+ About Me

Photography became part of my life when I was about 8 years old and first laid my hands on a camera. Since then I have been shooting pretty much every week in some form, and the passion and excitement has not faded.

I ran the school photography club and probably spent far too much time in the darkroom. The process of developing and printing still holds a fascination for me. I have not given up on film, but the convenience of digital has many attractions and advantages that cannot be ignored in the modern world. Film is like a trusted old friend.

As a teenager I worked freelance for a local newspaper, and was thrilled to have pictures published most weeks. It was a learning curve and helped me develop my interest in people photography instead of just landscapes and still life. Although I was very young, it was good practice  to understand deadlines and getting familiar with working to a brief. This work enabled me to build contacts. I started accepting assignments to shoot promotional material for bands, singers and performance artists. A good proportion was published in music newspapers, although occasionally some made its way into magazines. This always felt slightly more prestigious, probably because they were glossy.

In parallel with the above, and after some tuition from a local professional photographer who I worked with occasionally, I did my first studio shoot. That opened up a new world as I was no longer solely reliant on natural light, portable flash or the great outdoors. I also started working for him on occasions to learn more.

The world of portraiture, casual fashion and art based shoots really started to interest me more than the music, and they rapidly became my main subject matter. My girlfriend was a model and everything just fell into place nicely because we knew a mix of people that proved mutually beneficial. I think my relationship with her guided my creative future and focused my mind and ambition in a way that I may not have done on my own. I have always been open minded and willing to try new things, but occasionally one needs a push. I think it is important to evolve when it comes to creativity to not stifle or restrict ideas.

Having completed my media based further education I was lucky enough to meet an established and very busy professional photographer at a trade event. I worked as his assistant for several years in the studio and on location. This was an education in itself and taught me things about the industry, agents, publishers and galleries that I could not have read about or been been told in lectures. It was so much more than just taking pictures and also paved the way to some clients and contacts. Every day I watched, listened and learnt. I will always be grateful for all that I was taught by everyone I had contact with during this period. I am still in contact with some of them today, which is something I cherish.

I found myself shooting almost every day of the week with little downtime. I never thought creative burnout would be one of the risks I would need to manage when I started my journey, but it did become an issue and I had to change the way I was doing things.

Today, I tend to shoot for fun and my love of photography. My commercial elements are still alive and well, but are on my own terms. I still do collaborations, commissions and projects. I still have professional level equipment, lighting and resources. The difference is that I can pick and choose how, when, where and with whom. That works well for me.