Have you ever watched something on telly, been totally absorbed by the person on screen and completely forgotten that someone must be behind the camera?
I grew up watching Fred Dibnah. He was a steeplejack from Bolton who somehow became a national treasure in the 1980s with his BBC series.
My dad, being a roofer, was glued to it. Anything involving ladders, chimneys or dangerous heights and he was in. So, by default, was I.
Fred was an old-school grafter. Flat cap, broad Lancashire accent and not a safety harness in sight.
He’d climb towering turrets, mighty mill chimneys and scary steeples, getting stuck in to his craft while recounting stories from a birds-eye view of Britain’s industrial past.
It was a one-man history lesson but from a terrifying height.
But here’s what I never considered.
Someone had to film it.
Not from a drone. Not through a zoom lens from the ground. Proper up-there-with-him filming.
Enter Martin Lightening.
Yes, that’s his real name.
And yes, he was the one with the camera (and sound), perched above Fred, leaning over the abyss, capturing it all. No fanfare. No voiceover. No one asking how that footage even happened.
That’s him, climbing up the chimney with the camera on his back!
Fred got the fame. Martin made it possible.
I have a Christine. When I’m on stage or writing a book, she’s making me look good. Thank you Mrs H.
However hard you think you’ve got it, someone else might be going even further to support you.
They may be a couple of steps removed rather than on the steeple, but they’re there.
The best leaders know this. The best teams understand it. The best people appreciate it.
Who’s your Martin Lightening?
Take a moment today to recognise someone who helps you shine. You can do it in the comments here.
Writing this piece, I reached out to Martin’s son Dan Lightening who is in the family business and works as a highly talented Director of Photography.
He sent me some extra pictures of his dad at work. Here they are:
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Martin and Fred climbing a chimney pre filming
Martin Lightening and Fred Dibnah
Super cool cameraman Martin Lightening
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