I shot about 220 individual features in 2011. Once the images are given over to the editorial staff, I have little or no say as to how they're used, especially by the designers. My stamp has to be put on my images as I process them and although I can influence the editor's image choice by what I submit to them in the first place, much of what appears in the magazines is chosen by other people.
I have a great working relationship with all my editors but there are some mags that just seem to provide me features that just photograph themselves, whether by luck or by design. Of course, some features are easier than others depending on the weather, the willingness of the subject, or just because it's a great idea. Total Coarse Fishing is one of my favourite mags to work on because I truly am treated as one of the team, being involved in both the generation of feature ideas AND the production of the features out on the bank. That's not to say the other magazines aren't fun to work for - they are - but TCF is one mag that just seems to tick all my boxes.
Anyway, looking through my collection of features I was reminded of some great days and great times with people who've really made my job a pleasure to do, so here are a few examples of what have made it to print over the past few years:
This feature from Total FlyFisher magazine was one that just photographed itself. I joined Hardy & Greys anglers Howard Croston and Ken Brewster up at a lake near Scarborough for a two-day shoot. The brief was simple; photograph everything and anything they do to catch fish over what turned out to be two very different days weather-wise. I probably knocked out about 1,500 shots over those two days, such was the amount of action we had, so there was never going to be room for every good shot. The design is good and reflects the variety of shots I took and overall, it turned into a feature that was well-received by the readers.
One of my favourite spreads ever, this was for Total Coarse Fishing back in late 2009. Duncan Charmon (the angler in the feature) knows some absolutely stunning venues and this was a large lake in Surrey that was blessed with a never-ending supply of autumnal colours on the trees that just went hand-in-hand with our intended target, perch. This WILL be framed one day when I get round to sorting things out.
This is a very recent cover, and another piece of work that has been given really good treatment by the whole team. This cover came about after we had a conference where the idea of mimicking Men's Health magazine was mooted. This particular cover was a hybrid of a regular TCF cover with elements of a lifestyle mag (prominent image, lots of numbers, big straplines). I love it.
When I talk about off-camera flash and how it can make regular subjects look great, this is one spread I point to because of the main image. This was one of those hard-fought features; it was freezing, the fishing was so-so and it was a Friday so everyone wanted to be at home early. I was asked by the journalist to do a self-explanatory main pic relating to the two baits in question (maggots and bloodworm) so I went with a simple composition but used a largish (50cm) soft box positioned really close to the subject with the background dialled down to create some mood.
The main image of this pike fishing article was a shot I was gagging to get, solely because I'd had to put up with blizzards all day and this was literally the last cast before we had to call it a day. Thankfully we managed a mid-double pike and got the shot. This shoot is the same shoot where I got one of my favourite personal shots and all in all, I see it as a well-designed piece that's used the images effectively.
A favourite cover of mine because it just worked and didn't rely on a fish being present in the shot. The day was a doodle anyway - the fish were not shy - but I liked this type of shot as a cover option because it was different. Thankfully, my suggestion to the editor was accepted and it got used - result!
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