Rob Clayton Photography

During my time as a photographer I have taken pics in some very challenging conditions (amateur boxing in the backs of pubs when I first started out spring to mind.....capturing the fast action in atrocious lighting conditions without using a flash was a steep learning curve!!). However, I think the conditions in which I shot in on Wednesday evening were possible the most challenging. I had been commissioned by a local newspaper to take pics of some extremely religious Jews celebrating a festival called Lag b'Omer with a traditional bonfire. The fact that everyone was dressed in black, at night, in torrential downpours, was the challenging part. Anyroad, I struggled to decide which pics to choose, so I have opted for a couple more than usual. The first speaks for itself, the second I like because of the two tassles of hair and the plastic shopping bag covering his no-doubt-quite-expensive hat, the third is all about the glasses, and the fourth because it really shows the conditions I was shooting in (and I really like the aesthetics of the broken umbrella!). The rest of my pics from the night can be seen in the online gallery at www.jewishtelegraph.com