Learn more about me, both professionally and personally
It started with a Soviet camera, a Zenit 11 bought for me on my 16 birthday. I had the choice between the Zenit and an Olympus Trip. Being 16, I opted for the camera with the clunky buttons, dials and rings. It was the right decision.
The results from the first roll of film had me hooked although the only stand out images was of a friends’ dog, the sort of thing that fills social media these days. I soon learnt, however, that those buttons and dials were important.
A Zenit 11. The camera that started it allMe on location in Paris. This image was shot by my wife Tania using a Fujifilm X-T2
Learning the Zenit's controlsI realised, could dramatically changed the way an image looked. I began to devour magazines and books on photography, learning as much as I could. I was also blessed to have an uncle, Pat, who was a very accomplished amateur. He took me under his wing, taking me out to shoot and introducing me to the world of the camera club. The latter did not end well.
My passion for image taking was not shared by my parents. They did not believe that I had a chance of getting a career in photography, however a benevolent careers advisor did see something and sent me for an interview at Durst UK for a photographic assistant. Durst were huge in photography in the 80’s, being amongst the most famous manufacturers of darkroom equipment.
I got the job and spent two years there before a recession forced redundancy. From there I moved to an in house photographic laboratory in Fulham for four years. Eventually through various twists of fate I found myself working as a photographer on cruise ships. I was the cruise ships that defined me as a photographer. It combined a hitherto unknown passion for travel with my established love for photography.
All told I would spend 15 years working on cruise ships, with a 5 year interval. In those five years I worked in estate agent photography in London, a job that I despised.
The cruise ships defined my photography.I returned to sea in 2005 just as the digital age was blossoming. Digital photography and the Internet allowed me to sell my photography to clients and companies all over the world.
It was also during my return to sea that I met my future wife Tania. In 2011 I returned to land with Tania, adopting her home city of Odessa, Ukraine as mine. I continued to sell stock photography as well as writing for the top ten photography blog, Light Stalking.
In 2015 in moved toward shooting stock video as the commissions were significantly higher. I now travel several times a year to shoot stock and continue to write for Light Stalking. I am also growing my YouTube channel and creating photography courses in order to help others with their photography.
I was born in Wimbledon, south west London and to this day remain a staunch AFC Wimbledon supporter. I grew up in Sutton and Cheam before heading off to sea in 1991.
I spent the Millennium in Antarctica, photographing penguins and unaware if the Y2K bug had shut down the World. In early 2000 I “retired” from the ships and returned to the UK.
There I worked in real estate photography, a job that involved battling London’s traffic and parking wardens then shooting grimy basement flats that tenants had refused to clean. To be fair there were a few multi million pound homes to shoot also, but overall it was an unrewarding and stressful job.
By 2005 I had had enough and quit. I returned to sea and within a year met Tania. She shared my passion for photography and worked with me on multiple ships. In 2011 under the shade of an old sugar mill in Barbados, we got married. Three months later we disembarked ships for the final time and started a new life in Odessa.
Our beautiful home city of OdessaTime spent onboard the cruise ships made me realise that my true passion in photography lies in landscapes and seascapes. I have visited the polar regions on a number of occasions. The photos I took there are not only amongst my best selling shots but they are also the one that I, personally like the most. A few of them have made my portfolio.
From 2022 I plan to spend much more time shooting both landscapes and seascapes. Initially in the UK but eventually, further afield. Tania and I also plan to indulge in ‘vanlife”, spending a few months a year driving and shooting from a camper van.
I will be shooting videos and blogging about our experiences. If you want to stay tuned on how the adventure is going, why not sign up for our monthly newsletter vie the form below.