This is the first of what I hope to be a weekly photo-blog, the aim of which is to show some of my favourite pictures of the week and describe how they came about.

On March 7, three Russian asylum seekers threw themselves to their deaths from the 15th floor of the notorious Red Road flats in Glasgow. The grief and trauma this caused in a city which has taken in 2,000 asylum seekers per year since the turn of the century was only too apparent when we arrived the next day. Many of the local residents were frightened of being photographed incase their asylum claims were prejudiced. After a 20-minute conversation with my colleague, Charlene Sweeney, a Somali woman invited me into her flat to photograph her on the basis that the images wouldn’t make her instantly recognisable. She had been separated from her children and was hoping the Home Office would allow them to be reunited in Scotland. Briefly posing with her childrens’ dolls caused her to burst into tears. After we consoled her, I took a picture focusing only on her lips.

“I know why some people think I might as well die but that just creates other problems.” I was pleased when pictures from the set made the cover of the Scottish edition and spanned a double-page spread inside.

From the flat next door to the one from which they jumped the impact marks made on the grass were still visible. Locals laid flowers and gathered around the spot to pay their respects.

Charlene met the foster mother of an Eritrean refugee, Rima Andmariam, at a protest about the treatment of asylum seekers the following day. Rima fled her homeland because of religious persecution. I was invited into their Glasgow home to photograph the family. Because of the looming threat of deportation I was warned that Rima, 17, was distrustful of white people; worried they would take her away. She liked taking pictures of flowers, so we had some common ground. The subject is a very serious one, so it suited serious pictures, but I thought some of the stronger images in the set showed Rima smiling.

On Wednesday, feature-writer Mike Wade and I were invited to join HMS Ark Royal, the famous flagship of the Royal Navy as she engaged in Harrier flight training in the Moray Firth. This involved a 30 minute helicopter flight over the north sea from RAF Lossiemouth. The first thing that struck me as I took pictures from the hovering Merlin was how difficult landing a helicopter on a moving ship must be.

We didn’t know what to expect and spent only 18 hours onboard. Mike decided to interview members of the crew who did everyday jobs in extraordinary circumstances. Among others, we met Lieutenant Commander Lindsay Falla, 29, the most senior woman on the vessel, second in command of the entire medical section and its only dentist.

“There is no other job for a dentist in the Navy. I knew early on that if I could get posted here it would be what I wanted to do.”
We also met Chaplain Richard Ellingham, 47, known onboard as “the Bish”. A baptist minister who joined the Navy at the age of 37, I didn’t expect him to agree to pose with the wooden cross in his cabin, but he did.

“I am the chaplain, the Bish as they call me, along with the God Botherer, the Sin Bosun, the Devil Dodger. I get everywhere, down in the engine rooms, up on the bridge. When we take fuel from a tanker, I get on the bridge roof. The lads will be flashing lights at the vessel that’s supplying us, they’ll say, ‘What do you want to say Bish?’ I’ll tell them to say ‘Jesus Loves You’. It’s great – that’s the way the guys are. They’re up there, its bloody cold, and why shouldn’t I be up there getting cold with them, chewing the fat, and building those small bridges, because those bridges become very important. Six months later Able Seaman Bloggs might think, ‘I need someone to talk to … I might go see the Bish. He’s a decent bloke – he was out there on the bridge when I was flashing lights and it was raining, it was cold.’ It’s these tiny things that are vital.”
During a tour of the Admiral’s deck I passed a solitary dining table – for use by the Captain should he not wish to stray too far from his duties on the bridge. It seemed to me to say something about life at sea.

The carrier has recently been modified and can now accommodate harriers as well as helicopters. This is regarded by the crew as a milestone to be very proud of. We witnessed a training mission departing at sunset. It made OK pictures, but it would have been better for me if the pilot had flown lower, into the setting sun. Perhaps he had more important things on his mind than pretty pictures.

You can read Mike’s piece here.

One of the last jobs of my week was to get pictures to go with a story about an exclusive new Harris tweed collection. Harris tweed is a luxury cloth that has been handwoven by the islanders on the Hebredian Isles of Harris, Lewis, Uist and Barra.
A french fashion photographer was in a hotel in Glasgow photographing a model in one of the jackets. I was allowed some time to take a picture and borrowed the photographer’s lights and model for 5 minutes. He joked that he had been relegated to an assistant’s role.

james.glossop@thetimes.co.uk