BRIEFLY
Photography: Exploring ideas since 1974
Focus: Ephemeral light and Stygian darkness
Gear: Leica, Hasselblad, Nikon, Olympus, Mamiya
Format: Digital, Film and Transparency - 35mm, 120 roll
Experience: Arctic, Himalaya, Kimberley, Alps, Desert, Ocean
Outputs: Magazines, Books, Portraits, Audio Visual Presentations
Philosophy: Stripping away the strictures of styles, techniques, theories, and compositional rules, and rejecting the enticements of technology, enables me to "Shoot what is. As it is. And let it speak for itself."
MOMENT IN SAND
INSTANT OF WASH
50th ANNIVERSARY
Fifty years ago I bought my first professional camera, a black-bodied Olympus OM1 MD with 50mm f1.4 lens. Launched in 1972, its virtues were extolled by famed British portrait photographers Lord Lichfield and Lord Snowdon. The OM1 was the most revolutionary 35mm camera of its day, used by movie greats, rock stars and professioanl journalists alike. Which is why the salesman told me I'd be mad not to buy one.
My OM 1 travelled with me on some 15 expeditions, shooting mostly Kodak Ektachrome, and never failed once. I have since owned many cameras, although I have no idea which particular camera I used to capture any image in my portfolio. I just grabbed whatever was to hand on the day to capture that fleeting image.
Typically I shoot portraits on medium format film (1974 Mamiya RB67 Pro S), landscapes on 35mm transparency film (1973 Nikon FM2n) and for commercial work, an iconic full frame digital (2008 Nikon D700). My daily 'carry', shooting Kodak Tri-X, is the legendary 1969 Olympus 35 SP with a 42mm f1.7 G-Zuiko lens. I have several projects in hand which may need another 30 years to finish..
My OM 1 travelled with me on some 15 expeditions, shooting mostly Kodak Ektachrome, and never failed once. I have since owned many cameras, although I have no idea which particular camera I used to capture any image in my portfolio. I just grabbed whatever was to hand on the day to capture that fleeting image.
Typically I shoot portraits on medium format film (1974 Mamiya RB67 Pro S), landscapes on 35mm transparency film (1973 Nikon FM2n) and for commercial work, an iconic full frame digital (2008 Nikon D700). My daily 'carry', shooting Kodak Tri-X, is the legendary 1969 Olympus 35 SP with a 42mm f1.7 G-Zuiko lens. I have several projects in hand which may need another 30 years to finish..
CURRENT
My major ongoing project, titled 'Between Heaven and Earth', explores the disproportionate relationship between physical size and global impact. And, in particular, how tiny humans can wreak such potentially world-ending havoc on earth - a profound imbalance that has never been adequately explained. I examine this tension visually to understand its fundamental improbability, and possibly discover a viable remedy.
BETWEEN HEAVEN & EARTH
CLOUD
