In pictures: Gordon Brown's last moments inside No 10

good to see his is like most dads round the country and has his kids pictures bluetacked to the wall...

And I also wish my ceilings at home were double my height!

Pics don't do much for me either...
 
Thats a whole lot of Diet Coke.

There has been 24/7 coverage on SkyNews about the election fall-out, and all I can see is press everywhere, yet there doesn't seem to be any "great" photographs which will define it. I'm sure they will turn up though.
 
They are a tad meh agreed. Still, I expect the Guardian tog was very much floating around in the background, wth no opportunity to set up off camera lighting/ anything fancy, or asking Gordy to 'smile' (or whatever hideous fake face contortions he passes off) a bit more.
 
They have some historical value.
 
Very good. I think they capture the last moments well. I'm not really sure what else the photographer could do. Probably told to keep out the way, no flash. Thanks for sharing the link.
 
I get the feeling maybe they were told just one camera and one lens or something crazy as some of them shots do seem to suffer from being shot on a wide angle lens. Or maybe that was just the style they were going for, who knows. Did spot a tog inside number 10 when Cameron went in yesterday, so guessing this is the same person.
 
I absolutely love the decor and style in there - buildings like that fascinate me.

Photographically the pictures are quite average though - some aren't even level.
 
Jimmy_Lemon said:
I get the feeling maybe they were told just one camera and one lens or something crazy as some of them shots do seem to suffer from being shot on a wide angle lens. Or maybe that was just the style they were going for, who knows. Did spot a tog inside number 10 when Cameron went in yesterday, so guessing this is the same person.
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I think a few of them are nice, they're very much the Guardian's style though - any tighter shots which may have been taken quite likely won't have been picked. Better than the Clegg behind the scene ones anyway.

The photographer inside the door was the pool photographer - Stefan Rousseau (sp?) of the Press Association I think. One of GB's best news photographers and really nice guy.
 
Very well lit and very well exposed images that will stand the test of time.

If you look at the ones where they are in front of the windows and the window light is coming from two directions then that's not such an easy one to get right in the one moment you have to shoot it.
 
Braidy said:
Don't get it. How could they have been better with what was limited equipment? I thought they were fascinating and therefore do the job well.
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No! If as a pro you couldn't do better than that you should hang your boots up, I'm positive I could have got them a lot tidier with a P&S:lol:
 
As said earlier - great historical value. I think we all would have jumped at the chance to take them, limited equipment or not! :lol:
 
Paddysnapper said:
No! If as a pro you couldn't do better than that you should hang your boots up, I'm positive I could have got them a lot tidier with a P&S:lol:
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Well he's got his own gallery on the guardian's website, job done?
 
I suspect the photographer was more concerned with documenting goings on, rather than producing career defining works of art to please the TP massive.
 
all these events should be photographed..mostly from an neutral perspective for history and posterity
this is an historic time in this country
 
:cuckoo: Quite...I've never heard such a bunch of twaddle...

Martin was trying to convey moods and moments...not works of art.

There's no way on earth that he would've been allowed to set up lighting etc. so he's done what he could.

As for the comment about the Nick Clegg behind the scenes ones...the polling day ones are from Dan Chung who is one of the most respected photographers in the country...and again would have been dealing with limited equipment and limited conditions.

At the end of the day, these guys have done a job of documenting the process...if you all could do better, then why don't you next time? Follow your favoured local candidate around and do the same thing. Would love to see the results.
 
mrcrow said:
all these events should be photographed..mostly from an neutral perspective for history and posterity
this is an historic time in this country
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Yeah that's the kind of thing I was interested in hearing really - didn't think of it like that.

:thumbs:
 
Walker said:
There has been 24/7 coverage on SkyNews about the election fall-out, and all I can see is press everywhere, yet there doesn't seem to be any "great" photographs which will define it.
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Like their policies!

The one photograph I remember of the end of Thatcher's era was the one of her in the back of the car - you could tell she had been crying and it really struck home that an era was ended.

Nothing like that here.
 
AliB said:
Very well lit and very well exposed images that will stand the test of time.

If you look at the ones where they are in front of the windows and the window light is coming from two directions then that's not such an easy one to get right in the one moment you have to shoot it.
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AGREE! There is some subtle fill flash in some of these too - very well done considering the conditions, occasion and time scale. Too many people on here put the emphasis on 'talk' rather than showing us anything of comparable quality. You don't get chosen as the sole photographer allowed to document these events if you can't produce the goods - and this guy did.
 
Gordon-Brown-prepares-to--002.jpg


I really wonder how can this be seen as a picture that does noting for some of you?

Like him or loath him this is the leader of the country leaving office for the last time... Sure they have all done it before but this is the shot of yesterdays, quite brutal, exit from power for me.

This one (can't link image) gets it for Cameron's arrival from me as well. He clearly can't quite believe it!
 
I think a lot of you have never done any journalism.... when you do it, you don't control anything about the situation whatsoever. You can't work out the situation in advance with any certainty, you guess, you shoot and you have to hope people don't get in the way, because you are an interloper.

None of these people are posing, none of them will "hold that for a minute" or "turn this way" and there is only a certain amount of scurrying around you can do.

Crit'ing these as "poor work" is like saying that those D-Day photos from 66 years ago are a bit blurry and the camera angles are a bit dicey and why didn't he use a tripod...

This is documentary shooting of events as it happens - the value is in the event and that this guys photos ARE the best photos of the last minutes of Brown just because there are no others. Job done.
 
Some valid points here I'm sure - but there does seem to be some of the usual selection of fully paid up members of the toggers union saying 'it was done by a pro togger so it must be good, you plebs don't know anything' ;)
 
grum said:
Some valid points here I'm sure - but there does seem to be some of the usual selection of fully paid up members of the toggers union saying 'it was done by a pro togger so it must be good, you plebs don't know anything' ;)
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It's comments in threads like this that show the differences in understanding what professional photo journalism is about. ;)
 
Try it yourself Graham - you've got 15 minutes of people walking around indoors to try and capture the drama of it. You can't ask them to do anything and you can't get in the way or leave any equipment anywhere.

I'm not saying any of these photos would get outstanding C&C on this forum, but its not about the technical details - its about being there to capture the moment which otherwise was invisible.

My only crit on these images is that whatever sort of wide angle they've used, its made things look a bit bizarre.
 
Yes there was a heck of a lot more time as Nick Danziger was allowed to travel with Blair. He spent weeks getting those shots rather than minutes.
 
grum said:
To me, these pics of 'Blair at War' are a lot more interesting. Perhaps there was a different amount of time/level of access available though.

http://www.nickdanziger.com/index/photography/editorial/
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This is more documentary in my opinion, a lot of more setting up, consideration and post processing. The Brown pictures are photojournalism, telling a very short moment in time. No doubt there will be some tog who has done a documentary on Mr Brown's time that might please some more people.
 
Voyager said:
Gordon-Brown-prepares-to--002.jpg


I really wonder how can this be seen as a picture that does noting for some of you?

Like him or loath him this is the leader of the country leaving office for the last time... Sure they have all done it before but this is the shot of yesterdays, quite brutal, exit from power for me.

This one (can't link image) gets it for Cameron's arrival from me as well. He clearly can't quite believe it!
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Mandleson won't be exiting power. He'll hang onto it.

Oh you meant brown...
 
Vic said:
This is more documentary in my opinion, a lot of more setting up, consideration and post processing. The Brown pictures are photojournalism, telling a very short moment in time. No doubt there will be some tog who has done a documentary on Mr Brown's time that might please some more people.
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Well it's in the photojournalism section on his site - but what does he know eh? :p
 
Personally I like this shot:
Gordon-Brown-writes-lette-005.jpg


It makes you wonder just what Campbell and Brown are leaving on the note for the next incumbent.

"We've booby trapped everywhere and there's mines in the garden. Somewhere in the house in an open bottle of 3 day old milk. Enjoy your stay..."
 
Gordon-Brown-and-family-l-001.jpg


This one is a favorite. It says to me maybe he's just happy to get more time with his boys.
 
Sarah does not lok entirely enthralled at the thought of Gordon being at home for a bit though :)
 
grum said:
Some valid points here I'm sure - but there does seem to be some of the usual selection of fully paid up members of the toggers union saying 'it was done by a pro togger so it must be good, you plebs don't know anything' ;)
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I don't know if that comment was aimed at me and/or adam*...

But it's certainly not what I said.

I think there is a lack of understanding about "photojournalism" instead of "posed portraits".

These photographers are documenting what happens...and therefore want actual events, rather than staged photos.

If you've ever tried doing this sort of work then you'll appreciate how difficult it is to get yourself into the right spot, to get a perfect photo.

You have no time to set anything up, you're taking a shot more or less instantenously.

You can't very well say..."Sorry Dave, you'll have to wait a sec while I get the fill light done correctly."
 
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