About

I am a professional photographer specialising in Landscape, Architectural and Outdoor photography based in Bristol. I am mainly employed with freelance and commission work in addition to teaching.

I was given my first camera at the age of 13 and have hardly been without one since. I know film very well and how difficult it was to get the right composition without spending a fortune on the stuff. So, I had to learn quickly to be economical and efficient with each exposure and eventually I learnt how to look and see.

In other words, a larger intellectual investment on each shot and a smaller one on film. Having little or no money at that time teaches you photography. With digital cameras it's the opposite. Little or no intellectual investment and click-away at no cost. Everything is relatively easy at quite a low cost but a camera is still only a tool. It's still about what you do with it that counts. Getting great pictures takes time and practice and I've had lots of that. It's not about taking pictures, it's about making pictures.

My pictures have been published in countless magazines, including Country Life, The Dalesman, The Countryman, Cumbria, RIBA Journal, Landscape, Architecture Today and too many pictorial articles to include here. They are also available in the major photostock libraries including Getty Images, iStockphoto and Alamy and are also on show in several galleries.

I have had dozens of exhibitions and have won several major awards. I am currently fully active with commercial work, mainly architectural subjects and of course teaching photography.

Successfully teaching photography requires patience, a touch of empathy and not surprisingly enough knowledge and passion to enthuse students. Oh, and some interactive communication skills too. I sincerely hope I have these qualities; but let my students be my judge! Please take a look at just a few of my students comments - Click here to go to Course Comments

What's in the bag?

Two Nikon D300 bodies with MC30 remote shutter release
Nikkor 12-24 mm 1:4DX (used 90% of the time)
Nikkor 24-85 mm (AF-S) 1:3.5-4.5 DX (a great little lens overlooked by many)
Nikkor 80-200 mm f/2.8 (big, fast and sharp)
Tokina 11-16 mm f/2.8 DX (an amazingly sharp tool that has a field of view almost as wide as the human eye).

Hoya Circular Polarisers
Hoya Graduated and solid neutral density

Manfrotto O55XPROB & 190B Pro tripods with spiked and rubber feet
Manfrotto RC488 ball head

Nikon SB 600 Speedlight Flash (on & off camera).

Hot shoe spirit level
Sandisk 8GB Extreme + spare
2 x Spare batteries

HTC Desire Smartphone with the following apps
Strawberry DOF guide
Compass
Sunset and sunrise times + Golden hour
CamCalc DOF guide
Tide times
Accu weather
Google maps

I always carry a good compact point and shoot:- Panasonic Lumix LX3 (24-60mm Leica lens) just in case I need to catch something I'm not prepared for.



A famous photographer says it all.

I see what I think
I see what I feel because I am what I see
If there is nothing to see and I still see it,
That's poetry
If there is something to see and everybody sees it
That's photography.
—Inge Bondi,

Please feel free to add your comments; they are always helpful in some way and much appreciated.