Her Majesty, The Queen ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm proud to say I was once the 'official' photographer to The Queen. I was covering an event in London's Hyde Park, at which only one photographer was allowed to take photographs for the sponsor. This was 1989, long before digital photography, and I was shooting on both 35mm and a Mamiya 645 120 roll film camera. I'd love to be able to show you the results, but the client insisted on taking my negatives, and I've never seen them since! ..

What I can show you is this rather odd photograph, taken in about 1975. I was fourteen or fifteen, and had learnt that Her Majesty would be passing down the motorway on a Royal visit to the area. I snuck out of school, positioned myself ready for the moment and .. well, thank God that lamp-post wasn't another two feet to the right! ..

I'm not a Royalist and, despite having photographed many of the Royal Family over my years as a press photographer, I still begrudge having to kow-tow to people who are only in their privileged positions because of ancestry. However, today's a day to stop and reflect, and to think of the amazing years of service given by Queen Elizabeth. May she rest in peace .. 

God Saved The Queen ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, she made it! Seventy years on the throne and good luck to ya, missus! Can't say I'm a big fan of The Royals, though I WAS once rather chuffed to be the sole photographer allowed to cover an event with The Queen in 1989. (I don't own a single shot from the event .. the client insisted on taking all the negatives and says now they have no idea where they might be!) So, enjoy your four-day holiday UK, and here are a couple of photographs from the 1977 Silver Jubilee, taken when I was a mere stripling of sixteen. (That's my sister, in her bedroom!) 

God Saved The Queen!..

God Save 'er ..

Today's the day the Queen clocks on for overtime. She's now the longest serving UK monarch ever, ever, ever...

I was lucky enough to be chosen to be the 'Official Photographer' for a visit by the Queen once. She was opening a 'Festival of Food and Farming' in London's Hyde Park in, I think, 1994, and I got the PR 'gig' to go down and shoot it. I was the only photographer allowed into the sponsor's marquee to photograph her as she toured around the stands. Those, of course, were the dim, dark days of film - no looking at the camera back to check your shots in those days - but that was absolutely normal and although I was nervous I didn't think anything of it. I was a professional photographer and I knew what to do to make sure the shots were good ones..

That's more than can be said for the first time I photographed Her Maj! Then I was a spotty sixteen year old who sneaked out of work to grab this shot of her as she sped down the M63 in Eccles on her way to some posh party or something during her 1977 Silver Jubilee Year. This picture was probably taken on my old Zenith EM camera and all I can say is I was damned lucky that bloody lamp-post is where it is or I'd have failed miserably in my efforts!..

Keep on truckin', Liz ...

What I did at the weekend...

The sun was out yesterday and so were the snowdrops, looking lovely in the park. The sight brought out the photography enthusiasts, too .. although I'm not so sure about one couple I saw who both had huge tripods with little compact cameras stuck on top - in that light! They either had the DTs from Saturday night or shot everything at f22! Anyway, I was in the park to shoot an engagement portrait for Laura and Chris, which they'll use as a Signing Board at their Wedding at Thornton Hall Hotel in April. Can't wait to get cracking on their Big Day!..

I was on the verge of selling my old Mamiya RZ 67 gear this weekend. It's a medium-format camera that I used to use for Weddings and magazine shoots, but I haven't used any of it for at least five or six years. I have bodies, backs, lenses, viewfinders .. the works! Trouble was, I looked at the prices the gear's going for online, and put it all straight back in the case. I couldn't insult such fantastic equipment by letting it go for such painfully low return. I now have some of the most expensive ornaments known to mankind and, unless someone can lend me £25K for a digital back, it's likely to stay that way for a very long time!

I hope Her Maj is feeling a little better after her bout of Gastroenteritis. I remember back in the 90s when I got the commission to shoot her at a three-day event in Hyde Park and, naturally, the adrenalin was a' flowin'! "Don't be nervous.." my old Dad told me "She's just a normal person like the rest of us. Try to imagine her on the toilet!..."

On that note ...