http://duncanraban.co.uk/updates_rss Latest from Duncan Raban Copyright 2013 Duncan Raban Christianity en-uk Duncan Raban no Copyright 2013 Duncan Raban Photos Religion & Spirituality/Christianity Duncan Raban Photos Latest from Duncan Raban Latest from Duncan Raban http://duncanraban.co.uk/updates_rss http://duncanraban.co.uk/images_site/feed.jpg http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2012-08/My-Day-With-the-Rolling-Stones A day in the life of the Rolling Stones I was in a pub at 8:30 having a pint with some friends on a Tuesday evening it was pouring down with rain. My mobile rang and it was a publicist I know for Mick Jagger, from the Rolling Stones. He said Duncan can you go to Ireland tomorrow morning to photograph a few a quick photos of the Rolling Stones. I said are you joking! He said “no”. If you can go you need to snap them at 12 o'clock tomorrow standing at the gate of Ronnie... Fri, 10 Aug 2012 03:00:00 +0000 Fri, 10 Aug 2012 03:00:00_62 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2012-08/Day-in-the-life-of-gorgeous-Molly-80 Hi there. I just had a fabulous day today shooting a gorgeous 80 year old ... What fun! And it made me think... there's no time like the present - you got to get photographing the people you love. My pal Beverley, who's 57, was telling me how wonderful her mother is and that her 80th was approaching. I said "you are so lucky to have your mum. Please, please, please have yourself photographed with her doing some shopping, having a cup of tea in a cafe and hugging and kissing her and laughing... Wed, 1 Aug 2012 10:00:00 +0000 Wed, 1 Aug 2012 10:00:00_9 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2012-07/City-Surfer Today I was asked to photograph a director of a fab new internet company. I hate shooting normal corporate pictures. The thing with all these corporate portraits is that they say nothing about the person or their personality. So instead of shooting the normal corporate portrait I thought I would do something a little bit different... A few days before I photographed him, I asked him what his biggest passion was. He told me he loved surfing. So I asked him where his surfboard was and he... Mon, 9 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Mon, 9 Jul 2012 00:00:00_71 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2012-06/Health-Club At my local gym I see lots of wonderful photo opportunities such as fab oldies laughing and joking in the pool, children having fun with their parents, laughter from men in the showers covered in soap, kids drying their hair and parents holding babies. This is a place where most people visit. However, they never think to photograph themselves and family at their local club. At a pool we remove our masks -our clothes that make us the people we want people to think we are.In the... Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00_70 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2012-05/Our-incredibly-magnificent-Nurses I have just been photographing a little 5-year-old Irish girl, called Amy. Six weeks ago, she underwent her second heart transplant. That's right - a second new heart - a 3rd chance at life. Can you believe this? It's difficult to imagine everything she must have been through. We all know our nurses are underpaid but it's only when you spend 12 hours alongside them that you realise what a tough day they have. Jessica, Lesley and Denise all work in the cardiac unit, which is full of children... Tue, 8 May 2012 10:00:00 +0000 Tue, 8 May 2012 10:00:00_10 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2012-03/Fred-and-Gladys I was walking through a shopping mall yesterday, when I noticed a smart older couple enjoying a sandwich. So, as I love to say hello to strangers, I said; “Hello there! Those sandwiches look nice, what are they?” “Oh we love them here” the lady replied, “they are egg mayonnaise.” I sat down and began talking to them. Fred and Gladys had been married for 52 years and appeared so happy together. So I posed them up for one of my ‘truly in... Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00_68 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-09/The-lady-now-up-in-heaven I met a wonderful lady. She told me she had Cancer in five different parts of her body over the past 15 years. Even though she had been through this trauma, she was such a happy lady, she reminded me of Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. I thought I'd make her feel special so, I put her on my imaginary catwalk in the road. She loved it as she hugged her husband. I then asked her if she would mind taking her wig off. This made a wonderful photo, what a fabulous lady she was and... Fri, 9 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Fri, 9 Sep 2011 00:00:00_67 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-09/Treasure-your-Health I was attending an award ceremony for Learn Direct where I saw a young man in a wheelchair watching the awards. After the presentation, I saw his parents hugging him, so I went over and asked him his name. His name was Neil and he had severe Cerebral Palsy. I could see Neil's parents loved him dearly. So I made a real fuss of them and Neil was crying with laughter and joy, as were his parents. Neil lived in Cambridge with three other boys. What a fantastic young chap he was. People... Thu, 8 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 8 Sep 2011 00:00:00_66 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-09/An-hour-in-Cafe-Rouge-with-90-yr-old-Elsie I love to photograph people almost as if I need to photograph someone daily, a bit like we all feel like a snack in the day, we feel we have to eat one- it's like me with my photography. Well I love snacks way too much myself. I need to photograph someone daily as taking pictures is my daily food or I just feel empty. The problem for me is that whenever I go into a restaurant or a café, within 20 minutes I have this huge desire to chat to someone I feel looks interesting. Maybe... Wed, 7 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Wed, 7 Sep 2011 00:00:00_65 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-09/The-Jacuzzi-Babes It was 7:00am as I walked into my local swimming baths and did my usual A-Z lengths of the swimming pool. When I stepped out of the pool, I saw three ladies chatting in the Jacuzzi and immediately thought to myself this could be a good picture. I see people in situations all the time and instantly my brain tells me take a picture. By this I mean I always have a plan for a picture before I say ‘hello there', if that makes any sense. So here were three ladies sitting in a Jacuzzi and... Tue, 6 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Tue, 6 Sep 2011 00:00:00_61 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-09/Our-Wonderful-Veterans Fouryears ago I was watching the news on he annual Poppy Day Parade on T.V and as usual all you see is lots of veterans marching and then the Queen and the Prime Minister and other politicians laying wreathes and that's all you see. I thought who are these wonderful veterans - where are the interviewers on the day. Who are these incredible people - or rather senior VIP men and women - why is there not a two-hour documentary like they cover the London Marathon. So I... Mon, 5 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Mon, 5 Sep 2011 00:00:00_73 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-09/The-Real-Spirits-of-the-Press-Association Today I was photographing some portraits of corporates, who work at the London Press Association, for their new website. At our first meeting I told them that I thought that the portraits of people on company websites do not reflect who that person really is and that companies would be better to have photographs that capture the true spirit and soul of the person. The Press Association is a fantastic company full of hundreds of wonderful people and they wanted portrait photographs that... Fri, 2 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Fri, 2 Sep 2011 00:00:00_57 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Ron-and-his-tattoos I was standing on an escalator at Islington tube and standing in front of me was a shaven-headed, tattooed young man. I could only see the back of his head, but the tattoos on his arms and head made me think he was angry inside his body. I could not see his face, but I felt I had to say hello- however would he be friendly... or tell me to F' off? From behind he looked interesting and it made a good picture. I quickly took six pictures of him- as the front of him may not be so... Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00_46 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Muslims-on-the-Promenade I'm looking out to sea, thinking how lucky I am being able to sit here and have the gift of sight; something we all take for granted. The turquoise sea glittering in front of me behind the railings of St Leonards Promenade, I just love this view. I decided to drive three miles along the cost to Bexhill to the De La Warr Pavillion. As I was driving I saw an unusual (but what I thought was a beautiful) sight. Wow! I thought, that is a great picture- I must shoot it. So I drove... Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:00:00 +0000 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:00:00_45 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Keith-the-super-super-chef Last week i was photographing Keith Burke of smashing pans cookery school he is a true self taught genius of a chef in the kitchen . He has worked in many of the top restaurants in London and he asked me to photograph him and wanted photographs to capture the fun of a cooking lessons with him he had 6 people as guests and was showing them how to cook thai lobster curry.It was amazing experience to watch the joy on peoples face as everyone was preparing huge... Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00_44 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Pensioners-morning-swim Every morning i go to my local swimming pool at 7 am and i see so many people i would love to photograph. There are some wonderful oldies at the pool and i am desperate to photograph them all. However nowadays when you say to people you would like to shoot them in their swimming costume they think you are crackers ........... they do not realise some of the best photos of people can be in their swimming costumes as we do not have our masks on that we wear daily at the... Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00_43 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/The-day-that-changed-my-life I was asked to come in to meet some directors at gt ormond street childrens hospital, the day i walked through the door to the hospital changed my life forever. One minute i was on my own in a cafe sitting having a cup of tea and a bacon roll, and 5 minutes later i was in the intensive care unit, and here there were children clinging on to life they were all attached to huge grey machines with flashing lights and endless tubes of blood attached to the childrens little bodies. Some of the... Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00_41 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/A-day-in-the-life-of-Luke Last week i had a call from a wonderful lady called Annette to ask me a big favour to photograph her fantastic son Luke who has suffers from the dreadful condition multiple scherrrMS Annette sadly has Multiple .......S as well this is a condition that seems to be so common nowadays i know of 5 people with this debilitating disease. I do not know Annette that well however she is one of those people you meet in life ............ who have the big very special person factor ............... i do not... Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00_37 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Jim-the-lorry-driver Hello there folks. Yesterday i was driving up north in Suffolk, to visit a little boy called Hugo who i had photographed at Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital last year, today he is one year old. Today was one of those very grim typically English February days vast dark grey clouds with a gorgeous swirling rain oh and freezing cold too. I was on a soulless motorway the very glamorous A 14 .... and i needed a cup of english tea so i took a turning off the motorway tolook for a cafe and... Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00_35 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Still-happy-after-sixty-years-of-marriage today i was driving up a country lane and i asked a couple walking some directions 30 minutes later they invited me to their caravan for tea and cakes on their farmeileen and david, are 78 and 85 oh we laughed for hours..i just love the oldies so much wisdom and when they said they have been together 55 years and still so in love, i said it's time for a love shot .........i made them walk and made them giggle ... to capture... Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00_33 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Photographing-our-wonderful-waiters I love eating out, as I'm sure you do But when I do I always make an effort to ask waiters, waitresses and chefs their names and what country they are from. Sometimes I try to photograph them in a candid way that they're able to use on their website, as some indeed have done. They can make or break a restaurant and more restaurant owners should consider having their staff photographed. It's important to make them feel part of the business and having happy photographs taken and displayed... Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:00 +0000 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:00:00_20 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/John-and-Sylvie-and-their-motorhome- I fancied getting away from the email world, so I took Victor the Volvo to Bexhill, not far from Hastings, for a day out at the English seaside. Bexhill is famous for two things - it's elderly population and its fabulous 1930s De La Warr Pavilion with its sweeps of glass. On a sunny day, this building can be a paradise, a hidden gem that few people know about - see the photographs I've taken from its balcony. The sun was shining when I arrived so I parked Victor and walked to the seafront. The... Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00_19 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/The-fabulous-people-of-Cleethorpes- Hello there from fabulous Cleethorpes. Today, I am 150 miles north of unfriendly London. I am away on photo business stuff. Earlier I arrived in a thrilling, gorgeous town called Grimsby, and oh dear me it's very, very grim indeed. However, the people there are rather extra friendly. When I left exciting Grimsby and saw a sign saying CLEETHORPES, it rang a bell in my head, so I looked on my map and discovered this was the seaside town just across the Humber from Hull. I just love English seaside... Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0000 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:00:00_15 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Wonderful-Derek-the-boiler-repair-man- Here I am at 7am waking up in the glorious village of Hathersage, a tiny hamlet in the Peak District situated in the middle of England surrounded by miles of absolutely breathtaking scenery, and a hidden gem that I've discovered only recently. This is an American's dream of an English village. Anyway, as I open my eyes, I can see two Hoovers standing at the bottom of my bed. Not the standard upright ones but the ones you have to pull along. And immediately a photograph enters my mind. I have... Tue, 9 Aug 2011 07:10:00 +0000 Tue, 9 Aug 2011 07:10:00_16 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/The-great-characters-of-Orpington-Kent Today, after going for my daily morning swim in Orpington, to liven myself up, I went for a thrilling walk to the High Street. Orpington is a small town in Kent, just 15 miles south of London. Perhaps not one of England's most desirable towns but just take a look at some photographs I took. Straightaway, you can see Orpington is a town that is going places. It possesses all those classic English High Street attractions as well as offering plenty to lure the tourists, such as empty shops, a... Mon, 8 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000 Mon, 8 Aug 2011 15:00:00_17 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/The-absolutely-beautiful-Tower-Bridge Today, I had a ‘life in a day' shoot with a family in Hampstead and was driving over Tower Bridge at 6 am to miss the rush hour and... wowee! I just could not believe how beautiful Tower Bridge was against the morning sunrise. I wondered if I should take a few photos and I decided to make the effort. So I parked up on a double yellow in the middle of Tower Bridge, jumped out of the car, grabbed a camera and took around 100 photos in 5 minutes. I ran up and down the bridge looking for... Fri, 5 Aug 2011 11:00:00 +0000 Fri, 5 Aug 2011 11:00:00_13 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/People-lying-down-in-unusual-places I do love photographing people and let's face it, people are everywhere! And if I can get a person to do something a bit different from their routine of daily life then that makes it more interesting. And if I can make them laugh out loud that'll capture their spirit and sparkle - something we all have but it only shows when we are really laughing. Put those things together and that's when to you'll get a really good snap. I have many poses I put people in which take just seconds and a... Wed, 3 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000 Wed, 3 Aug 2011 10:00:00_11 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-08/Blog-Intro Hello there I am Duncan.....hope you like the little video of me with Victor the Volvo ........... my aim in compiling this blog, as a very passionate photographer for 30 years, is to try and inspire people to get their cameras outand photograph the world around them more often ...... especially people, those they feel close to such as best friends and of coursetheir family.......and not just for birthdays, barbecues, weddings and holidays. When... Mon, 1 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Mon, 1 Aug 2011 00:00:00_30 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-07/The-Glamorous-People-of-London Yesterday I was walking around Brick Lane and I noticed a lady with a fabulous coat on. So I said, “Wow! What a beautiful coat, you're wearing, you look like a supermodel!” Her name was Christiana Keene, and it turned out she used to model in the 1960's. I always try to photograph at least one person I meet on the street a day, so I asked her to do a glamour fashion walk. I found a great wall of colourful graffiti to use as a backdrop and got her to put her arms in the... Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00_72 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2011-01/Bertie-the-Bulldog I was outside a bank when I heard a very loud barking. Next to the bank was a driveway with huge steel gates and sitting up the drive was a very angry looking English Bulldog. So, I knelt down and told him he was very handsome and within five minutes I was stroking him and he loved it. He then started to play so I laid down on the floor and put my camera through the railings and captured that photo of Bertie showing off. I just love photographing dogs- there are so many with great characters.... Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00_64 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2010-12/The-Stick-Maker I often go on long drives and am amazed at what I find if I stray off the main roads. The other day I was in Scotland driving around in my Volvo and I saw a sign which said 'Stickmaker and Antler Shop'. I just had to find out who was in the shop and so I parked my car and went in. I got chatting to John the stickmaker- who was self-taught and had been making wonderful things out of antler for over 25 years. He showed me into his workshop and store room and I just couldn't believe the... Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:00:00_63 +0000 http://duncanraban.co.uk/latest-news/2010-11/The-Super-Chef-Keith-Burke-of-Smashing-Pans-Cookery-School A few weeks ago I was photographing super talented chef Keith Burke of smashing pans cookery school. He really is a true genius in the kitchen and is a self-taught super chef. He has worked in many of the top restaurants In London over the years and was now setting up a cookery school to help and teach ordinary people how much fun cooking can be and how great it is to cook. There are so many people who cant cook properly or are maybe embarrassed by the fact that they are not an amazing cook, So... Thu, 4 Nov 2010 17:00:00 +0000 Thu, 4 Nov 2010 17:00:00_58 +0000