Copy that ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a kid, I dreamt of becoming a press photographer. All that exotic foreign travel, all that shoulder-rubbing with the rich and famous. In reality, most of my time was spent taking photographs like this .. the mundane, run-of-the-mill, bread and butter shots that filled a local weekly newspaper. (Faces sell 'papers, as they used to say. I talk about it in my fictional novel Page 99, by Joe Bancroft) ..

I recently unearthed an archive of this 'ordinary' press photography and plan to produce a collection of it to add to my stable of self-published books. (Actually, Faces sell 'papers isn't a bad title, come to think of it!) Anyway, my dream came true (obviously) and it's incredible to think but, back in November 1978, I'd just completed my first ever month as a professional photographer. A mere forty-six years ago, for goodness sake. At least photo-copiers have got smaller ..

Oh, my Lord ..

Well, I never! Now I'm no prude but I got the shock of my life yesterday when I happened to open a newspaper that someone had left in a staff canteen. I was killing time at the supermarket in which I was working and there, beside someone's half-eaten ham butty, was a copy of a UK tabloid. I think it was the Star - not sure - 'cos I haven't looked at one of those rags for a long time and - as I now know - for good reason! Thing is, I briefly scanned the front page story about the guy called Trotter who, apparently, knew he was going to win that disgusting amount of money on the lottery, and turned to the inner pages. There, pointing straight at me, was a pair of tits! Stopped me in me tracks! (Well, it would!) OMG! Do they still do that? Naked girls in the paper? You're kidding! How very 1979!...

Ah!1979! I knew there was a point to this story (Two points, if you'll allow me a pathetic joke!) Sorry, I was getting distracted by breasts! Yes, I was going to tell you about 1979 because, next week, I'm booked to photograph Princess Anne for the first time since I shot her (Oops!) that year. She was opening the new Greater Manchester Police headquarters in Stretford, and you know it's a long time ago 'cos the bloody building's been demolished a year already! I'm thinking it was the first time I'd ever been on a Royal Rota and here I am, the 18 year old version of me as a Press Photographer, all Vivitar flash and Yashica, doing my thing with Annie. Like the Joy Division blog earlier in the week, the realisation has dawned on me that this was 35 years ago! Oh, my Lord..