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 and urban observation photography, but I don't treat them as completely separate disciplines. The same way of looking carries through both — composition, texture, light and the small details that make a place worth photographing.
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.
