Thunderbirds are go ..

I had a great day yesterday, working for ITV to promote their new series of 'Thunderbirds'. A fleet of taxis will drive around Manchester this weekend, promoting the show with branding all over their doors, and the idea of the shoot was to get that message across to the local press. I worked with five of the 'Thundercabs', photographing them first at the iconic 'Rovers Return' pub on Coronation Street, and then in front of the spectacular entrance to the mecca of shopping that is Trafford Centre ..

I absolutely love being in charge of a PR shoot like this - having to come up with angles and poses, positioning and lighting - all on my own, from a standing start and all at breakneck speed to get the shots out to the press.
All that, and I got to meet 'Virgil' too ..
FAB!...

Thunderbirds are gone...

And just like that, all my Space Heroes are gone! In 2012 we've already lost Neil Armstrong and Patrick Moore and now - just yesterday - Gerry Anderson. If you're one of my overseas readers I think this blog might not mean much and I apologise but, if you grew up in England in the 60s, there was no doubt that you got your first introduction to space and adventure through his work. I never got to meet the first man on the moon - although I did photograph one of his suits once - and I never got to meet the 'mad professor' Moore who made it such fun to learn about space - although I have got his autograph in the front of a book about the universe - but I did photograph Gerry Anderson - and the real 12 inch Captain Scarlet - when they visited a Manchester Sci-fi convention back in the early 90s. It's because of Gerry Anderson that we all grew up wanting to be astronauts - although, for me, poor eyesight and being sh*t scared of sitting in a capsule on top of a 356 foot bomb put paid to that - and it's because of Gerry Anderson that I got two of my earliest nicknames - viz: Joe 90 and Brains!
Erm, I think you can see why....
FAB Gerry Anderson, FAB.....