This month I photographed Princess Anne, The Mayor of Bexley and The Chairman of Sevenoaks in the space of a couple of days, and I got stuck in a lift with one of them.
Well I’ve had my fair share of tricky moments with dignitaries over the years – even once having Princess Anne hold a door open for me. Being stuck in a lift is a first, nearly stuck anyway – as we got out quite quickly.
It took about 30 seconds before it dawned on us that the lift doors weren’t opening. First thoughts were – am I claustrophobic? Don’t know, maybe I am. What about the person I am with – are they? So I put my camera gear down and prepared for a wait, should we press the alarm?
It was an interesting minute or so as I considered what might happen – how long we might be stuck there. Not that it was a serious situation, to be honest I just wanted to do the photographs I needed to get and then move on to the rest of the day. However the thought that this might involve a lift engineer battling his way through Friday London traffic briefly flashed through my mind – slightly alarming.
Anyway, I pressed the alarm button and the doors opened in a few seconds – phew!
We took the stairs on the way out.
steve hickey 
You’re right – we seem to be programmed to think of the worst that could happen, rather than the best, in this type of situation. If you had got stuck, perhaps you could have given your esteemed lift companion a photography lesson, while awaiting rescue!
My companion was interested in photography so we could have passed the time quite easily. I did think at the time, if this turns out to be a long wait I’ll get my camera out and maybe see if the local press wanted a story, so still thinking positively at the time!
I love the lighting of your photograph. Having worked there, I know it’s a tricky place for photos, but it’s a great shot.
Thanks, carrying lights around is a bit of a pain sometimes but the extra effort is worth it.