Alas, it was not to be for, although an absent Simon got a well-deserved silver for the Ship Song Project and a bronze award for the Schweppes campaign at The Art Directors Club Annual Awards in New York.

It’s probably just as well to be honest – they’d have had a hard time catching up with him as he zipped around the USA Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs, taking pictures of some of the nation’s best and brightest before they head over to London to take all Britain’s medals.

Here’s what it looks like

And that’s not the only Schweppes-related news, oh no. The campaign goes from strength to strength, and has made it into PDN’s 2012 Photo Annual.

Which was nice.

Good news for the POOL collective and their publication Blow Up which has made it into the D&AD 2012 book!

Look!

To say that this is something of an achievement is like saying Donald Trump’s got a bit of spare cash knocking about. And the taste of success is particularly sweet this year as it’s the third in a row that Simon has made it into D&AD, which represents a truly amazing hat-trick.

And talking of hat-tricks, if Torres can keep his recent form and lead Chelsea to a big win over Liverpool in Saturday’s FA Cup final (that’s soccerball for our American readers) then it’s entirely likely that Simon will explode with happiness.
Or get a bit drunk.

More info here

The good ship Harsent set sail for the Australian Writers & Art Directors Awards (AWARD) and and a good job too. The panel had seen fit to give a bronze for last year’s Ship Song project – news that helped to put a bit of wind in our sails!

Cast the mainsail (or something) and catch us next time we’re weighing anchor. That’s probably enough of the ship puns for now… See ya!

While you’re waiting for your copy to come through, we can give you a sneak peek at one of the shots featured in the book. Y’know, as it’s you…

Yeah, we know, good isn’t it? This was the result of a ‘day off’ while on location in Manchester. It’s a beautiful shot that, we feel, tells us something important about the real Simon.

He doesn’t have days off.

More soon…

Anyway, if clicking on the above link seems like just a step too far in the effort stakes, then please, allow us…

You’re welcome.

Simon was one of the finalists, and it’s not hard to see why… this stylish and timeless shot is of two friends, Janai and Josh as they wait to take their wedding vows in the marriage registry office of City Hall, New York while on a round-the-world holiday. All the best to the happy couple.

That’s all for now, but there’ll be more soon. With our finger very much on the pulse of the interweb, we feel for the electronic heartbeat so that you don’t have to… something like that anyway…

It is with a considerable amount of pride that we report they will be showing Melt: Portrait of an Iceberg. The exhibition will run until 25th March, but Wednesday’s when the whole thing kicks off with an opening reception. Never one to miss out on a free drink, Simon will be there. We hope that some of you lot can make it too.

Don’t just take our word for it though, here’s what the gallery has to say:

“The Alison Milne Gallery is thrilled to welcome New York Photographer Simon Harsent and his exhibition Melt: Portrait of an Iceberg. In this collection of hauntingly beautiful photographs, Harsent documents the journey of a string of icebergs as they break away from the ice-wall off the West coast of Greenland and travel from Baffin Bay to the East Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Arriving as sad and battered fragments of the once grandiose and alien glaciers, these icebergs remind us of the fragility of the arctic and the imposing threat of climate change.”
It’s got to be better than waiting for your girlfriend to propose, hasn’t it?

More news as it happens.

Credit where credit’s due:

There’s more to come over the following months, so keep your eyes peeled.

The creative collective that make up POOL are launching their new publication Blow Up this week. Designed by Maud and the members of POOL, it captures beautifully the collective ethos of the group within its pages. To celebrate the launch of this exciting project, there’s a group show ending with, quite possibly, a group hug and, following that, world domination. Or a hangover. One of the two.

Friday’s launch is an invite-only affair, but the show will be running throughout the weekend for members of the public to visit. And, if you’re in the area (Sydney’s Botanical Gardens no less) it promises to be a must-see event.

Simon’s contribution is a series of shots called Into the Abyss and, following their work together on the WWF campaign, is another stunning collaboration with his father, the award-winning poet David Harsent.

For those of you not lucky enough to be near Sydney this weekend click here.

More soon, so keep checking back…

[Click on each image to see a larger version]

It’s amazing what results a change in perspective can have…