My other passion starting in my university days and continuing to this day are endulging in the joys of a good whisky, wether straight, with a drop or two of water and sacrilegiously to a Scotsman, even with ice!!

I am lucky to know Paul Flatts whose business Whisky Drams finds and acquires for whisky connoisseurs fine and rare bottles of whisky. He holds a range of Whisky tasting events in selected pubs in Chelsea and Mayfair in London where he pairs whiskies from all over the world with a variety of foods whilst enlightening those present with the both the history of the whiskies offered and the subtleties of how they can best be appreciated through all the senses, on their own, with water etc. and how different combinations produce different results – and I go along to photograph it all, whilst participating too! Joy!

I show below a selection of photos taken at the famous Punch Bowl pub in Mayfair a week before one such dinner whilst preparing for it with the chef and staff and then on the night itself, celebrating an Alternative Burns Night, all with the Leica M9 and Elmarit M 21mm F2.8 lens and the fabulous Noctilux 50mm F1.0, lenses.

If you would like to participate in a Whisky Drams tasting please contact Paul Flatts directly on paul.f@whiskydrams.co.uk

In recent months I have worked in three very different environments, with Gregory Mandry of Big Yellow Feet, a corporate video production company. In brief, I have been taking various “making of” pictures, with regard to videos he has been producing for his clients. And these pictures are for a variety of purposes including staff training, employee awards schemes and internal communications.

Working separately from Gregory, I created and shot still life set-up scenes from his videos, portraits, and very specific images to be used as full size cutouts, internal /external posters… oh, and fly sheets. It has involved some 8am to 8pm shoots, working to a tight schedule with detailed and often fast changing scenarios. I interacted with a lot of very different people from Managing Directors to Actors; Croupiers; Chefs; Doormen; Sound Recordists; Waiters… all of whom have to be made at ease in front of the camera. It’s exhausting but rewarding work, made easier by the sheer professionalism of everyone involved. Here, I am showing a small selection of the 100’s of pictures taken.

Kit-wise, I used my trusty Nikon D800 (which creates large detail packed files to meet the needs of demanding corporate environments) plus a range of Nikon and Sigma lenses; my Elinchrom studio lights; and time and time again my Gary Fong Lightsphere II comes up trumps, creating great light in even the most challenging situations!

Published February 2016