235 feet up on the Big One..

.. these less-than-subtle shots were taken, to promote asparagus which is grown on Claremont Farm, on the Wirral, and consumed across the North West and beyond. The Pepsi Max Big One in Blackpool is the tallest rollercoaster in Europe, and I had to take the maintenance gangway to the top for this picture. At least I didn't have to ride the bloody thing to the bottom.

Jailbreak!

In a bonkers charity stunt the Christie had invited various companies to charge their MDs with various offences (losing their phone, being a prog rock fan) and then locking them in a cell at the Manchester Police Museum on Newton Street. They wanted a fairly generic picture to illustrate their crime themes (a murder mystery is to follow) and these are what I came up with.

A Deadly Nine Year Old

Nine year old Mark Royles is surgical with a bowstaff - or just his feet - and is showing his abilities in front of judges Cowell et al in this week's Britain's Got Talent. Look at that war face - if they know what's healthy, they'll sit on their hands for the audition..

Cast of a Moss Side Gang Film

In a story about 'Colour Candy', a new film about Moss Side gangs, the paper sent me to photograph its two most prominent cast members - Leah Hackett, a former Hollyoaker, and Keicha Greenidge, a Moss Side native whose brother died in a gang-related incident, and as such has a credible attachment to the project.

Manchester is fabulous for these grungy Victorian railway tracks and smoking alleys. This city centre street was an unholy alliance of industrial history, and startling graffiti art.

(I've been asked to add that Keicha is in fact from Longsight, not Moss Side - my apologies).

Waxing Stupid

Turtle Wax make products that keep cars looking pretty, and as such have a fairly masculine consumer base. To try and widen its appeal to the fairer sex a photo shoot was organised in time for an April Fool's Day release, showing women engaging with the product in sometimes unexpected ways. Pitch was critical in these pictures - not too salesy, not too zany - and in the end we favoured a straightforward approach with a lick of 'Dear Deidre' aesthetic...