heidi
A job where I’d been stationed inside one of the nicest hotels in Cannes, The Carlton during the Cannes Film Festival. I’d been put here by Associated Press and been asked to photograph the stars as they came down from their rooms and went into the chaos of the red carpet that awaited them outside. I was told that the stars would pose for the photographers, and also that I would be one of two people shooting. Both of these turned out not to be true unsurprisingly.
Heidi slipped down the stairs and was quickly descended upon by those paying more attention than me. I really hate feeling like a Paparazzi so I did my best not to get caught up in all the drama. Rather than going out the front door, her team lead her down through the back garden of the hotel towards the “secret” side door. As she made the journey the crowd thinned out at every obstacle - a tight door way, a sharp turn down through a narrow corridor. I decided just to become part of the main entourage and rather than try and shoot she she walked. Just wait until we got to the other side. This lead to me capturing the main image above, as I was the only outside photographer who caught the moment she prepared to step out into her waiting car. The only other shooter was part of her team I believe and you can see the eyes he’s giving me in the frame.
This image was a big one for me, it may not visually be my favourite but it was the first time I saw an image of mine pop up again and again on the newswire as smaller outlets picked it up. It felt like I’d made a picture than other people hadn’t been able to. And at a place like the Cannes Film festival- thats hard to do.
