Ray Mears for The Sunday Times Magazine
“Can you drive into that stream please?”
“Light a fire there please.”
“Sit in that mud please.”
“Do you mind if we pour water on your head?”
Ray Mears is not a man to complain. Maybe it’s because he is a photographer himself, but he was totally dedicated to getting the most from our shoot for the Sunday Times Magazine. After giving me a guided off-road tour in his Landrover we finally decided to shoot his portrait in a stream. He drove his vehicle into a ridiculous position, jumped out and proceeded to crack on with his bushman skills. In the time it took me to set up a softbox he had a fire going and coffee on the boil. Just to help matters the rain started pouring and the wind picked up. But Ray still didn’t complain and whilst my assistants and I waded around in the stream firing smoke machines at him and throwing leaves all over the place he just sat calmly and told us stories about his travels.
If you ever need someone to go to in a post-apocalyptic world, I totally recommend Ray Mears. A fine man with amazing skills who is full of stories.
Thanks to Emily at The Sunday Times Magazine for the fun assignment.
