My interest in photography started back in 2003 when I bought a small digital compact camera with the intention of taking snaps of the family. After a short time my interest started to expand and I found myself going out more to photograph the local scenery. It wasn’t too long before I became frustrated with the limitations of my compact and so I decided to buy my first SLR, however, I didn’t have the cash needed to purchase the DSLRs of the time so I went the film route instead, I then spent the next three years shooting slide film. It was in these early days that I developed my love for shooting landscape and nature, being inspired primarily by photographers such as Joe Cornish, David Noton and Andy Rouse. Another figure that has been a great source of inspiration is my cousin Steve (whom I also work with). He has been a keen landscape photographer for many years and I owe a lot to him for helping me out during my early days. In late 2005 my slide scanner died which pushed me to purchase a DSLR in Jan 2006. I believe this enabled my photography to improve at a much faster rate simply because of the instant feedback I got, rather than having to wait a week before getting my slides back.
Since then I have expanded my interests further and a couple of years ago I got heavily into Urban Exploration, going into various derelict venues shooting all those nasty things that others have behind. I must say that this has taken my photography to a new level and given a new lease of life to the old grey matter. It has also led me into the world of HDR and 2010 was definitely my year for that, though my first HDR attempts were with landscape shots. I seem to have developed my own style with HDR and have somewhat gotten a reputation in this field with those that know me, this is probably due to the fact that I didn’t really seek out any tutorials and just processed things in my own way.
I won’t be focusing on Urban Exploration here though, I am going back to my first love for landscape and nature. I hope to cover a wide range of things, some of it a bit more tech based such as learning about your camera and different ways to process your images, but also how to look at things when you’re out in the field. To me, landscape or scenic photography isn’t just about slapping on the widest lens you have, it’s also about learning to see things within the landscape (sometimes referred to as macro landscapes), and looking at how light shapes the world and its ability to create different moods and atmosphere. There’s nothing quite like those early autumn and winter mornings with a splash of golden sunlight raking over the land.
Taking up photography has enabled me to see and appreciate the world in a way that I never did before. Whether I’m in the countryside, by the sea, in the city or trudging through a derelict building, being out with the camera is one of the greatest and most therapeutic things there is…Sometimes I quite like the pictures I come back with too.
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Based on the south coast of England UK, I love to photograph landscapes and nature. In addition to this, over the past two to three years I’ve become fascinated with Urban Exploration and dereliction.
I’ve always had a passion for creating art, studying art and design during my school years and spending much of my time watercolour painting. After a brief love affair with playing rock guitar, photography was to be the next step in my creative life and I haven’t stopped since.
My photography has always been a continuous journey, constantly trying to gather as much information as I can to help push my photography to new levels and explore new avenues of creativity.
I love sharing the things I have learned and over the past few years
I have been an active committee member of a local camera club, giving occasional tutorials on photo skills and basic Photoshop techniques. I am also the proud winner of ‘The Portman cup’ for ‘Best Image of 2010′ at the Sussex Photographic federation’s Projected Digital Image competition.