I started to take photos during my teenage years. My first experience of real photography was with a home made cardboard box pinhole camera, using photographic paper as film which was then developed in the under stairs cupboard using plant pot trays for the chemicals and a light bulb painted red to see by!
The appearance of those images slowly appearing in the developer further fuelled my interest and I became interested in the whole development and printing cycle. I then experimented with Kodak box cameras before buying the cheapest SLR I could find a Russian Zenit E.
Zenit E (1982 ish)
At that time I was doing all my own black and white developing an printing either in the school darkroom or at home. I had few photographs published in connection with school and I even had a Zenit Enlarger setup in the attic. Getting the chemicals to 20c was however always hard in winter. After starting university and then work, like many others, I drifted away until the advent of digital and the attraction of a ‘darkroom’ that didn't smell, add extra dust ‘texture’ to my images, or monopolise the bathroom for hours!
In 2007 I acquired a Nikon D40 and joined an OU Digital Photography short course, T189. The regular challenge to take and share images was new to me and something I really enjoyed. I then progressed to a Nikon D90 which was a wonderful robust and effective camera. In 2016, mainly for reasons of size, I have moved on to the Olympus CSC system and I have a number of prime and zoom lens' which I use with an OMD M5 and PEN cameras. I like the quality of the system, the interchangeability, but not the battery life.
In 2007 I just wanted to take a shot that had some impact, in fact any subject would have done! Images have always strongly appealed to me and the creation of ones that also appeal to others is something I enjoy. I particularly like landscape photography and seeing the countryside in great light. There's always that challenge to be locations at the crack of dawn and see something unique.
Perhaps because of that I greatly admired (and still do) photographers like Joe Cornish and of course Charlie Waite who managed to marry subtly and impact in single images. Since then I have come to admire a number of particularly East Anglian photographers for their take on the area I now live. I also have interest in detailed, close up photography and a real soft spot for urban twilight shots, but the more photography I do the more I realise it’s really the light that makes the shot.
In 2008 I was published in Amateur Photographer's reader pages, and in 2009 came 7th in the Amateur Photographer of the Year competition (but haven't made much impact since!) I've also had a cover photo on Herts Life Magazine and a number of images published since.
In Jan 2010 I was awarded a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and in April 2023 I was awarded the Associate distinction in Landscape for a panel of images on The Deben.
