The Office

The Office

This might well be the last proper job of the summer.

Lugging my equipment out to the taxi I felt the heatwave had arrived. Everything was going to feel like a slog from now on. I was glad to know I would be in Greece within the week.

The office was on Aribau. It was a product of the 80s I guess; you could feel the ghost of old technology, wooden cubby holes for mail, and the carpets… that colour… hmmm.

The brief was to get a set of portraits, group shots and some stock-like images of people working.

They asked if I could replicate the look of previous portraits… uh oh.

The examples I was sent were mediocre, as I feared they would be.

Trying to copy good work is often easier; shit stuff, is way harder, it has its own kind of integrity.

So how to do this? And even where?

There were not a lot of options. The glass walls I found though fine to make the grey backdrop they asked for, were way too close to other walls to allow for decent separation.

It occurred to me that I don’t photograph stuff like this that much anymore. 

Mostly the companies just visit Barcelona these days so everyone can finally meet their Zoom colleagues, who can be based anywhere in the world.

But this was an old-school company, with traditional 9-5 workers. 

Once in a while many years ago I would work at places like this as a freelance designer.

I kind of enjoyed it, most certainly knowing it was only for a few weeks. The routine was a novelty, just like clearly defined weekends and the office culture.

If the assignment was long enough you became part of the team, the gossip, the daft antics, and sometimes even the occasional flirtation.

And a sense of security I guess.

As someone who mostly avoided a regular 9-5 job, one can certainly see its allure.  On those miserable cold and rainy days back in London, when work was thin on the ground and things looked bleak.

Back to the office

I could feel the arrival of a photographer and all his equipment was an event that created a bit of a buzz.

And as always the initial reticence of being photographed gave way to enthusiasm.

The trick of getting them to come in twos always helps. They get to mess around, crack jokes and relax a little.

The stock shots also seemed popular, people were really getting into acting and improvising. You can guarantee there will be one person who is really enjoying their moment in the spotlight just a tad too much.

I had finished in a couple of hours and then  back on a busy street burdened with gear, waiting for a taxi, feeling slick with grime and sweat.

Not soon enough it would be Greece, a decent beach and a very cold beer.