Smoking Dope With The Pope

Yes, thats right, Ganja Weed!

Photography is my passion, so the idea of being a music photographer wasn’t the whole plan when I left school at fifteen and a half. All I wanted to do was ensure I was near the action.

I remember when I was bout sixteen thinking I would like to be a war photographer. The reality was that I was shooting more and more musical artists. The only time I was employed was when I first left school. I joined a press agency called Fox Photos & its sister company, Focus Four, in Farringdon, London, where I assisted the company directors. One of my first jobs was assisting director Terry Chambers as we were strapped in a helicopter and hung out the side during a raging storm in the North Sea at dusk. We were shooting an oil rig near Aberdeen, off the Scottish coast, for Conoco, also known as Continental Oil Company. I was also an assistant to the brilliant George Freston, who was on the Royal Rota, and we frequented Buckingham Palace & Royal Events. I loved every minute of it.

However, my life has been mainly as a photographer working in music. So, when I heard that Pope Benedict XVI was heading to London in 2010, I thought I might as well photograph him. After all, this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to photograph the Pope in London.

I had one proper opportunity to photograph him, and that was on Saturday, September 18th, 2010. So, I organised myself and scoped out the place a few days before.

On the big day, I got myself up at 2 am. I had all my gear ready, put it in my car, and aimed at Central London. I arrived around 3 am and had to park about a mile from where I needed to be. The roads had been closed for security reasons. I had to produce my Metropolitan Police Press Pass several times whilst walking to my intended position. So, I was carrying my camera bag, which is bloody heavy. It consisted of three camera bodies, multiple lenses and other essential things. In addition to that, I had a rather big 400mm f2.8 lens and a monopod to mount it on. I also had a small step to stand on that lifted me above people’s heads. I walked into Victoria, London, with all my gear.

It was still dark when I found the spot I needed to be in. I only had a few seconds to quickly put my little steps down and grab the place as crowds arrived fast. Many rows of people were in front of me, leaning against the barrier the police had put in place. So, there I was standing on my little step, about a foot above the other people. After about an hour or so, the sun started rising, and thankfully, the forecast was for no rain. I knew this would be a long night and an even longer day. There were a lot of friendly people all crammed in tight next to each other. I asked those around me who seemed to know when the Pope might be coming out to appear. I was told mid-morning, maybe! In truth, nobody knew. So, there I stood as the street became full. It was estimated that there were two hundred thousand people around me. Yes, that’s 200k, no wonder nobody could move an inch. I was stuck on my step with no elbow room at all. But I kept telling myself that the effort, including lack of sleep, and walking miles with heavy bags and standing on my little step for many hours, would be worth it if I got the shots of his holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. I had hoped that the photos would sell for years and years.

I was surrounded by many other press photographers and TV crews from around the world.

There was also a massive security presence. Hundreds of police officers were everywhere, including snipers on the rooftops looking for baddies!

The sun was up, and it was getting very busy, when I suddenly smelled ‘Ganja weed’.