Raves & Rants . . from Penzance

Dear Reader As ever, it has been a long time since I last typed words into the ether, however this time I have a proper excuse. A right royal one, even.  Earlier in the year I took a call about photographing some people who would be visiting the area later in the year. 'Would love to,'  I said, 'Who are they?' 'Umm, we can't say at the moment', the caller replied. We talked some more and then, even having sworn me to secrecy, they would still only give away that 'They are an eminent, high profile and newsworthy couple'.  As it turned out, the eminent personages were none other than HRH The Queen and Prince Philip. Unfortunately, the date they were coming conflicted with a date I already had booked on a ferry for a two week surf trip/photo shoot to France. Should I blow out the trip and get an HRH portrait or two in my portfolio - by Royal Appointment?  What a quandary - photograph the Queen or go on a surf trip?  What would you do? 'Can...

In the topsy turvy world of freelance photography, anything might happen, and frequently does so, often in a bad way. But recently a couple of good things happened. First, I found myself shooting a World Record attempt, (OK, it was the slightly obscure 'Most Pirates in One Place' attempt, but a World Record is a World Record, right?) in the blazing sun with 8,733 other scurvy dogs on Penzance Promenade. Having successfully smashed the previous and paltry record of around 6,000, the second good thing happened, I was asked to shoot a surf trip.  I immediately jumped on board a Spanish Pirate Galleon with Self Destruct Nation   and sailed south to the Spanish coast in search of some hidden surf treasures. (OK so it was the Santander ferry, but sailing's sailing, right?). The Basque coast and the rivermouth jewel of Mundaka are much noted for their quality surf, but we managed to find a great setup, without the crowds, straight off the ferry ...