The Descendants in National Geographic

5 years ago I embarked on an interesting project

'The Descendants'

Where I recreate paintings or photographs of the famous historical figures using their direct descendant

Starting with the direct descendants of William Wordsworth (poet), Charles Dickens( Author), Isambard Kingdom Brunel (engineer),Robert Falcon Scott (Arctic explorer)

The first series of portraits were going to be a one off, but it has blossomed into a project which has a life of its own.

I shot another 4 last week, which brings the total to 20.

This month my recreation of the famous Geronimo Portrait was used in 'National Geographic'. A lifetimes ambition achieved

I shot the image last year in New Mexico. Sourcing clothing and props from LA, a rifle of the type that Geronimo used(we did quite well but ended up with the cavalry edition which has a shorter barrel)

All that I needed to do was drive in a convertible Ford Mustang Shelby (Hertz do hire them!) from LA to New Mexico, I mention this as its all part of the adventure and one of the reasons why I became a photographer.

It was the trip of a lifetime, and it will be a longtime before the memory fades of a snow dusted New Mexico desert with the soundtrack of a tuned V8 playing, sitting in my London studio I can still feel the icy desert wind in my face. Life is beautiful

When we were close to the location we started to look for a barrel cactus, I thought would be easy but we had to visit several garden centers before we found one big enough.

We then met the charming Robert Geronimo and shot the image outside his parents house which provided the perfect backdrop.

Shot on a Phase One P45 + with a 120mm lens, using available light.

Just over one year on and it appeared in National Geographic, along with two other recreations of Oliver Cromwell and Charles Dickens.

You can see a short video of the Oliver Cromwell photo shoot here

To say I'm pleased is an understatement

None of this would be possible without my BRILLIANT producer Clare.

The descendants project is totally self funded, following your heart carries great risks but can reap considerable rewards

* My blogging has been a sparse of late, I have been SO busy, normal service has been resumed