PROFILE
I work as a semi-professional landscape and nature photographer. My time is spent living between two beautiful areas, in Cumbria, near Penrith, on the edge of the Lake District and in Northumberland in a small village on the coast. My aim is to capture striking, atmospheric photographs which convey the natural beauty of Northern Britain and I've become known for my unedited, graphic style. I've regularly supplied imagery to a wide range of clients and exhibited throughout the north. My photographs can be seen in a number of galleries and venues, as well as here online. The images on this website represent only a small sample of my work.
Approach to Photography
Having spent much of my life working outdoors, I have a great appreciation of the natural world. Initially using 35mm and medium format film cameras, I found that photography combined my love of nature with my creative and technical interests. Although it can be challenging to achieve, I strive to portray the feeling and mood invoked by a location, whether that be conventionally beautiful or harsh and cold. To this end, I look for intimate, personally appealling angles when shooting and steer away from a chocolate box approach.
It might sound a little clichéd, but I also aim to capture images which depict the complexity of nature in the hope that each may help the viewer to value the subject and its environment.
Although I now work almost exclusively using digital equipment (full frame Canon and Nikon), my beginnings in film photography engendered a strong desire to not only record the landscape at its natural best, but as it really is. Because of this, I ike my photographs to display authentic moments in time, free from overt computer manipulation.
PERSONAL BIO
Aquaculture & Fishing
I've had an interesting and rewarding business career. It began when I moved to the west coast of Scotland in early 1980s. In partnership, I established a shellfish farm cultivating oysters and clams. We also operated a commercial fishing boat while developing the farm. Sold in the 90s, it is still a thriving enterprise today. |
Watersports Centre
As an RYA windsurfing instructor, I set up a watersports training centre, again in partnership, at Seamill, North Ayrshire. Employing several staff, the facility offered windsurfing and waterskiing courses to people of all ages. The centre's shop sold associated equipment, including my own range of related lifestyle clothing. |
Horticulture & Holistic Medicine
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In the early 90s, I returned to northern England to work in horticulture and landscape design. While doing so, I developed an interest in herbology and acpuncture. Using my weekends and evenings to train, I qualified as a practitioner of Chinese Medicine in 2000. It involved study and clinical practice in the UK and hospitals in China.