About Me

I was born in Skipton in the (then) North Riding of Yorkshire in the mid 60's.  I was brought up in Burnley and then went to the University of Leeds in the early 80's, where I have been based ever since.



I was lucky enough to be a member of the school hiking club and spent most Sundays walking in the Yorkshire Dales, Peak District and sometimes beyond.  When I got to University I was heavily (perhaps too heavily) involved with the Hiking Society.  It was at this time I inherited my dad's old Praktica totally manual camera.  My friends could tell when I was going to take a photo as the hand held light meter would appear, followed by a quick adjustment of the camera settings and then a flurry of activity as I tried to change the screw mount lens and manually focus the image.  This was a very good way to learn how to use a camera, even if it meant I missed a few photos and occasionally missed focus.  In my portfolior there are still a few images from back then.



After college I got a real job as a microbiologist at Leeds University.  I am still there but now the role has changed somewhat ! Over the years I have gone through many makes and models of camera including Canon, Contax, Ricon, Nikon and Pentax.  I currently mainly use a Canon 7d, able supported by the "go everywhere" Canon 590.  Over the years I have come to realise that the camera you use is almost peripheral to the process of taking photographs.  The difficult thing is seeing the image in the first place and then working with the camera to record that image.  Having the best equipment may allow you to make bigget prints, but it is not essential to capture the image.  If you are doing a major winter hike whilst carrying an ice axe, winter gear, suitable safety equipment, enough food to feed a platoon for 3 days and a nice lightweight tripod you may not want to carry the extra 3-4kg that the "best" equipment would weigh.

I love being out when the weather is at its wildest!  I have been at my happiest up to my chest in powder snow, in a total white-out in the middle of a blizzard at -10C or when I am finding a fairly flat rock to sleep on at midnight on a mountain.  I like the thrill of travelling and discovering new places, but still enjoy revisiting some old favourites.  You don't always have to go far to find new places that take your break away! You should always have a camera with you though!

All the pictures on the site are available to buy, at sizes from 10 x 15cm to 60 x 90cm.  I can bond the pictures to foam board or can mount and frame (in hand made frames) the pictures as required.  Please contact me for more information.

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