About

I first got into photography in 1982, while still at College. After leaving college I completed the City & Guild's Basic Photography course through Adult Education but did not pursue it any further.

In 2000 my step-daughter, Victoria, wanted to be a model so I took some photos of her. She left home in 2001 and now models full-time.

I spent the next 5 years working and re-working the photos I took of Victoria. This was a slightly unusual way to learn but it gave me a greater artistic sensibility than I think I would have developed otherwise. What it did not develop was my technical photographic skill. Nevertheless, I uploaded some of my favourite photos of her to my portfolio on ePhotozine and was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the response. During that time I also learned HTML and developed three websites. I did a couple of photoshoots for charity and a few studio shoots at a local camera club but found the camera club mentality far too restrictive.

In 2006 I joined an art group and rented a studio from them, having decided it was time to get more serious about my photography. At the same time I was introduced to a young lady called Liv who agreed to model for me. This was fortuitous and as a result my photos of Liv came to the attention of a model called Ruby who contacted me about doing some shoots with her. Ruby in turn connected me to her friends and to other models by encouraging me to join Model Mayhem, Net-Model and MySpace. I am greatly indebted to her.

Throughout 2007 I concentrated on doing more shoots and getting a better sense of the direction I wanted to take. Unfortunately, the studio proved unsuitable, and the art group even more frustrating than the camera club, so I gave up both and had a re-think. I also bought a new camera with the money I saved.

I am still planning to set up a permanent studio at home for use with a few select models (you know who you are) but in 2009 I became a member of Switch Photography Studio near Arundel in Sussex. I was also honoured to be accepted onto Model Mayhem's The List - a list of veteran photographers dedicated to helping new models build their portfolios.

I am looking forward to improving my technical proficiency, particularly with regards flash lighting, and to that end have put together a portable battery powered flash kit that can be used both indoors and on location.

Cameras & lenses etc:

Nikon D300
Nikkor 20-35mm F2.8D (Main indoor lens)
Nikkor Micro 60mm F2.8D
Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8D (Main outdoor lens)

Nikon D40 (Back-up)
Nikkor 18-55mm

Minolta 5400HS x2 with radio triggers.

One of the best things about radio triggers is that they work with most flashguns. Since the flashguns are off-camera you can mix brands. I already had these two high power Minolta flashguns from my film camera days. The radio triggers are cheap ones off ebay, by the way, and have proved very reliable so far.

Sony H1 (badly injured but still working)

***

In addition to art/photography I am a full-time registered carer and a writer of (mostly) sci-fi/fantasy fiction.