Goldie at Home

It's not every day I get to meet someone who was in one of my favourite films of all time, but today on commission for The Sun I went to the home of the man whose character (he basically played himself) was described in the movie Snatch as a "bad boy yardie". That's right- I was off to do a portrait session with legendary gold-toothed DJ, Goldie. Not the least intimidating person on earth.

It turned out to be a brief but interesting shoot, and Goldie turned out to be a lovely and very intelligent chap. I had a cup of tea, met his dogs, and for some reason told him he needed to get his couch reupholstered!

Stonehenge Solstice 2009

I was at Stonehenge for summer Solstice through the night- hoping for an iconic shot of the sun rising behind Stonehenge, creating a beautiful silhouette of this most mythical structure surrounded by thousands of druid pilgrims. In the end, the druids were sparse and the sky was so muggy that there was no sunrise! Here are a couple of shots anyway...

Charity Theft

A shocking story today- an 11 year old girl called Rio Hamblin recently died of stomach cancer. At the wake held in her memory, mourners donated money towards St George's Hospital in Rio's honour. John Lewendon, a family friend who was asked to look after the donation tin then stole the money from inside.

I started off the day outside Slough Magistrates Court, looking for Lewendon, who was sentenced to pay £100 in compensation and to 150 hours unpaid work. I then made my way to the pub where the wake was held, The Admiral Cunningham, and finally on to the family home to see Rio's mother, Zoe.

Sometimes photographing people without their permission can be a tricky business, both practically and morally. This one however was truly enjoyable- identifying this man in the national press can be seen as the additional part of his sentence.

Zoe sits on a bench in a new area of her garden, called 'Rio's Garden', in memory of her daughter.

Royal Ascot 2009

I spent a few hours at the most famous race meeting in the world today, Royal Ascot- where hats, horses, drinking, betting and celebrity hob-nobing become one.

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.

Designer Isabella Kristensen meets the photographers.

The Royal Family make their way into the Royal Enclosure.

Princess Beatrice.

A race-goer studies the odds.

Lewis Hamilton Filming

A call came in from The Sun today, who had heard that Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton was filming a new advert for Vodafone in a quiet Berkshire town near Reading.

I drove down to Crowthorne in a style befitting of a racing champion, eager not to miss out on the action, yet with no idea of precisely where the filming was taking place. Luckily enough, the filming was easy enough to find and I caught the last twenty minutes or so. Also present was Lewis' team partner, Heikki Kovalainen.

The fake taxi office used for the advert provided a nice backdrop for racing drivers- signs reading 'Nippy Cars' and 'Driver Wanted'.