Business Photographer of the Year
After twelve months of standing in the rain and cold of London, nothing warms the heart, soul and feet more than the annual press photography awards season. With a whole range of competitions open to photographers of all level, genre and location, there's usually a category suitable for any entrant.
2014 was a surprisingly quiet year for me. My only foreign assignments were to the icy snowcaps of Sochi for the Winter Games and the Royal-heavy D-Day Anniversary events in Normandy and, unlike recent years, London didn't feature that highly on global headlines resulting in quite a tame end-of-year portfolio.
However, in February, I was honoured to be named as the Business Photographer of the Year at the annual Picture Editor's Guild awards in London.
Having been nominated for both the Royal Photographer of the Year and Business Photographer of the Year, I was happy enough to get a free meal but was staggered when I won one of my categories. I was nominated last year for the same category and came away with the wooden spoon so my expectations weren't too high!
Traditionally a decidedly dry subject to photograph, I actually enjoy shooting business features like those that were included in my submission. This is partly due to them invariably being the product of having a little more freedom to find a photo than when shooting breaking news or more conventionally-controlled events.
Of my five entries, only one came from an organised photocall, with British fashion designer Paul Smith attempting to blend into a series of cardboard cut-outs. The rest were all the result of just exploring a subject and finding an image that pleased me, and didn't necessarily fit any pre-imagined idea of what "the picture" should be.
The global "E-Cigarette Summit" in London provided me with two positive things. Firstly, another of my five images thanks to this chap with remarkable facial hair and a decidedly "steampunk" electronic pipe and secondly, the chance to think of as many alternatives for the phrase "e-cigarette" as possible. AFP colleague Robin Millard and I came up with "digi-gaspers", "future-fags", "techno-tabs", "cyber-grout" and "serial vape sticks".
My personal favourite came from the Frieze Masters art fair in central London and shows an art dealer and client negotiating a sale while "The Feast of Absalom" by Matthias Stomer hangs above them, depicting a parallel confrontation with a far more visceral result.
Having the luxury of time to observe the scene, take in the body language and wait for the right moment is something that is all too rare in many news environments.
So in conclusion, I'd like to thank my Mum, my Dad, my osteopath, my harem...