December 26, 2009

Icy Waters

Working in an unpredictable and fluid industry, I'm never sure what to expect from the day or week ahead. Anything can change at a moment's notice- often to the detriment of a social life! Sometimes, a day or week can turn out to be a real highlight as something enjoyable comes along.

This was not one of those weeks. It has been one of the coldest winters in living memory, and unfortunately this week I was witness to two incidents of dead bodies being pulled out from icy waters. Spending the day at the scene of a search can be draining- not knowing what will be found or where, and ultimately hoping that the missing person will show up alive.

The first was at Brightwell Lakes near Northampton where two bodies, of friends on a fishing trip, were found on 21/12/2009.



Picture of police divers published on the front of The Daily Mirror the following morning.

Boxing Day was extremely grim. I was on my way to photograph a staple of British eccentricity- Barrel Rolling, in a small Cambridgeshire village. A call came in from the office "A 13 year old boy has gone missing from Bishops Stortford on Christmas Eve, so can you do some shots of the site he went missing from on the way to the Barrel Rolling?" Having taken those pictures, I then stuck around to photograph the search teams whilst talking to locals and trying to find out more about the missing boy- Jordan Trowsdale.

Numerous hours later, with the boy's friends gathered together and his mother wandering distraught around the park, police divers found a body half a mile down the river and everybody's worst fears were confirmed. The young boy had drunk a few cans of cider with his friends, and then walked home alone- slipping on the frozen path next to the river. Being party to the process made it a difficult experience to 'leave at work'.


Detectives stand with the body of Jordan Trowsdale.

December 01, 2009

Rescued Seal Pups

I visited the RSPCA Centre in East Winch, Norfolk, where there has been an influx of seal pups separated from their parents in the Northumbria floods. Expecting to take a cute picture of a group of baby seals together, I showed up and was changed into a white protective suit and boots- to protect myself from the seals biting me, and to protect my clothes from the intense smell of fish in the air.

Hopes of a picture showing numerous distressed but lovable young seals were quickly dashed, as the seals were in solitary confinement- and they also didn't look so young to me. I spent about half an hour taking pictures, trying to avoid being bitten, and attempting to ignore the smell. Pictures were published in The Daily Mail, The Metro and The Times.


Thanks to the lady from the RSPCA for this one.

A pup named 'Glaven Vet', roughly 5 weeks old, and (below) being fed.




October 07, 2009

Pygmy Hedgehogs

I received a call from the office "You're off to do some cute pictures of pygmy hedgehogs, they're like regular hedgehogs but much smaller and they range in colour from white to dark brown. So if you could do a picture with them all lined up from lightest to darkest, that'd be great."

Well, pygmy hedgehogs don't sit still for pictures- in fact they do the opposite and run amok. So I focused on portraying the diminutive size of the animal, rather than trying to organise a colour-based line up and hope they sit still and smile at the right moment!

The pictures were used well in nearly every British newspaper, as well as magazines and newspapers in Germany and Poland.




Having spent hours trying to get the hedgehogs to sit still enough for a photo, the owner's (a teenage girl) mother came home. The mother remarked on how "sexy" my name was, which would have been less awkward if she hadn't repeated it, and if her husband wasn't standing next to me. She loved my name and said that she'd name the hedgehog in the egg-cup Blake.

The next day I was watching BBC news, who ran a feature on the pygmy hedgehogs on the back of the massive coverage in the newspapers. I couldn't help but laugh when the presenter lifted her hand, with the pygmy hedgehog in it, and said something like "pygmy hedgehogs like Blake here are very much growing in popularity". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8300124.stm

Page 3 of Metro.

September 23, 2009

Tanvir the Tiger

Tanvir, a Bengal tiger at Noah's Ark Zoo in Bristol, climbed up his 5m activity tower and was too scared to come down. Tanvir tarnished the fearless reputation of the tiger by spending over 24 hours stuck at the top of the tower, before finally mustering the courage to come down for food.



September 08, 2009

One Taste Festival 09

One Taste, a bastion of thriving creativity in the fields of music and spoken word. Along with numerous gigs held throughout the year, festival tours and compilation releases, One Taste puts on their own festival each year- it's a great day out for music lovers.

Here are some pictures from the One Taste Festival held at The Bedford in Balham, headlined by Newton Faulkner.




To find out more about One Taste, go to www.onetaste.co.uk

September 07, 2009

Jerusalem

In Israel for the wedding of two great friends, I got to spend a day or two in Jerusalem- a city I love to explore.




September 01, 2009

Stacey Lawrence Murder

I was at the Police HQ in Northampton this morning, in order to take a copy (known as a collect photograph) of a handout picture of a young girl named Stacey Lawrence, who was found strangled to death in a lorry belonging to her mother's boyfriend- and also to take some pictures of the press conference itself.

The conference room was full to the brim, this particularly horrid chain of events garnering many column inches in the national press. Detective Chief Inspector Tricia Kirk addressed the room, and held up the picture of Stacey for the waiting photographers to copy.




August 28, 2009

Reading Festival 2009

Reading Festival... a massive event with all the major press agencies and many newspapers represented. This year I had access to the main stage for the two days I was there- which was incredible. My brief however, was to look for pictures that perhaps other photographers wouldn't find- not to submit similar pictures to anyone else. Here are a couple of those...

Where's Wally?

Florence and the Machine, with some fans in the VIP area.

Now for the music. The experience of being a Main Stage photographer at a large festival is electric- harnessing the full force of energy from the crowd to the performer, and from the performer to the crowd- I found myself standing on a step ladder in the middle of the two. At Reading, you also expect the occasional shoe being thrown forward from the crowd- or even a bottle full of what many optimistically hope is beer, even though the liquid smells more like a gents' urinal than a pub. Add to that the constant stream of young people being pulled out from the front of a packed crowd by the security team, many fainting or unable to stand up, and it creates have an intense atmosphere.

It is common practice that the 'pit photographers' can only stand in position for the first three songs- so there is always pressure to get a decent shot early on. Here are some shots from both the Main Stage and the Radio 1 Stage...


Jesse 'Boots Electric' Hughes from the Eagles of Death Metal.

Jack Penate.

Florence and the Machine.

The legendary Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), playing with Them Crooked Vultures.

Maximo Park.


Alex Turner of The Arctic Monkeys.

On the Saturday night, I had one of the most electrifying experiences of my career (and life) so far- The Prodigy. In the build up to their set, as the sun was setting, I stood on my step ladder in front of the centre of the stage, watching thousands of people jostle for position, faint, throw beach balls in the air, throw bottles in the air and throw their friends in the air. The atmosphere turned extremely dark- The Prodigy are threatening to look at, and pulsating to listen to. For as far as I could see there were silhouettes of crowd surfers, and the rate of people at the front of the crowd fainting per minute was insane. I turned to the photographer next to me to ask if he had photographed them before, and if so, whether he had any advice. He said "Keith Flint will run around, he may jump off the stage- the lights will be every mad colour, and there'll be strobes everywhere and probably loads of smoke. You won't know where you are. Just take as many shots as you can in fifteen minutes and hope for the best!" Here are a couple of my efforts...






More pictures from Reading Festival 2009 can be seen on my website...
www.blakeezracole.com

August 12, 2009

Wellington College Swim

I was off to Wellington College in Crowthorne today- where staff and student swimming teams were preparing to race each other across the English Channel for charity. The college wanted some eye grabbing images for their own promotional material and also to garner wider interest in the event- maximising charitable donations and prestige for the school.


August 04, 2009

Chessington Adventures PR

A few PR pictures at Chessington World of Adventures today- where I was on assignment to produce specific images for new posters and magazines.

Kids make the rules at Chessington.

A capybara, the world's largest rodent.

Family fun for Halloween.

July 20, 2009

The Queen Swan Upping

Swan Upping is the annual ceremonial activity in which swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, marked and then released. This was the first occasion on which a reigning monarch had viewed the events- the Queen following the ceremony in a steam boat.



July 02, 2009

Henley Regatta

Some images from the Henley Regatta in South Oxfordshire today- an annual event of rowing, drinking Pimms and enjoying the river.