Björn Wahlroos is arguably Finland’s most important businessman. As outspoken as he is successful, arch-capitalist economist Björn is chairman of three of the biggest companies in the Nordic region. He also regularly participates in debates on the financial future of Europe in Brussels and has recently written a book about free market economic theories. Danish business newspaper Børsen decided to run a feature about Wahlroos, so their journalist flew down to join him in the South of France and I was the photographer commissioned to take his portrait.

Something rather exciting is happening up in the sky at the moment. As I type, the first ever round-the-world flight of a solar-powered plane is being attempted and the current base of the mainly Swiss team of engineers working on this pioneering project is right here on the French Riviera. One might think that Monaco, with its two crowded square kilometres of land, would not be ideally suited to housing a space station, but one would be wrong. Monaco is currently home to the control centre of Solar Impulse and I recently went down to photograph the project’s Mission Control Engineer, Michael Anger.

He is known to the public as ‘the Hexecutioner’. He has a new tattoo engraved on his small body after every win (there isn’t much space left – to date he has lost only 1 of his 27 professional fights). He keeps pet pythons, iguanas and large spiders. He wears children’s shoes. South Africa’s Hekkie Budler is the world champion minimumweight boxer. Last month, he came to Monaco to defend his titles. Sam, New York Times European Sports Writer, came down to Nice and we spent the day with Hekkie and his entourage a few days before the fight, to make a portrait of the ‘toughest small guy in the world’.

Comedian Stephen Fry once quipped “Estate agents: you can’t live with them, you can’t live with them”. Let’s face it, property sellers don’t exactly have the best reputation. I was sent to Monaco, where real estate is somewhat larger than life, on an editorial assignment to photograph one of the Principality’s finest estate agents.

The difference was subtle, but baby Manon’s skin colour was definitely a shade darker than her parents’. This, combined with Manon’s slightly-too-frizzy hair, didn’t overly concern her mum, Sophie…but it did bother Sophie’s boyfriend. Eventually, his doubts over Sophie’s fidelity, and the paternity of their daughter, led to the couple’s separation and a DNA test. On the day of the result, a doctor sat Sophie down. “Well, I have some news for you. Your ex-boyfriend is indeed not your child’s father…” – shocked pause – “…and there is more. You are not her mother either”.

In Monaco one week and St. Moritz the next… this could be a jet setter’s timetable. The ski resort town of St. Moritz in Switzerland is known as a favourite winter playground for the rich and famous; Monaco needs no explanation. However, although the subjects of this portrait assignment are well-known in their sphere, they seem to entirely lack the jet set mindset. Champion triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee are true-blue Yorkshiremen, known for a particular brand of down-to-earth Britishness and understatement.