UK News

from Photographers Blog:

A Royal prayer to the weather gods

It can't be very often that I have the same thought as Prince William, or indeed his fiance Kate Middleton. But after today's visit to Darwen in northern England I'm sure there was at least one point, as the rain bounced off the pavement, that we were all thinking the same thing; I hope the weather is better than this on the 29th!

It was billed as the couples last public engagement before the big day and myself and Reuters colleague Darren Staples had arrived at our separate venues early in the morning to set up and claim our positions.

Security and competition from other photographers means the call time is usually at least a couple of hours before the VIP's arrival. This is fine when the weather is on your side, but after a gloriously sunny weekend England's famed April showers chose today to put in an appearance and soaked us to the bone.

When covering football as a photographer you are always prepared for sudden changes in the weather, but protocol dictates that waterproof trousers and hiking boots aren't usually de rigeur for royal visits and smart attire is neither comfortable or waterproof.

from Photographers Blog:

Yes, my job really is this glamorous

When people ask me what I do for a living, or they hear tales from my wife about me being away at the Olympics or shooting football or golf or a Papal visit somewhere, the usual response is to tell me how glamorous my job is, rubbing shoulders with all these famous sporting and political icons and how lucky I am to get to attend all these events and call it work!

Granted, I am incredibly lucky to have an office that regularly includes Premier League football grounds and other major sporting events, but glamorous......not a word I would often use, and last night was a perfect case in point.