Having the last signing session of 2024! The matted £60 Christmas Edition has sold out but there is still time to get one of these freshly minted beauties in time for Xmas if you get off your arse and order soon! Chin chin, MC1986 Vintage Negatives
It’s not very often that I take the Withnail original negs out of storage so it’s a special occasion today. A client has requested a specific image that will now get scanned and printed and I get to wonder about the longevity of film emulsion given that I made these images in 1986. I won’t be around in another 40 years to see if my digital images survive but I bet these Kodak Plus X negs will be… Time for a cheeky one,Cin Cin. MCWine stains not included...
We’re getting to the end of another year which surprisingly wasn’t spent in Berlin but Budapest where I shot ‘Alien: Romulus’ for Scott Free Productions and was reunited with my pal Cailee Spaeny who you’ll starring in ‘Priscilla’ and ‘Civil War’ very soon. The spectre of Withnail loomed large this year and I got to photograph Richard E. for the poster of ‘Death of a Unicorn’ in Budapest. The last time I photographed his handsome chops was for Richard Curtis on ‘About Time’ and although we don’t see each that regularly the years melt away when catching up on who’s done what in Withnail World!It turns out that we have been busy this year… Bruce has finished writing his theatrical production of ‘Withnail & I’ which should have its premiere next year in Birmingham. Any casting suggestions?Titan Books published Toby Benjamin’s Withnail and I book ‘From Cult to Classic’ which is the definitive account of the film and features interviews with all of us who haven’t shuffled off and allows me and my images to bask in the sun once again. The cover of the book is a black and white photograph of Iconic PhotoShoot #2 on the steps outside Withnail’s flat and I thought it quite decent so I have made it the Christmas small mounted print for 2023 with a very limited run. (Wine stains not included!)I hope you all survive another year, with all this worldwide devastation there’s little to stop us reaching for the gin before noon..Chin chin, MC
It's all in the name
With these bloody actors on strike I haven’t had many victims to photograph but I’ve finally had time to sort my Withnail archive out. I realised that this piece of genius doesn’t have a title. I’m looking for suggestions, if I pick your pathetic attempt you’ll receive an 11 x 14” print of it. Results will be announced here on Sunday. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below or on FB. Cin cin, MC***UPDATE***. The winner is Philip James with ‘Are You the Actor?’ We’ll be in touch to get a print sent out to you. 
Withnail goes to Edinburgh…
GALLERY CLOSE, EDINBURGHMARCH 16-APRIL 16TH 2023www.gallery-close.comExcited to let you all know that I am having an exhibition of my Withnail Photographs at the Close Gallery in Edinburgh. It’s not some dodgy insider job it’s a pure coincidence we share a surname. There will be all of your black and white favourites and few deeper cuts. 
And the Winner is......
Sorry about the delay in announcing the competition winner but I had to go to New York by mistake and got snowed in. I had the most marvellous time reading everyones suggestions and it was bloody hard to pick just one but here it is… Simon Whittle in a rare moment of sobriety came up with thIs beauty. 'A Weekend’s Indulgence' which will be known for ever more as the title of the photograph. It was a hoot doing this perhaps we’ll do another one in the future. We’ll be in touch with Simon to get his address. Chin Chin. MCDeep Dive into the Archive...
Having been invited to exhibit my Withnail images again, my hand was forced into a deep dive of the black and white negatives shot in 1986.This entailed anchoring myself at a light box with a bottle or two for a few days with a 1960’s soundtrack. It’s been a while since the originals were taken out of the archive and it unlocked some great memories and unearthed some overlooked gems. Here’s a taster to enjoy, it’s untitled as yet, and I’ll be adding some additional photos to the website very soon.Chin chin,MCBrave New World
I’ve done a few interviews of late, I guess online rags have got some time on their hands, and the most common thing that they want to know is how my work has changed since moving from film to digital.This has pressured me into analysing my work process which I loathe doing but the truth is that the digital world has transformed my shooting process and not always for the best.Whilst the new world has placed control of my imagery back into my hands allowing me to delete, colour treat and effectively becoming the laboratory, it has taken away some of the purity. Cartier-Bresson’s ‘Decisive Moment’ has been eroded I fear.Withnail is a good example as I still have the original negatives and know that I shot about 1600 black and white images over the course of the filming days I covered. To give this some perspective, on ‘The Matrix 4’ which I recently completed I was submitting between 600/1000 images per day. The two films are entirely different of course, one had a budget of $200 million and the other was a bowl of rice and a bag of nuts but in some ways maybe when working with film we were more focused knowing we didn’t have an unlimited supply of ones and zeros to fall back on.I managed to capture the essence of the ‘Tea Room’ scene in 45 frames, lord only knows how many I would rack up today. Just thoughts as always…Unearthing Gems....
I spent a rainy weekend finally beginning to archive my past work and of course started with Withnail, Kubrick can wait…I don’t enjoy revisiting my old work but sometimes a forgotten image or moment can transport you directly back to the moment the exposure was made. A number of unseen Withnail images came to light and I thought I would share this shot of a final rehearsal of one of the two scenes we filmed in Regent’s Park. I don’t remember specifically whether Richard was ad libbing or even quoting from the script at all but whatever he said caused Paul to break character and giggle. For a limited time only we are offering this exclusive unseen image of 'Withnail & I' in my online shop presented in a soft white acid free mount and signed by me all ready to drop into a standard 10 x 8” frame plus free UK delivery making it the perfect Christmas gift for any Withnail fan. Chin Chin! MC
Welcome...
Welcome to my new ‘Withnail & I’ photography site. Clearly I have set out to showcase my fabulous work of course but also to provide a safe forum where Withnail aficionados can visit to get updates on Withnail related events, catch up with my Withnail blog and even to answer the odd question or two. Let me know what you think in the comments.. Chin! chin! Murray. P.S. For all my other work visit my Website and Instagram. Links below: