Here’s a recent tearsheet – a cover and two stories – from the Independent on Sunday Magazine. Firstly, a piece on Fergus Drennan, (also known a s Fergus the Forager who I’ve written about and photographed before) and a piece on Karims restaurant in Old Delhi.

This month marks the centenary of Bollywood – the garish, larger-than-life dream factory that enraptures Indian audiences worldwide. Five years ago I was commissioned by the Sunday Times Magazine to photograph Ronnie Screwvalla, the millionaire film producer and founder of the UTV group over a couple of days in Mumbai. Screwvalla proved charming if extraordinarily busy. I photographed him at home and at his studios but realising that he would make a good potential cover, pursuaded his nervous PR staff (they’re always nervous aren’t they?) to let me have twenty minutes with him at a Mumbai beach near where he grew up. Originally, I’d wanted him walking along the beach but it soon became clear that that wasn’t going to happen. I arrived early and had my star-struck driver hold a single strobe as Screwvalla emerged from his limo. The picture lasted no more than five minutes before he had to leave. It never made the cover but I’ve always liked it.

India – Mumbai – Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV photographed at Sea Face Bay. As a producer and businessman over the past five years Screwvala has led the transformation of India’s prolific but chaotic film industry to become a crossover figure in Hollywood and Bollywood.

Very saddened to read that the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula is now the most violent place on Earth as reported in today’s Guardian.

I remember shooting a small story there about young people trying to leave the gangs in 2001.

Here are a couple of the images that I made …

Honduras – San Pedro Sula – A former gang member shows his tattoos. San Pedro Sula has several criminal gangs (known as ‘Maras’) that sprang up in the region after their members were deported from the US in the 1990′s. The founders of the gangs were typically Central American youngsters whose families had fled to the US to escape civil war. After peace accords were signed, they were sent back to their countries and took the street-gang culture with them.

Honduras – San Pedro Sula – A former gang member with his mother and his home made pistol, San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Recently, researching a new story in Rwanda, I remembered that my translator back in 2005 was a very talented chap called John Tugirimana and that he’d painted a cartoon of me at work…

Following yesterday’s entry with the tearsheet from the Monocle assignment, I thought I’d show some images that I was pleased with but didn’t make the final edit.

Funnily enough, I’d just shot and written another piece about French involvement in India… hundreds of miles away – a strange coïncidence. More on that when it’s published later in the year…

India – Pondicherry – Children play on the Gandhi statue along the Promenade

India – Pondicherry – A woman and her two daughters in school uniform cross a Colonial street

India – Pondicherry – A couple in the Botanical Gardens

India – Pondicherry – A building worker asleep on a break inside the derelict Hotel du Ville that has been saved from demolition by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage)

India – Pondicherry – A French expatriate limbers up just after dawn along the Promenade

India – Pondicherry – Sister Marie Stella at the Embroidery Private House, a Catholic mission that looks after underprivileged women by have them sew exquisite linens

India – Pondicherry – Mr Thrukumaran, a researcher studies ancient palm leaf manuscripts in the library of the Department of Indology at the French Institute

India – Pondicherry – Geraldine Humeaun, manager at the Cafe Maison Rose

Glanced out of my window this afternoon and saw this chap…

India – New Delhi – A hawk sits in a tree

Last week I was on assignment for a magazine in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu photographing the French influence on the place.

As you can see, my presence didn’t go unnoticed… The local newspaper decided that me laying on the floor to get a better angle on a military band was front page news… as was the arrest of the poor chap who, slightly worse for wear on the local hooch, chose that moment to have a little dance in front of me and then squared up to the band leader – presumably for not playing his favourite tune…

In any case, I made a frame and clearly gave the local newsroom a laugh.