21 years ago, Amstrad’s green-screened PCW was my first step into the digital domain. It meant that I could finally ditch the old Olivetti and send my invoices without the Tipex’d totals – my typing was never very good. That was in 1989 and it was also the year that I took the tube to Brentwood in Essex to take pictures of Alan Sugar for the Investor’s Chronicle.
Mr Sugar showed me around and introduced me to some of his staff and I was given an area in the office to set up my gear. Their latest model computer was switched on in the corner of the room and I carefully positioned my camera and framed the scene to allow just enough room for Mr Sugar to fit into one corner of the image.
I’d been freelancing for 5 or 6 years by the time I met Sir Alan and I was still developing my skills. Those days photography was all about using light meters, rolls of film and processing labs. The convenience and speed of digital cameras was still a long way off. On this shoot I wanted to make sure that I had the right equipment at hand so I played it safe and took 2 studio lights and stands, a brolly and various other lighting attachments, a Nikon 35mm camera and a Mamiya 6×7 camera with assorted lenses all packed in 3 cases. Looking back, I’m puzzled as to how I managed to lug all that heavy gear around London by tube.
The images of this shoot are now stored in one of 6 filing cabinets amongst 40,000 other slides and negatives. It’s quite exciting looking through the archives and finding images that I’d forgotten about. It’s also fascinating to look back and see how my work has developed – and how some of the content has matured. There are a surprising number of famous faces in the files and I wonder if any of them would like it if I featured them in future Blogs. The process of converting all those slides and negs to digital may take a little while so I guess they have little to fear.
This picture may not be iconic but the subject perhaps is. Who’d have thought that a beige plastic box could have had such an impact. Mind you, Sir Alan has also made a few waves. He’s known as @Lord_Sugar on Twitter and Facebook and is promoting his status as TV celebrity, a footy fan and a keen cyclist.
This picture is available for sale through my Picture Library
