2015 Nikon Ambassador
Well then. There's a turn-up for the books.
Before I go any further, I'd like to repeat the announcements made over the tannoy during the last few days that all Ferrero Rocher-based "Ambassador" quips can be deposited in the appropriate recycling bins near the exit. The bins are clearly marked with gold foil. Any recognised puns placed within them will be cleansed, re-used where possible and destroyed inhumanely where necessary.
I'd like to be pretty relaxed about the announcement of my name being added to the roster of photographers on the Nikon Ambassador list but I simply can't. Before I was a photographer, some of you may know that I played drums. I almost added "for a living" until I realised that this would be misleading, as scraping together enough cash for ten tins of Netto beans and a loaf of bread a week is not quite "living". Anyway, if the most insignificant manufacturer of rubber feet for cymbal stands had offered me any formal recognition during these wild years of abandon and long hair (shut it), I'd have been on cloud nine. Fast forward a few years and the iconic camera manufacturer whose products I love has given me a position on their Ambassador team-sheet. Speechless.
It's a huge honour and one that I take very seriously, although I will do my utmost to make sure I don't start wearing a beret, hiring helicopters and scores of beautiful extras for night shoots or generally blabbering on about it at every opportunity.
Since getting my hands on the Nikon D3, I've very happily been a follower of the Black Gold. The kit just goes from strength to strength and their ergonomic design is unbeatable in the SLR world. It's always felt as though they're the only company that actually knows what a human hand looks like.
I'm not usually a cameraporn kind of list person but as this is a special post, I'll run through what's currently in the toolkit. This list comprises both personal gear and AFP-provided staff equipment.
Bodies
Nikon D4s
Nikon D4s
Nikon D3s
Nikon Coolpix A
Lenses
14-24mm f2.8 zoom
16mm f2.8 fisheye
20mm f2.8 prime
24mm f1.4 prime
24-70mm f2.8 zoom
28-300mm f4-5.6 zoom
50mm f1.4G prime
70-200mm II f2.8 zoom
85mm f1.4 prime
300mm f2.8
400mm f2.8
I should really thank some people here so I'd like to start with the whole NPS team at Nikon UK for both their unfailing help whenever I ring at the last minute with some unusual request and for offering me the chance to work with Nikon in this way.
Huge thanks also go to the ever-beautiful Kirsten Mavric for keeping her lips sealed about the fact that all of the pictures that I claim as mine are actually hers. This can be difficult when she has to shave her head, wear a false beard and stand on tip-toes for a dayshift in Downing Street but no-one has rumbled our plan yet.
I gather that photographers on the Nikon Ambassador list are encouraged to speak at the trade shows and events throughout the year so please do come along if you see my name on the listings of one of these types of affairs. I hereby pledge that if I manage to get my act together and speak at one of these events, it will be free of pompous beard-strokery and trumpet blowing.
Now, back to work. This D6s and 16-400mm f1.8 lens combo won't test itself!