Oct
Congratulations to DelAgua for celebrating 10 years in Rwanda with the millionth stove distribution last week.
I worked with DelAgua at the beginning of their carbon credit project called Tubeho Neza (“Live Well”), travelling in Rwanda to photograph the distribution days, community health worker visits and how the program is improving the lives of those involved.
The photography went on to form a major part of DelAgua’s marketing awareness campaign being published in the “Tubeho Neza” book and featuring in a number of magazines. I was also a winner with the photography, at the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards.
The DelAgua cook stove is designed to work for the reality of the lives of the families who use them. It uses wood, but just small pieces of twig and tinder, which rural families can gather without encroaching on forestry. Crucially the design of the stove increases thermal efficiency resulting in quicker cooking speeds and much lower fuel requirements. The stove requires at least 50% less wood than a traditional fire. The stove is durable and saves the equivalent of 14 tons of CO2 emissions over its seven- year life.
With a target of donating 2.3 million stoves by the end of 2023, Tubeho Neza project is one of the world’s largest cook stove projects.
Education and ongoing support is central to the work. Every family is visited by a Community Health Worker who explains the dangers of cooking on a traditional fire and household air pollution and the health advantages of cooking on the stove and they also make sure the family know how to use it. Behaviour change is immediate and lasting.
Oct
My photography is featured in this month’s “The Architectural Review” Magazine. The October edition is all about Energy and seeks to make visible the often-obscured links between buildings and the energy sources they are built from, and around.
In the middle of the pandemic, I was commissioned by Microsoft to capture Project Natick.
Project Natick is Microsoft’s research into the feasibility of an underwater datacentre, to determine whether it is logistically, environmentally, and economically practical. The Northern Isles datacentre was deployed 117 feet deep to the seafloor in spring 2018. For the next 2 years, team members tested and monitored the performance and reliability of the datacentre’s servers.
Part of Microsoft’s aim was to assess whether submerged datacentres use less energy than those on land. Servers generate heat while operating but work best at low temperatures, so land-based centres demand energy-guzzling cooling systems. The consistently cool underwater environment allowed Microsoft to opt for the sort of energy-efficient heat-exchange plumbing more normally found on submarines. Project Natick team selected the Orkney Islands for the Northern Isles deployment in part because the grid there is supplied 100% by wind and solar as well as experimental green energy technologies under development at the European Marine Energy Centre.
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism – as well as theory of these subjects.
Oct
Architecture and interior photography are as much about the atmosphere of the space as the appearance. Our roll as visual story tellers means that we must understand and capture the essence of the design.
How do you showcase this in just a handful of photos? Close up details and specific features shot with a short depth of field do not inform the viewer of much more than what is in focus. Lifestyle photos including people show how the space is used and enjoyed but are challenging to organise.
It is rare to photograph any building or interior which is complete and not in use. I am always working around the public or the client.
I seek to show what makes the design of the space unique. In the case of photographing Nando’s restaurants, it is being able to taste the Peri-Peri in the pictures!
The new Blackpool Nando’s was designed by Harrison and is located at Squires Gate retail park. The restaurant features a unique swooping timber structure which has a painted timber lath canopy, planters, and pendant lighting to create a central zone in the floor plan. It also contributes to the new ‘super-coordinator’ concept design to create a strong guest focus on the servery area.
The fixed seating, which is backed with a sustainable cork lining, reinforces the central space and adds to the customers overall ‘sensory experience’. From the heavily textured concrete render to the vibrant fabrics and artwork, with the mixed lighting and different floor surfaces, this restaurant is as much about the experience as the food. It’s the bringing together of a great space, memorable food and drink and passionate service that will deliver sustainable success.
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Sep
The Siena International Photography Awards is one of the most prestigious photography competitions in the industry. I was honoured to be awarded the grand prize of Photographer of the Year in 2019.
I am sad not to be able to attend the event this year to see my good friend Luca Venturi and attend the photography talks, photographic exhibitions, and evening awards ceremony. Unfortunately, I am away on assignment for the British Red Cross.
Good luck to all my fellow photographers that have been nominated and I wish everyone attending an enjoyable weekend of creative inspiration.
