I'll always remember how he greeted me when I arrived :

"Alright mate, my name's Rhys, the mini bar is over there, help yourself!!"

I knew straight away we were going to get along.

So as on a lot of the shoots I had a quick look around and set up my lights whilst he finished his interview with the journalist.

He turned out to be brilliant, full of energy and up for doing anything! What a joy to photograph compared with a lot of other actors. It was all a bit of a blur, as we rushed about my chosen locations in the 15 mins I had to complete the shoot. He was even happy to jump into the bath for a shot, what a great man!!

The shot that worked best for me was taken on the roof terrace, I really didn't need to prompt him much he pretty much just went mad in front of the camera as you can see from the contact sheets that I've scanned, but I was really pleased with this picture, as it pretty much sums Rhys up. Lovely chap, mad as a box of frogs.