Fire Fighters Spirit Of Fire Awards 2010

This was a job that i did not hesitate to take! I was asked to cover the Fire Fighters - Spirit Of Fire Awards. I would be the official photographer for the organisers. The day was split into 2 events. In the morning was a shoot at Number 10 Downing Street and the evening was covering the awards ceremony at Wembley Stadium.

Its not everyday that you go to Downing Street (see pic!) , so it was amazing that I had to shoot the special reception held in the Number 10 garden for all the nominees of the Spirit Of Fire Awards. Unfortunately David Cameron could not be there due to the shootings in Cumbria, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles stepped in. I was very happy with the group shot as it took a long time to organise and it was bloody hot!

The second part of the day was at Wembley for the awards ceremony. The annual awards organised by the Fire Fighters Charity, recognise the remarkable bravery of the UK's fire and rescue service over the past year in eleven categories including Firefighter of the year, won by Simon Hawkins, the first firefighter in Europe to return to full duties with a prosthetic limb.

Entertainer Bruce Forsyth, politician Ken Livingstone, broadcaster Esther Rantzen, Falklands war veteran Simon Weston plus loads of other celebrities were at the event. My job was to cover the winners and celebrities. Hearing the stories of the bravery of the firefighters made me feel honoured to be in the same room as these guys!

Here are a few pics from the day and night

Firefighter of the year Simon Hawkins

Legends Bruce Forsyth and Barry Cryer

Charley Boorman

Simon Westen and Sturat Maconie present Rebecca Williamson, from Edinburgh a bravery award on behalf of her brotherEwan, who died tackling a blaze in July.

Esther Rantzen and Anna Williamson with Child Public Hero award winner - Tyler Hoplin, who helped rescue six children from a burning house.

Cliff Parisi AKA Minty!

Wolf and Lamb DJ Mag Cover

Check it out, will hit the shops tomorrow. I am happy how the cover turned out  and the guys were great to work with.

The feature that I did with James Zabiela in Dublin is also in this issue

Dave Spoon and Scott Antrill On Location

Had a great day on location in Portsmouth, shooting 2 DJs. We shot Dave Spoon in ther morning in a new venue in the city Kraken Wakes. It had some cool decor and we got some great shots. In the afternoon we went down to Fort Nelson to photograph Scott Antrill. There were some amazing locations set above and under the fort, in the tunnels. I am very happy how everything looked.  I have to edit them down now, but here are a couple of pics that my assistant (Ted Park) took on his trusty Iphone whist we were shooting.

Marina And The Diamonds

Marina and The Diamonds is an artist that will be massive for 2010. I was looking forward to this gig for ages as I have her album The Family Jewels . The gig did not disappoint. It was at the Old Fire Station in Bournemouth, the venue was really small and cosy. I managed to get some great images. Loved the UV lighting for the first track and she had loads of energy on stage. After the 3 songs that we allowed to shoot I stayed and enjoyed the gig.  I was shooting for I Like Music

Upcoming Shoots

Sorry not been blogging that much lately, but it has been mental. In the next few week I will be updating the site with loads of new images. In the mean time check out a sneak peek at a couple of shoots that I have been working on. DJ mag cover with New York's Wolf and Lamb, who dressed up in some great costumes. Also Shogun Audio, which was with all the artists on the Brighton based drum and bass label.

Miami 2010

I was commissioned to shoot at the Winter Music Conference in Miami for DJ Mag. I had a great week and managed to cover loads of parties. The pics below are from The DJ Mag party at the Shelborne Hotel, which featured such DJs as Eric Prydz, Steve Lawler, Sharam, Way Out West, SOS, Dennis Ferrer and Nic Fanciulli. It was an amazing day and some excellent music played!

Whist I was there a press conference was called to announce that superstar DJ Luciano would be taking over Sunday nights at Pacha in Ibiza, this is massive news and will change Sundays on the island for sure!

I also managed to get on the James Zabiela boat party. The boat was three story cruiser, which held about 400 people. Luckily the weather was amazing and great sets from Tiefschwarz, Timo Mass and Zabiela made it a perfect afternoon.

More pics will be seen in next months DJ mag so look out for it.

Jamie T

This was a gig that was rescheduled from last year and was my first of 2010. Really up for it crowd and very loud. Some of my other photographer friends had warned me that at Jamie T gigs the crowd are encouraged to throw bottles of urine at the photo pit. I did get hit a few times with something, but it smelt of beer (I hope it was anyway). I was shooting for ilikemusic.com