Star cyclist Geraint Thomas – winner of the Tour de France in 2018, and twice Olympic gold medallist – recently announced his retirement from the sport. I was invited to make his portrait in Monaco for The Guardian’s ‘Big Interview’. With a new autobiography coming out and plenty of international press interest in his retrospective career, he is much in demand right now. But Geraint, a self-declared ‘normal bloke’, is still punctual when it comes to picking up his kids from school.

Apple Music, TV, Pay, Film… the list of Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue’s responsibilities is a long one. I was recently commissioned as photographer to make his portrait in Monaco. Eddy sits right at the top of this international mega-brand’s organigram, and the pressures of the photoshoot were similar to those I might expect when photographing an A-list superstar. Yet I bet you wouldn’t recognise Eddy if he walked past you in the street – even though he’s the man behind all the Apple services that shape how millions listen, watch, store, or pay, every day around the globe.

For the second time in recent years, I was sent on assignment to Cannes as photographer for a cover story about a woman who’d learned, as an adult, that her mother was not her mother. Last time, two babies had been accidentally swapped in the maternity clinic; this time, I was making a portrait of an international spokeswoman on the subject of surrogacy. Given the prospect of changes to UK law which would favour parents who use a surrogate, a British tabloid directed its microphone to the South of France, to profile Olivia Maurel, herself born of surrogacy – and today a passionate anti-surrogacy campaigner.

Who remembers Seb Coe? I was commissioned to make an editorial portrait of this ex-Olympic-record-holding runner in Monaco. Forewarned of his dislike of photographers and detecting his impatience during the long interview with my magazine journalist colleagues beforehand, I shook things up when we finally started the shoot with a warm-up relay run, up and down the corridor. Seb may no longer be an athlete today, having moved into politics and the presidency of World Athletics, but he is still happy in trainers, and he turned out to be a great subject to photograph.

Francis Mallmann is widely regarded as the most influential chef in Latin America, and he boasts restaurants worldwide – the South of France included. I was invited as photographer to make the portrait of the ‘king of live-fire cooking’ at Château La Coste, home to his eatery in Provence. On this cover shoot, assigned by luxury lifestyle magazine Club Oenologique, I discovered for myself that Mallmann not only makes a mean sorbet, but wears his favourite tree and sews dresses for fun.

British long distance runner Paula Radcliffe held the record of fastest marathoner in the world for 16 years. Today, she lives near Monaco, where I made her portrait for the cover of People Health magazine. Incredibly, she achieved her long and successful career as an athlete, despite being a lifelong sufferer of asthma.

A convoluted journey took me to Barcelona recently, on a magazine assignment to make portraits of an unlikely pariah. His grandfather was once voted the greatest Frenchman ever, yet Pierre de Gaulle has, in publicly voicing his controversial opinion of the conflict in Ukraine, incurred the displeasure of both the mainstream French press and the government.

Being commissioned as photographer to make portraits of actors or directors during the the Cannes Film Festival is a unique experience. This year, Telegraph Luxury magazine assigned me to photograph Natalie Portman, as well as two young actors who were awarded the 2023 Chopard Trophy for rising movie stars.

Just before Christmas, I was assigned to travel 400 km across Provence, to make a portrait of author Helena Frith Powell – and to do a better job of it than her last photographer. Based in the South of France, Helena is known in the UK for her books on French living, as well as a DIY guide to creating a luxury spa at home. A portrait of her in spa gear was needed for the cover of the Daily Mail’s Inspire magazine, and the Mail’s previous photographer was not welcome back.