Sitting in an airport at 5am is always a surreal experience.  London Heathrow is just waking up for the day, and each face marching in has that ‘up at bas&$@d o’clock expression’, like we all need our cheeks and eye bags ironing….or photoshopping.

Now those that know me are now going to be saying ‘here we go’….Because in my previous existence, when I had a moderately successful career, I used to live in airports.  The chauffeured car would pick me, whisk me to the airport in whichever country I was (sometimes I forgot!), drop me at the ‘Fast Track’ entry, through to the lounge with much fawning and doffing of caps from numerous sub-species; compared to a business traveller armed with a corporate American Express card and gold/platinum/black frequent flyer card, all other things that breathe are sub-species.  In the lounge, young ladies and effeminate young men would massage your toes and produce bacon butties (crusts off), you would open your laptop/raspberry/satellite guidance system and pretend to do important email, before being tapped on the shoulder to make your way to the gate.  Board the aircraft, and turn left, demand whisky/champagne/coffee (dependant on time of day, and not necessarily what you would think), peruse the movies available, put your pyjamas on, and settle back.

This morning, I dragged my sorry backside out of bed at 3.20am, drove myself to Heathrow, was made to fill out forms to hand my car over, providing information I had already provided when I booked yesterday, and I’m now sitting in a coffee bar (£6.00!…..And I will be turning right when I board, and carry on walking until I hit the back!) thinking whether I miss the old life.

Do I &%%**&$%^&%$£$…..Errr No.

I’m off to Amsterdam for a 24 hour recce of four locations ready for a commercial shoot for a new client next week, when Hannah and I will drive over.  I’m happy and excited, and at this moment if the most gorgeous sub species ever (male or female) offered to tickle my toes and pass me animal sandwiches with garnish, I would say ‘No’.

We’re fourteen months in now to robertdann PHOTOGRAPHY, and just at this moment, things are feeling good.  Two other great commercial jobs are currently being bid for, a great lifestyle shoot and viewing over the past 10 days, and another great one planned for this Sunday with two beautiful children, and their Mum who I just love photographing.

And the wallpaper is up.  Now, as Hannah will attest the wallpaper did go up on the scenery flats in the studio with some verbal banter unbefitting a man of my age, but up it did go….And as of 5.30pm yesterday, it hadn’t started peeling off yet.  As a result the ‘Art of Seduction’ set is almost ready to seduce.

The other new arrival or resurgence in the studio this week has been fruit, or sports candy as Sportacus would call it ( a prize to whoever emails me with the names of his friends)….An alien food category for some time, but fruitage is making a comeback and has ousted donuts and pastries.  Eating four oranges and an apple in quick succession seems to be more beneficial that eating four donuts in quick succession….Following research it would appear that the fruit stuff is better for you, lesson learnt……Think I’ll go back to the counter and get another croissant…..

Kicking off with the disappointment.  Ecuador is off, AJ and I reached the decision earlier today.  Following a change in constitution, and an increasingly anti US stance, travelling in the country is becoming fraught with danger, and just doesn’t appear to be worth the risk.  Don McCuillin or Robert Capa I am not, nor will ever try to ape, so I’ll leave the really risky travel to the experts.  It’s a shame, and we’re now reviewing options.

Last Sunday was spent in the company of a wonderful family, as we reviewed the results from their Lifestyle Shoot in early September.  We got a wonderful set of images of them as a family, and I think, or hope that George and Issy realise that I could have continued photographing them all day long.

This Sunday is another Lifestyle shoot with another lovely family in Wiltshire, where if the weather holds out I think we’ll go all grungy and edgy in an industrial estate for part of the shoot.

Finally, yes underwear….Taking unrequited corsettry (is that a word?) back to shops when you’re missing knickers (not me, the unrequited underwear) is a task for any man to stand up straight and be counted..I was told to return with the briefs, accurately described to help me hunt them down by a curious shop assistant.  The underwear was purchased, but not ultimately used for a shoot we did at the Park Resort in Wick, near Bath.  My thanks to Louise and her team for letting us in, and my thanks to the shoot team, Colin, Becky, Chloe, and to Lianne and Hannah, for making me go back to the shop!

Two for the price of one, but both very expensive...The corsets...

George and Issy enjoy a private joke, probably at my expense

Well, I could throw in a hatful of excuses, but you’d all see through it, and the truth is that there are no excuses….Just the old chestnut of tomorrow never comes, but it does, straight after every day.

September was a whirlwind of shoots and planning for more shoots.  The final Little Miss Muffet images had to be put on hold based purely on priorities, as we went through a number of studio shoots, lifestyle shoots and a further trip up to Fleetwood to complete the photography of the soon to be world famous crooner Howard Wing.

A lot of planning and shoots were focussed on building towards ‘The Art of Seduction’, which is the robertdann PHOTOGRAPHY take on boudoir photography, due for launch early 2009, and we WILL post more details as the approach and business gets finalised.

The last few weeks has seen me meet with future wedding clients, and discuss shooting them in a boxing ring together (we keep saying we don’t do ‘ordinary’ weddings!). I was shocked that the garage I recalled my Uncle Jeff working in when I was a child, is now an elaborate shed…Sorry, Jeff, workshop.  We’ve done a wonderful fine art nude seminar with Trevor and Faye Yerbury.  We got Howard jumping off a derelict bandstand, and looking all moody at 2am at a bar, and we tried to book part of a marina for a wedding shoot; and the next weeks show no sign of normality…Whatever defines normality.

Finally,  I had a couple of weeks of artistic madness playing the tortured artist, before all that know me finally beat some sense into my dense skull….Can’t wait to do it again next year…Yes, its a yearly thing, probably.

So, November will see the studio being partially redesigned, whether I like it or not.  We will be on a commercial shoot in the Netherlands, and hopefully in Ecuador on a further commercial shoot, and getting some great travel images to boot.  There will be more lingerie ( the studio seems to be permanently strewn with bras and knickers), more client meetings, commercial recces, some industrial photography, and a lot of designing - albums, websites, promotional materials and advertising - and some carpentry for good measure.

The next week will see the Little Miss Muffet images uploaded, two further entries in the Blog on shoots, and some further news on ‘The Art of Seduction’….Well, thats the plan, but you know it may be December!

I'm sure this was a garage when I was 10!