London Calling

I used to be a shipping correspondent - which is pretty funny when you consider that I have legendary seasickness. I’m talking the kind of seasickness that makes wrestling a shark look like an attractive alternative.

One of my fondest memories is that of climbing up the side of a super-sized oil tanker in the English Channel in the driving rain and a force 7 wind. Why fond? Because at least I was no longer on board the pilot boat that I’d been bouncing around on for the previous 45 minutes in a state of utter nauseous misery. Halfway up a rope ladder on the port side of a rock-steady ultra large crude carrier in the pouring rain was by comparison a place of comfort and idyll.

Apart from the seasickness - which to be honest was very rare because shipping correspondents seldom go near ships - the job was great. I traveled the world, met some fascinating people, and had some sumptuous lunches in some spectacular locations.

I still have connections with the maritime business both here in Cork and in London, the beating heart of the industry, so I still get to meet some pretty interesting shipping people. None more so than Sammy Ofer, whom I was commissioned to photograph earlier this week at the London offices of one of his companies.

If you know shipping, you’ll know Sammy Ofer. If you don’t know shipping, you’ll get a fair measure of the man from the fact that this week he donated £20 million to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to help it build an extension.

The shoot itself was geared around Mr Ofer’s diary, and my plan was to have two or three off-camera lighting arrangements ready to go before he arrived at his offices on the Thames. Maximum preparation means minimum fuss for the client, which in turn means they can get on with their day rather than spend time waiting for a picture to be set up.

This is my favourite photograph of Mr Ofer. It’s my favourite for two reasons. Firstly, because of the backdrop - London’s financial district, which is also home to a good number of shipping-related businesses. This seemed appropriate in light of Mr Ofer’s own commercial interests.

Secondly, because of the technical aspects of the photograph. Balancing the light indoors and outdoors was one, though fairly straightforward. Avoiding reflections from the off-camera strobe in either the window or Mr Ofer’s glasses was another. That was a little tricker. I lit Mr Ofer from the side, which took care of any reflections in his glasses, and from quite far back, which meant that the strobe wasn’t visible in the window.

Sammy Ofer
March 2008
(c) Roger Overall 2008