At the age of five, the gift of an instamatic camera from my grandfather, proved to be the catalyst for a passion for photography, the ‘magic’ of that event remains undiminished from those early years.

I was born in the village of Dosthill, Staffordshire in 1955, photography remained a hobby reflecting a love of rural life, the countryside and its wildlife. It was these activities that formed a bedrock for later development within art and design.
In education, art and related subjects became a major stimulus, enthusiasticallly upheld ‘out of hours’ as there was very limited time allocated within the school curriculum. Upon completing a foundation course I studied Multi-Disciplinary Design at the North Staffordshire Polytechnic, graduating with a First Class Hons. Degree in Surface Pattern Design and Photography. Those formative years allowed me to embrace many disciplines, an integral part of my creative development, for which I can trace many influences in my ensuing work.
For several years I became heavily involved within the commercial field of surface design, primarily in products for interior design, however photography remained as a continuous thread throughout this period. Early in the 90’s I decided to channel all my energy into photography, a creative expression for which I had sole control and derived such pleasure.
  Photography allows me to fully immerse and engage with my surroundings, whether it be the countryside or the urban landscape, there are always photographic challenges.

The most satisfying image? Simple composition, undoubtedly, and an inherent calmness, these images prove the most timeless.
The American photgrapher, Eliot Porter, a pioneer in colour photography, worked with an instinctive attention to compsition of colour and intimate detail within landscape. Reproduced in many books, his beautiful imagery has been a profound influence on my technique.
Committing an image to film is often made within a split second, but that is not the whole story. There are oppurtunities when all the key elements, light, subject, composition appear almost as a ‘gift’, but on far more occasions, investigation and patience are required for the final reward. An understanding of light is fundamental. Over the years this has become almost instinctive, knowing how film will respond to its various guises. This can often be extremely frustrating, but I have learnt to accept when conditions are unfavourable, often making a visual note for another day, or in some circumstances, another year, when travelling abroad.
I’m not one for blinding my audience with the technical, I hope my images speak for themselves, but needless to say, superior optics are required to achieve the ultimate result. I make images with Zeiss or Schneider lens in combination with Linhof , Rolleiflex or Contax camera bodies, using Fuji Velvia transparency film. This wonderful material has transformed my work in recent years, with its incredible detail and saturation, accurately responding to prevailing light conditions. Due to its slow speed, the use of a tripod is paramount, this often cumbersome piece of kit is key, as it slows the whole image making process, demanding a more measured approach to the subject.
My background in surface design continues to pervade my imagery, I favour using medium telephoto lenses, particularly in the square and panoramic format, as they enable an isolation of the subject or theme, ‘stacking’ perspective, achieving an abstract or pattern quality.
I am often asked ‘how do you see?’, for which I have no simple answer. We all have our own individual vision, photography allows me to share my personal view of our surroundings. Life is full of surprises, this is also the joy of photography as it is often wholly unpredictable.