Shoot from the top

We asked photographer NICK MORRISH to provide our cover photo after finding out he left british airways to go freelance. Nick shares his fOND memories with us... I joined British Airways as a contractor in 2009. I left in March 2020 as a full-time employee. The 10 years I spent there was an amazing experience. People always ask: “what is there to photograph at British Airways besides planes?”. There was plenty. And yes, a lot of planes to photograph (I should say, I am no #avgeek and I found planes really difficult to photograph, but more on that later). I had to be a decent all-rounder and some of the things I covered included: portraits, documentary of the operation in action, PR and marketing activations, events, products, food, buildings, celebrities and our charity work (and everything in between). It’s a cliché, but no two weeks were the same. My work appeared in internal comms as well as globally in newspapers, magazines, social media and the odd billboard. There were many moments that stand out for me. The arrival of the A380s and 787s was incredible. I was onboard our first A380 when it arrived at Heathrow. If you look carefully at Keith Williams (the CEO of BA) and Fabrice Brégier (COO of Airbus) coming out the door you’ll see my hand and camera right behind them. That was the start of a wonderful summer, working closely with the A380 team as the took the aircraft around the UK doing the entry into service procedures. I also really enjoyed the mentorship programme that ran during 2012, at which point I spent some time with Heston Blumenthal and Tracey Emin who were two of the judges. They were both really amiable and it was great photographing them helping the winners of the competition realise their vision. I even managed to get a shot of Tracey releasing a dove from the roof of her studio. A trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras was one of those “it doesn’t get better than this” moments. It’s one of my favourite cities and we were given VIP access everywhere. Trips to see how money we were raising through Flying Start was being put to good use around the world was humbling. Rio de Janeiro, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Kenya, India and South Africa were just a few places I shot pictures in, as well as the UK. The happiness you saw as a result of the fundraising was incredible. Recently, photographing HM The Queen visiting Waterside for the centenary celebrations as part of the royal rota was a real privilege. The arrivals of the retro liveried aircraft ere good fun too, and of course the BOAC 747 with the Red Arrows at RIAT was something else.

The best part of the job was photographing the operation. Trying to shine a light on the army of workers and huge operation that goes into every flight. Luckily, I was always welcomed and my (probably daft) questions always answered. BA’s strength will always be the people. I was in awe of the engineers, flight crew, cabin crew, ground staff and operations teams. Even the volunteers running the Heritage Centre, which housed all of the airline’s most vital mementos. The collection is awesome - with such rare artefacts as a telegram from the Queen Mother to the HM Queen, delivered to her on board a flight in 1952. The combined knowledge and experiences of all these teams was something to behold.

I’ve been really lucky to photograph celebrities, too. Off the top of my head, I can remember: Buzz Aldrin, HM The Queen, HRH Prince Charles, Sarah Harding, Peter Shilton, Nicole Scherzinger, Yolanda Brown, John Cleary, Got Wan, Gary Lineker, Tony Hadley, Chris Hoy, Heston Blumethal, Tracey Emin, Nick Frost, Richard E Grant, Mary Berry, Shirley Ballas, Anton du Beke, Ola Jordan, Tess Daley, Vernon Kay, Eva Herzigova, Georgia May Jagger, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis. I’m sure there are people I’ve forgotten.

Going back to the New Orleans trip, that featured Nicole Scherzinger, Yolanda Brown and John Cleary. I’m a huge music fan which made two elements of that trip stand out. The first was having a front row seat for Nicole and Yolanda’s live performances on the aircraft going to New Orleans (one of the toughest things I’ve shot - I must have created a new form of yoga in the aisles and seat rows). Then in NOLA I photographed John Cleary performing at his house with the epic young jazz musicians. They were just jamming, but it was some of the greatest live music I’ve heard.

And how could I forget the aircraft. As I said, I am no #avgeek so I struggled with getting nice images of planes, but loved the challenge of trying to do it differently to everyone else.

It was a wonderful time and I have many happy memories of BA. But times change so I wanted to get my head around some new challenges. I hope they live up to the times at BA.

Send your experiences and weblinks to stayconnected@spotgraphics.co.uk