Tusker, Tanzania and a Tree.

Looking out onto the Indian Ocean from Dar Es Saleem, Tanzania.

I'm sat in my hotel in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania wondering whether I should head back downstairs and grab another beer or whether I really need to wake up early in the morning... I'm writing this post in a place I never envisaged even visiting let alone working in and to tell you the truth I'm really enjoying it.

I didn't really know what to expect but after my recent visits to Bangladesh I was a little sceptical about travelling in general by now. Our Bangladesh trip finished up with more flights than comfortable to get to the northern tip of Indonesia just purely so that I could feel really ill and visit a doctor (I think). Since then I'd had a few days to move house in Bristol before travelling to London for some work, a weekend in Norway (ok that was a fun visit..) and a week working in Birmingham just as a sort of icing on the cake affair. All I really wanted to do was sleep..

End of the day light catches the sand on the beach in Dar.

I've been in Dar Es Salaam for three days now though and I like it. The people are very friendly, the view of the Indian Ocean is beautiful, the light is gorgeous and the beer is cold. What's not to like. Of course I am here doing some work here and I suppose that was what I was most worried about. It's always possible to deal with stuff if your just on a trip by yourself with mates but when you have a job to do and the travel, the accommodation, the food etc..isn't easy it just makes your work really hard. I gotta say though that's hasn't been a problem here and everything's been great - even the food (touch wood..no really touch wood).

I haven't really had much time to explore yet and I don't know if I will as we have a tight schedule in the days but here are a few pictures of what I saw today.

Georgina's shoes infront of the pool where we're relaxing with a well deserved beer after day 1 of training.

Heather Fell

I met Heather whilst on commission for The Sun newspaper. You know that one...Murdoch, in the papers themselves a lot nowadays, page three girls and the most ludicrous headlines on the red side of the Daily Mail. It was for their features page and all the usual ridiculous requests for photo ideas had been made and then carefully put to one side. For me I knew it was a standard quick portrait job that I knew this athlete would be squeezing in between her busy training schedule so I knew I would be pushed for time.

My car broke down that day so I managed to persuade Rebecca to drop me there in the van and I told her I would not be long... Now the problem with that was that I was a bit long, and yes I definitely did get told off.. Not because I made her wait but because we then got stuck in rush hour traffic in Bath....and then in Keynsham....oh and Bristol too. All the while in the van which isn't really known for it's about town comfort levels.

Anyway it took a little longer than usual for two reasons. When the journalist...or tv for that matter asks if they can go first the answer is always no. No...no..no, no, no. Not just because your being selfish but sometimes for that reason but also because it might just be that they run over..and they do that a lot. When they do run over, or when the subject gets tired, or bored for that matter it's you that still needs to get them to perform for the camera...and now you have to rush aswell. Great. Anyway I must have been asleep or being super duper nice because I was happy to let the reporter go first. The second reason is that it always takes a little longer when you have a good and willing subject because you just want to take a better picture.

Heather was a really nice and interesting person who was happy to have her picture taken...which on quick jobs for The Sun is always a little surprising. I'm sure she has been photographed a whole bunch of times and then some due to her Olympic success in Beijing and her future prospects for London 2012 but she was still happy to engage with me and work on a good photograph. She was so patient that I thought I would shoot a rogue roll of b&w that I found in my bag on my Mamiya 7 and see if I couldn't get a nice shot that ignored all the colour casting of the dimly lit training room that we had been graced with.

I really liked the results and here is my favourite frame. Good luck with your training schedule Heather and for the Olympics later this year.