Just a few months can make a massive difference in social progress and as I come to write this post I’m pleasantly reminded of this fact.
I photographed Armando at The Langham hotel back in September (I know, I know, it’s taken me aaaages to update my blog *insert facepalm emoji*) and I definitely must kick off this post by saying he was a complete dream to take pictures of. I’m a big fan of his comedy writing and he was just as pleasant and fun to work with as I had hoped for.

After the shoot I was elated, buzzing from the adrenaline which comes from a quick fire shoot but also from the joy of him being such fun to work with. He headed off and I began to pack up, red faced and hot from moving lights around for the different set ups within the allotted time. In the moments before he had arrived I’d been aware of three men in their 50’s celebrating something, or drinking champagne at least. They were sat at a table near my equipment bags and had watched me set up and then photograph one of the countries most notable figures in British comedy. As I carried my lights over to pack down one of them asked what he had been promoting and why I was photographing him, so they clearly knew who he was. Flushed and happy from the shoot, I smilingly answered his question which seemed to then invite a tirade of harassment with one of them offering me the key to his room so I could use his shower, asking me my plans for later yet before I could answer telling me, with a smug smile, that he knew exactly what I would be doing. All the while his mates sat laughing away telling me what a cracking smile I had. I told them I was married but apparently that didn’t matter, then when I turned away to carry on packing they accused me of touching up my lipstick for them. So my joy and elation of successfully doing my job and photographing someone I really respect got knocked out of me as I hurriedly crammed lights and equipment into bags eager to no longer be under their gaze. And you know what, I walked away and I felt bad about myself for not just telling them to piss off.

That was September 2017, a few months ago, a time just before the Harvey Weinstein scandal unfolded, pre #metoo and #timesup movements and before Time magazine awarded ‘The Silence Breakers’ their person(s) of the year award. Sometimes you think progress takes years and then just sitting down to write this reminds me that things are moving and progressing emphatically. I still don’t know if I would have the guts to tell those guys to piss off, there are years of social conditioning that I have to change, but maybe they would think twice about being such pricks in future.

Here are some pictures of the charming Armando Iannucci to lighten the mood…