Village People

A few local people from Quetzali, near San Marcos in the San Pedro district of Guatemala, the tiny village I've just returned from. I was mainly taking pictures of the children who benefit from the local church project sponsored by the american charity, Compassion. As with most strong communities the women seemed to be at its it's heart, cooking, teaching and looking out for the children, most of whom survive in the most basic accommodation with little to eat. The few men I met including the gent in the hat here, worked by the river breaking stones with a sledgehammer and loading them into truck. Proper back-breaking work but they are entertained by the man in the blue shirt who turned out to also be the local clown and showed us a few tricks including this umbrella "illusion".

More about sponsoring children through Compassion here: http://www.compassionuk.org/

At School In Guatemala

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.

At School In East Sussex

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.

Dummies

Recently inspired to just get out there on the streets and take some pictures, I couldn't resist these department store mannequins who were facing away from the shop window. I'm not sure if this was simply easier for the window dressers as they organised their outfits or if there was a more complex motive aimed at sparing the blushes of us prudish Tunbridge Wells folk. It does seem to create an intriguing image though and one that is far more interesting than the safe autumn fashions that they are now modelling.

Taxi!

The wife and kids in the back of our new vehicle, Betsy an old green London cab that we inherited from Uncle Jeff. As well as having a certain cachet and a connection back to London town for us country dwellers, It's turned out to be a perfect mode or transport. There's lots of space for children, shopping and bikes, it's fairly economical, safe, solid and heavy and although it's far from speedy, other drivers generally keep out of your way. Best of all though, and what other car can do this? You can close the partition window and happily shut yourself off from those noisy passengers!

Star Jumper

This is 7-year-old Sam MacDonald at home in East Sussex. His mum wanted a fun portrait perhaps with their pet labrador. However, Pippa the dog wouldn't play ball so Sam, who likes lego, took over art direction duties and we worked together to get this lively jumping shot.

The Ladies Of Trouser Mountain

These are a couple of test shots for an exhibition idea on charity shop volunteers. Norma is the seated manager and Laura who is standing and dwarfed by a pile of unwanted garments is one of her many able volunteers. This is the backstage sorting room at Oxfam in Tunbridge Wells where they go through tons of unwanted clothes, toys and various household goods and decide what is and isn't worth moving downstairs to the shop. In these recessionary times, the charity shop continues to thrive and in my opinion is far more worthy of a visit than all the usual high street names that are more popular with looters. Watch this space for more on charity shopping and their volunteer workers.

Licensed To Wed

Some shots from the most glamourous of weddings. It was last weekend at the Villa del Balbianello on the shore of Lake Como in Italy which had previously been the star location of James Bond's Casino Royale and was now hosting the wedding of Nikki and Kevin Johns. They are an english couple who reside in Australia and they had, without much difficulty, persuaded their friends and family to celebrate their union and have a bit of a holiday at this fabulous italian location. What a great idea, and as I was able to bring my wife as my assistant and add a couple of days of child-free R&R to the trip, it turned out to be the most fantastic assignment. Nicola was a great help, even though she was more than a little distracted by the fact that George Clooney lived locally and could, at any moment, cruise past on his motorbike or be sat at a lakeside cafe sipping espresso and eager to chat to excited tourists.

Wedding Fest

Some pics from Haidee and Alex Hudson's recent wedding. It was a traditional english village church affair that slowly morphed into a mini glastonbury with tent-based accommodation for many of the guests. After the religious formalities and posed pictures outside Hadlow Down church in East Sussex, it was all back to a marquee on the village green for some very funny speaches, dinner and a surprisingly wild and funky performance from a band made up of Alex's best men.

Sit-Up Comedy

Part 2 in the series "Keep Fit With Impressionists" is more comedy exercise from comedienne and actress, Ronni Ancona. She invited me to capture an outdoor work-out in Kensington Gardens with her personal trainer Chris and a pilates session with David. I'm not sure exactly what qualifications these "handsome young men" need to have to help ladies exercise but perhaps it's a career area I should have looked into a few years back.

Always worth a look. Ronni's Andie McDowell shampoo advert: Ronni on YouTube

A Civil Function

A few shots from Tom Hodge’s 70th birthday party at a his home near Wittersham in Kent. A thoroughly civilised affair, Tom’s friends and family were treated to champagne in the garden and a leisurely lunch followed by a tea dance with a jazz band in the marquee. I was lurking paparazzi-style around the property and playing back the pictures as I shot them through a projector, an equally satisfying and frustrating situation as although I could see I’d got a few ok shots, it leaves no time for the all important editing process.

Primary Ballerinas

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.