Podcast episode #56 features one of the sharpest snappers in the business. And one of the nicest and most charming guests we’ve had on the show.

It’s James Day on Good Friday folks. Settle down with a cuppa and a hot cross bun. This is a belter.

James has had his name attached to some of the most iconic billboards of the past 30 years.

He’s come a long way since picking up his first camera, which was a foggy affair:

“I spent quite a lot of time in the photography room at school. Well I say photography room, it was more like a smoking room. Everyone used taking photos as an excuse to smoke a sneaky cigarette.”

Thank God for those sneaky fags and that dark room, because amongst all the smoke and teenage angst, a light was switched on in James mind and made him the brilliant photographer he is today.

Most recent and most brilliant work has been for Uncommon for B&Q. Clean, sharp, beautifully crafted images, they’ve won plaudits and awards across the board and rightly so. The image of the mobile phone is sensational – worthy of an album cover.

We discussed the formative years when James worked with JustinTindall & AdamTucker on numerous projects, including the Harvey Nichols calendar campaign which features the stuffed cat and the 31 plates of baked beans stories. But the absolute winner was behind he Guardian and how they achieved the imprint of the rattan furniture on the model’s bottom. This is honestly one of the funniest stories we’ve ever heard on the pod.

We finished with XXXX Extra Cold posters and heard how the legendary Mark Reddy, Head of Art at BBH at the time, sprinkled gold dust on the idea, involving spiders and gloves and hair, taking the craft of the work to another level (we’re hoping to have Mark on the show at some point soon).

Thanks again James for being so generous with your time and the stories behind the work. It was a real pleasure.