Profile

This website is the culmination of several years of complete dedication, lots of travel, and above all a passion for landscape photography.  Virtually every one of these images has a story behind it, and all of them were carefully planned sometimes months in advance just to maximise my chances of shooting the chosen location at it's most visually stunning.  In fact, although huge travel distances are sometimes involved, if the conditions aren't optimum for the shoot I won't waste my time and will return the next day, next week or even the next year until I get the shot I have in mind.  To say I do this because I love natural landscapes is somewhat of an understatement.  I have always enjoyed the outdoors and nature and now more than ever look forward to my next photographic adventure to discover something new, broaden my knowledge, and open my mind.  Any chance to escape the ever increasingly modern technological world which some seen to be obsessed by is fine by me.  Don't get me wrong, I spend way too much time in front of a computer too, but the reality is more of us need to turn off that phone, log off that computer and get out to a national park for a day or two, and appreciate the fact that nothing man made on the face of this earth has more power or beauty than nature itself.  For those of you who don't quite understand what I'm saying, spare a few minutes of your valuable day to peruse this website, and discover what indescribable beauty the real world has to offer.

 

Negotiating and photographing the extraordinarily beautiful but dangerous Zion 'Narrows' slot canyon, Utah. 

 

For me when it comes to landscape photography, my philosophy is to get to know a location as well as I can before even venturing in with my cameras.  It is vital for me to shoot the scene at the best time of day and best time of year.  Often several days are needed at a particular location in order to study how the light falls on the land and work out the best possible shooting angles according to the available light and weather conditions.  For me my ultimate goal is to create a powerful image that evokes mood, harmony and peace, so the compositional aspects of subject placement, lead in lines and balance are vitally important in generating a strong composition, as well as texture and colour.  In many ways shooting 6x17 panoramic format is a more challenging proposition than most other forms of photography, and dealing with such a long image really challenges your compositional approach.  Unlike the rule of thirds that is applicable in normal format photography,  I will not hesitate to break the rules and position the main subject matter in the centre of the frame if I feel it will give the image more impact.  Out of all my work, the image 'Convergence' is a classic example of positioning the main subject matter in the middle of the frame for maximum impact combined with the use of lead in lines to draw the eyes in towards the middle.  That's why I love this format so much.  This slow form of photography is quite challenging and rewarding if you put in the time to learn and are patient with what you are trying to achieve.  But I have to say that patience is the key to creativity for me in this genre, and I'm still working on that.

 

On Location.......

 

A sense of scale at the entry to 'The Wave', Coyote Buttes.  Deep in the unforgiving remote desert of the Paria Canyon / Vermillion Cliffs wilderness area, Arizona.

 

All set up and waiting for good light on top of a massive hill in the middle of the Utah desert near St George.

 

On location at the very bottom of New Zealand, waiting, waiting, waiting.....Something tells me it gets a little windy here !

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

What's in the bag ?

                                                                                         

Fotoman 617 III
Panoramic Medium Format Film Camera with Schneider Super Angulon 90mm F5.6 lens with Centre Filter, Ground Glass and Rangefinder.

Canon 5D Mark II
Digital SLR Camera  (Full Frame)

Canon 30D
Digital SLR Camera  (APS-C 1.6x)

Canon EF  24mm  F1.4L  Mark II  USM lens

Canon  EF  8-15 mm F4.0L  Fisheye  USM

Canon EF-S  10-22 mm  F3.5-4.5  USM lens

Canon EF  70-200mm  F2.8L  IS  USM lens

Canon EF  100mm  F2.8  Macro USM lens                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Canon EF  17-40mm  F4.0L USM lens                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Canon  1.4x II Extender

Sekonic L358 light meter with 1 degree spot meter attachment.

I also carry a large selection of Cokin, Hoya, B&W and Tiffen Neutral Density, Graduated and Polarising Filters, and shoot exclusively with Fujifilm 120 Velvia ISO 50 / Provia 100F slide film.

The cameras are mounted on a Gitzo 3541 Tripod with an Acratech GP Ballhead.