Schools
It's school sports day again and thankfully by being given official photographic duties there was no danger of the usual shame and injury risks in the dad's race. This year Skippers Hill pulled out all the stops with a full on Junior Olympic Games, there were real medals and added glamour with presentations by real-life medal winner and olympic mum, Jane Torvill.
My boy Billy Clarke(8) of Skippers Hill School, East Sussex and Joshua(11) and Thomas(8) Mogford of Bickley Park School, Kent with their heavy school bags. These were shot for today's Daily Mail who expose the truth behind school bag heaviness and whats happening to our children's spines.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2144429/Is-childs-school-bag-harming-spine.html
It's all in a day's life at this prep school near Stoke-On-Trent where I've been getting a few pics for their new prospectus. The aptly named headmaster, Mr Copestick, dispensed moral fables at assembly, even tackling that tricky "life" dilemma of why someone has to get picked last for playground teams. There was an art lesson done on iPads, blazing Bunsen Burners and nostalgic smells for me in chemistry as well as a surprisingly tasty lunch of chicken korma, rice and broccoli.
A few shots for the prospectus and website of Brabyns Prep School in Marple, South Manchester. A beautiful little school with fantastic views across the Derbyshire dales and a very keen hands-on headmaster who worked me hard and changed his tie 3 times. It was a fun morning though, thanks Mr Sanders!
I'm just back from Guatemala. An amazing trip, photographing kids and village life for Compassion who are an american charity that organise and promote sponsorship of Third World children. There's hundreds of pictures to edit but I thought I'd start by posting up a few from our visit to the village school, the contrast of which, to my previous post of my own children's school is stark to say the least.
During rainy season and after a wet and at times, hairy 6 hour journey from Guatemala City, we (that's me and a 3 man film crew) arrived on the last day of term at Qeutzali village primary school. Apart from the school having large classes and an absolute lack of any facilities except the enthusiasm of the teachers, what hit me beyond how happy they seamed, was how small the children were. Most of the shots here are from a class of 11 year-olds, nearly all of whom were smaller than my 5 year-old daughter and this is simply due to the fact that they are malnourished and many including 11 year-old Elizabeth (in the white top with pale stripes) survive on just one meal a day. More on Elizabeth in later posts as she was the focus of the story we were there to shoot.
Some shots from last week's visit to Skippers Hill School where I'd been asked to get some pictures for their new prospectus. It's my children's school so it was particularly enjoyable and interesting to sit in on lessons and break-time. After some initial posing and showing off (mainly from the teachers), they mostly ignored me and were fully engaged in study and play.
I couldn’t refuse the opportunity to photograph my daughter’s school ballet class last week. They’re a feisty bunch but with the inspirational and authoritative Mrs Gunn at the helm, they behaved and danced immaculately. I’m not sure exactly why there weren't any Billy Elliotts, their male classmates weren’t involved, but as you can see in the last pic, they were completely transfixed.