John Cole at the London College of Communication


Shortly after moving to the UK in 1985, I was asked by the late Fred Cook at the London College of Printing (LCP – now the London College of Communication) to do a series of lectures on photojournalism, which I did for the next few of years.

On the strength of these evening lectures, I was invited to join the newly created Practices in Professional Photography, a non-degree course for students who wanted to learn how to work as professionals.

The LCC teaching has been some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. The emphasis was always on hands-on, practical training, and we did a number of assignments to give students a taste of working in real situations.

One of the most enjoyable shoots was going to Billingsgate Fish Market at the crack of dawn, to capture the vibrant, if slightly chaotic atmosphere of this timeless London institution.

Another favourite shoot was out at Dungeness, capturing the desolate beauty of the endless landscape.I even managed to get our students access to photograph inside Dungeness power station, which was one of the highlights of the course.

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