About
I have been a commercial photographer for more than 35 years, starting out as a second assistant to a car photographer in Deptford, South London, infamous home of the Kray twins, whose white Roller was often seen parked in the vicinity of the studio.
Those were the days when AI and CGI were very distant future dreams and car photography was done with hot tungsten lighting, sheet film cameras and lots of dulling spray.
Needless to say I moved on to other genres of photography, including food, as full time assistant to pioneering food photographer, Anthony Blake.
After a couple of years of assisting I set up my own photo business working for magazines and doing corporate shoots out of a base in London. However, that was interrupted when I emigrated down under and restarted my career in Sydney.
BY THE GANGES, VARANASI, 2011
in the beginning…
…..I decided that for a career in photography, some essential professional experience was needed (that could only really be gained by working with an established photographer) .
Assisting legendary advertising food photographer, Anthony Blake in London meant going on regular assignments to Paris as his agent was based there. That also meant using the french I had (one of the reasons he gave me the job) Although I wasn’t fluent, I was able to improve my language and photography skills whilst working with this larger than life character.
The work experience was terrific, but I was keen to get my own photo business going, and it wasn’t long before I started to reach out to potential clients to get paid jobs of my own. It was a very creative time of experimentation and discovery so I started working mainly on editorial assignments for magazines like Building and Country Living that supported personal interpretation of diverse subjects.
After emigrating to Australia I decided to work for some of the top local photographers like Mike Skelton and Jon Love to familiarise myself with the very different style and marketplace in Sydney. I then went into doing below the line advertising work for American Express and other clients enjoying the prosperity of that great era of film photography.
IMAGE: THE FIRST FRAME SHOT ON MY FIRST FILM CAMERA, AN OLYMPUS OM1 SLR: SUNSET AT READING STATION, DORSET, UK c.1982
years of hard work…
Photography has been my passion and a way of life for more than 40 years. I love it as much now as I did when I started out as a social documentary photographer working to improve the lives of people on the edge in overcrowded council estates in some less well off suburbs of London. Times were tough for many people in those days and I had a deeply felt social conscience after growing up in a very disliked class system.
Since then I have worked hard to maintain a thriving commercial business whilst staying true to my passion for creating my own work. Both have taken me to many different countries, including a long relationship with the subcontinent as part of my own journey towards deeper fulfilment. As a result a lot of my personal work comes from the 9 unique trips I made to India. You can see some of that work in the print gallery and shop,so please checkout this signature work and support my future endaevours by investing in a print .
Working commercially has had its up and down times, of course, but despite that, I have always aspired to creating the best possible work for my clients, working hard on my technique and keeping up with the ever developing world of photography. I have more recently become a specialist in portraiture and have studied with the very best portrait photographers in the world to improve that side of my commercial work. In addition to that, I have also moved away from predominantly shooting food to working with products, interiors and people.
IMAGE: OVERCROWDING IN LONDON COUNCIL HOUSING c.1984