I'm a black and white photographer. The subject changes. The approach doesn't.
Once, I spent hours planning trips—checking maps, writing shot lists, and lugging a massive rucksack full of equipment. Most of the time, I came away underwhelmed.
After a serious rethink, I stripped everything back. These days, the only thing I plan is the walking route. The photography happens naturally along the way.
Everything I need now fits into a single hip pack. No tripod, all handheld. For me, a tripod breaks the flow, and the walk always comes first. That isn't laziness—it’s a deliberate choice to stay present and photograph what catches my eye.
My photography moves between landscape photography, urban observation photography and commissioned work for historic properties, estates and heritage sites, but I don't treat them as completely separate disciplines. The same way of looking carries through all of it — composition, texture, light and the small details that give a place its character.
That same approach shapes my commissioned work too — focusing on atmosphere, setting and sense of place rather than conventional property imagery. View Photography Services →
I shoot exclusively in black and white JPEGs, relying on minimal editing rather than digital reconstruction.
Ditching RAW files means there is no "fix-it-later" safety net. I commit to the look in-camera, the same way I used to shoot film. If that means working in harsh midday sun instead of the golden hour, that's what I use.
I’m not chasing clinical sharpness, specs, or resolution charts. I want texture, tonality, and character—imperfect, weathered, and honest.
You don't need the latest high-spec gear to make a photograph. I've owned the heavy, modern full-frame systems, and I traded them for lightweight portability. Better camera bodies don't make better images; they just make the technical process quicker.
My main camera these days is an Olympus Stylus 1s, a small-sensor compact from 2014 that gives me everything I actually need without getting in the way. It's light, has a built-in viewfinder and zoom lens, and fits the stripped-back way I now photograph.
I still own and use older cameras from time to time, but I've stopped treating sensor size, specifications and newer equipment as prerequisites for making photographs.
