Famous Faces

The singer and actress Grace Jones is a photographer’s dream. She’s a living, breathing, androgynous sculpture with her square-cut hairstyles and outlandish costumes. Your photo has managed to catch her in all her idiosyncratic glory looking like a cross between an American red Indian chief and an English 18th century dandy. You’ve successfully embraced Graces’ Slave To The Rhythm to capture the essence of her music and her stage presence.

Long black bouffant hair, tattoos, exposed cleavage, sultry attitude and holding a microphone in her immutable way - this couldn’t be anybody else but Amy Winehouse. You’ve caught all the characteristic foibles that symbolise her personality. The Back To Black treatment removes any colourful glamour from her sadly too short existence but you’ve helped leave an indelible stamp on both who and her music were all about.

You’ve caught a great pose of Francis Rossi of Status Quo. With his tongue sticking out he's obviously trying to play a guitar lick In Search Of The 4th Chord. Whatever You Want - colour or mono was my assumed thinking but your decision to convert to black and white was a wise choice. Looking at Rossi’s slim build I was Just Supposing that if he was any thinner then your photo would certainly be a Picture Of A Matchstick Man.

Highly original portrait treatment of Simon Le Bon, lead singer of the new wave band Duran Duran. Marrying the watercolour painting with his photo looks like a Rorschach’s inkblob test trying to ascertain the psychological make up of The Wild Boys frontman. The end result is slightly wishy-washy but you get 10 out of 10 for the creativity I was looking for in this challenge.

This is a great portrait making a sound political statement, You’ve perfectly illustrated British ex-prime minister David Cameron talking a load of rubbish. Personally, I would have square-cropped the photo to remove all the unnecessary clutter to concentrate on just the profile and the single word coming out of his mouth. That would have given your photo the full impact behind the comical take of your precisely caught moment.

In my brief I asked that famous faces should be named but the identification absence doesn’t matter in this case because the actress Dame Sian Phillips is instantly recognisable. You’ve photographed her stunning sharp features against the soft street art which could easily represent the eyes of two of her husbands from her three turbulent marriages. Aficionados of street photography say that photos should be taken in black and white but your colour depiction knocks that claim right on the head.

You’ve perfectly captured the cheeky chappie persona of Robbie Williams. Ever since leaving Take That his solo career has gone from strength to strength amassing a long list of deserved hits to his name. Leaning against the stage prop has given your photo the triangular composition favoured by renaissance artists and their love of painting cherubs. But unlike Raphael et al your pop artist is more famous for loving angels instead.

This photo proves the old adage that the best camera is the one you have with you. Ever the professional showman Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson has taken a moment to pose for the benefit of his interviewer. You’ve captured him in an unfamiliar reflective mood minus his bandana and iconic stage pose of playing his flute whilst balanced on one leg. Your monotone treatment is perfectly ‘Living In The Past’.

There’s something unusually relaxed in your surreptitiously taken photo of Bob Geldof at Dublin airport. The Boomtown Rats frontman is better known for his challenging political lyrics and for unceremoniously demanding money from the public for his charitable cause. Catching him in a peaceful moment reading a newspaper harps back to his career as a music journalist - that might even be a copy of the New Musical Express (for which he wrote) resting on the seat beside him. Well done for capturing this famous face from a very different angle.

There’s nothing conservative about the ex-Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson. With his disheveled hair and cavalier attitude towards politics one really couldn’t miss him. And you certainly didn’t with your trusty Nikon ready at your side to grab any street shot at a moment’s notice.. Ironically you caught him wearing a face mask which he foolishly hadn’t done until he caught Covid. I like how you’ve uncharacteristically captured Boris Johnson looking like a frightened tortoise popping his head out momentarily from behind a passing pedestrian. You've taken a good sharp photo given that you shot your moving subject with an ISO of 100.