The STORY OF PORT

I had the pleasure of accompanying the writer Harry Shukman on an assignment to the Duoro Valley in Portugal to photograph a  story on the Port industry and how it is being affected by Climate change.

We were fortunate to enough to visit two old British operations that have been running out there for generations; Symmintons and Churchills. It was a relatively short duration trip but I tried to make the most of the limited dawn and dusks we had to capture some of the action we might find (harvesting etc) and also to get the drone up for some establishing shots. I have learnt over the years that often with assignments you don’t know exactly what you are going to see until you see it, and therefore it can be tricky to align your wishlist with what you are actually faced with.

Given some notice you are then able to plan some shots rather than just reacting to what you see. The planned shots can be real lynchpins to the piece but often you have to really have your wits about you to pull them off. Being able to react quickly to what is in front of you is crucial. However it often means that it is very difficult to relax on the job, or particularly enjoy the experience until you know you have broken the back of the assignment. Doing assignments like this can be a bit like being the proverbial swan; grace and elegance on the surface, but below paddling like hell to make progress!