Goodbye Newsweek

It's sad to know that Newsweek has just printed it's last cover. It was one of the great news magazines, one in which all photojournalists wanted to get their photo's on the cover. I know it will still be around electronically, but I'm not sure how well that will work. I've tried reading magazines on my iPad and although it seems great at first, I always return to paper. I've done the same with books, much preferring to read something real in my hands, that is physical, that I can feel. 

I took the above picture when I was just 21 years old, and it was nearly my last. I had hired a light aircraft with another photographer. Apart from the pilot, there was only one seat on the plane with a seatbelt which the other photographer got, I just relied on kneeling on the floor with my knees against the lip of the door, which by the way had been taken off so we could get a clear view. We were photographing some of the ships leaving Portsmouth harbour heading out to the Falklands. The trouble was there was a height restriction over the harbour, and it was really foggy so we did not get very much. The pilot refuelled on the Isle of Wight and then we decided to have another go, only by now the ships had picked up speed and were out of sight. The pilot asked me which way we should fly, and I remember telling him to go in the direction of the Falklands!

In the distance we saw some smoke and there was HMS Hermes going at full speed making some nice waves. Trouble was we were being warned off by the captain of the ship, so I told our pilot to fly low from the front for just one time and ignore the warning we were getting. So down we went, he lowered the wing so we could get a clear shot, but as I pointed my lens through the open door, we hit some turbulence and half of my body went out of the plane. Still, got the picture!