How It All Started Back In The 1970’s.
It all started with my Nan’s small Instamatic camera when I was 4 or 5 years old. Whenever we visited she used to let me play with the camera.
I got some of my best ever shots back then. Shame there was never an film in the camera.
Still, the photography bug was firmly sown back then.
Synth Pop Failure In The 1980’s.
Like a lot of teens in the mid 1980s, I wanted to be in a band. I bought a synthesiser and wrote lyrics.
Trouble is I couldn’t play a note or sing in tune. My synth pop career was a complete non-starter.
But I’d fallen in love with the photography of Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn. So I decided that photography was pretty much the next best thing to sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll.
15 Minutes of Fame In The 1990’s.
Andy Warhol famously said that everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. I’m not sure I particularly searched it out, but I got mine in 1993 when we appeared on the ITV game show ‘Family Fortunes’.
As luck would have it we won and we walked out the studios with £750 each. I was at university at the time, so it was quite a sizeable sum for a student!
A 21st Century Revolution
I was an early adopter of digital photography in the early Noughties. It was revolutionary for me. Often frustrated by the end results of film photography (and the slow nature of it) digital was much more of a perfect fit for me.
By this point I had become obsessed with candid street photography. The likes of Garry Winogrand, Jeff Mermelstein and Martin Parr being big influences on me.
In 2016 I was a winning finalist of the prestigious PDN Street Award – as selected by seminal photography historian and writer, Colin Westerbeck. I was also a finalist in the 2019 San Francisco Street Foto Festival and a Top 3 finalist in the 2019 London Photo Show. Before this I had been a 3 times finalist in the 2008 Curry’s Our Lives Award.
In 2009 I was invited to provide work to the Getty Images library and my images gave been licensed all around the world to many blue chip organisations.
Wedding Photography And All That Jazz
Like most photographers I was asked many times to photograph weddings down the years – but always turned it down, making the mistake of thinking wedding photography was cheesy and cliched.
I finally relented and shot my first wedding in 2012, but insisting I shot the wedding like a photojournalist, concentrating on the real, genuine and natural moments. And I found I loved it! I was also pretty good at, winning a number of awards via the Wedding Photojournalist Association down the years.
Then in 2019 I took a break from shooting weddings, due to a serious illness in the family and my desire to spend more time with my partner – after all, I firmly believe that family should always come first.
Thankfully, she has responded amazingly well to treatments and now, as of summer 2020, I’m back in a position where I am able to resume wedding photography again – all refreshed, keen and eager!
I’m Not Just A Photographer
So when not using my camera I’m a keen writer, particularly of short screenplays for competitions. Although the Oscars are yet to come calling. I’ve also had a few short stories published here and there.
I’m still a music nerd, despite my limited talents in that regard. My tastes are pretty eclectic ranging from electronica to classical, indie to jazz and a few other points in between.
I’m a long suffering West Ham United supporter, but don’t hold that against me. I even shot a wedding once of Millwall fans and managed to come out alive.
I love old black and white movies, particularly film noir, and gangster films. I’ll even happily watch the odd Rom Com.
We live in a flat in south London, with views of the Croydon skyline from the spare bedroom (aka my office), Sutton skyline from the living room and, on a clear day, the Shard from our kitchen window.
Otherwise, you’ll find me most days wandering around Carshalton Park with Buddy.
Come & Find Out More
