A Monkey's Revenge - My Blog
Everything stops for tea
It's a very good English custom, though the weather be cold or hot. When they need a little pickup, you'll find a little teacup Will always hit the spot....in the words of Jack Buchanan who sang 'Everything Stops for Tea' in an impeccable English accent, despite him being a Scotsman. Almost everyone offers a cup of tea or coffee on arrival at a shoot, especially if I've driven a long way to get there. Notable exceptions include an ultra religious Yorkshire farmer who sat and drank his and ate his breakfast while I waited at 5 am after a horribly early start. Also a titled gentleman who kept me waiting 2 hours whilst entertaining guests to lunch in his stately pile. From tea in a fine bone china cup during an interview with Lady Hesketh, mint tea in Morocco to chai and samosas with Kashmiri terrorists, I've usually accepted the offering gratefully as it always seems rude to me not to. Where is the strangest place you have partaken of the national beverage?
Copyright-cheque please!
I hereby licence these photos for any use in any known or unknown galaxy for the rest of eternity. Any first born shall become the licensee's property, although no sending them up chimneys or stuff like that....... You can LICENSE photos and agree favourable terms for both you AND the photographer. You DON'T need to demand copyright!! If I go to a restaurant and buy a meal, I don't expect the chef to give me the recipe and perhaps all his/her raw ingredients.......maybe a mind transfer so that I can replicate the dish exactly the same as they did. Perhaps insist they hand over their kitchen equipment..... Next time I want a similar wonderful meal, I'm gonna have to go back to their restaurant and pay out for another meal. Simples really! Good for their business and self esteem, and good for me to leave them to their expertise and creativity without any interference from me. Share the love and don't demand copyright from photographers because some numpty has decided that is required of you- it isn't!
Clockwise
Phew! I've had a busy week and it continues today with editing images for the Waitrose job I did on Thursday. I can't talk about that yet, so here are two images from The Feathers Hotel where I nipped in for a breakfast cuppa as I arrived an hour too early. I'm a bit like John Cleese in the film Clockwise- a time botherer. That M42 around Brum can be deadly for delays, but when it's working everything drives around it like a well oiled machine. I only saw 3 couples in the magnificent hotel dining area with it's beautiful crystal glass chandeliers and curiosities like the models of a bloke in a straw hat and the black swan with a guilded beak in the fireplace. Being a cheapskate and short of time I paid for the coffee,(£2.90- a bargain for a posh hotel!), and bought a chocolate croissant from the nearby Greggs bakery which had opened up early. Sad to hear that next week we may all be in another national lockdown and hotels like 'The Feathers' are bound to take an economic bashing. #commercialphotographer #editorialphotographer #photography #johnrobertsonphotography
Greenkins are my delight
Pumpkin sales are on the up this year despite the pandemic. I even have a few here, although I confess they are left-overs from the shoot I did for Waitrose to illustrate their new 'Greenkin' variety. Our grandson was the model and what a little star! We ran out of time to actually carve a pumpkin so I left the carving kit I'd bought with his mum as some of the specialist tools looked rather lethal! Are you carving a pumpkin for your window/door this year or do you dissaprove of the whole thing like some of my ultra-religious neighbours? Don't waste the carved out flesh and seeds is you do carve one- there are lots of delicious recipes you can use it with. #commercialphotographer #photography #editorialphotographer #johnrobertsonphotography
Out of the box thinking
Thinking outside of the box. Or in this particular case, inside the violin. I photographed this violin restorer for The Guardian. He had the time to think whilst a patient for a stomach procedure in hospital. He worked out that if he could get hold of an endoscope he could perform 'keyhole surgery' on high end priceless violins without having to take them apart. Genius! #commercialphotographer #editorialphotographer #johnrobertsonphotography #photography
