Where are you from/based now?
I'm originally from Lichfield in England but live and work in Sydney, Australia.
What is your background in Photography? What keeps you interested?
I studied here in Sydney before working as a creative in advertising for a while. My interest in photography has been ongoing for many years but it's really only the past few years that I've pursued it as a serious artistic pursuit. What keeps me interested is knowing that I can find something new to document or study wherever I look (even familiar places) on an almost daily basis. I also want to improve my work, to be more original in my approach and thinking and to push my own creativity, that's what also keeps me going. This means I can be super critical of myself but that's a bit of an artistic curse I suppose.
What equipment do you use?
I mainly use a trusty old Pentax67 with 75mm or 90mm lens shooting on Portra film. I also have a Canon 5DMkII that I use from time to time.
What do you look for when you are out shooting? What draws you to a project?
What I look for varies from project to project and is dependant on which location and what ideas are in my head. I might discard a particular scene one day only to revisit it (with a fresh mind) another day. There is a subconscious 'pull' though, a pattern I tend to follow and I find myself being drawn to unusual situations, everyday coincidences, bizarre human interventions. My projects are sometimes planned, sometimes fall in to place after long and drawn out investigation, and sometimes appear out of nowhere. My mind can also wander and I sometimes experiment with projects that are far removed from my usual practice only to discard them or maybe re-visit at a later date.
Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?
Where to start!? I love the work of a number of photographers and always know I can't list everyone in these interviews! The marvellous landscape work of artists like Joel Sternfeld, Edward Burtynsky, Richard Misrach, Andreas Gursky and Nadav Kander are a constant inspiration as is the work of Jeff Wall, Thomas Struth and Candida Hofer. And there are many other photographers dealing with totally different subjects and genres that offer much inspiration. I am also inspired by new directions in image-making and a book I have recently enjoyed, and one that inspires me to think beyond my normal photographic practice, is 'Post-Photography - The Artist with a Camera'. There are some fascinating new approaches to photography detailed there that remind me I should experiment more.
Are you working on a project at the moment?
I have been a little quiet this year due to some personal factors and needing a creative break, but I do have a couple of ongoing projects that I am gradually adding to and will publish as 'works in progress' on my site soon. I also recently photographed the Tropical Gardens Centre in The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney prior to the centre being demolished/renovated. The plants and trees inside these 'greenhouse buildings' had been left for nearly a year to either flourish or die - it was a great subject to document as it was a controlled environment now left uncontrolled and offered some interesting images. I hope to collaborate with The Botanic Gardens and exhibit the images in 2016.
Are you exhibiting at the moment? Do you have any plans to exhibit more in the near future.
I'm currently showing as part of the Head On Photo Festival landscape prize exhibition at Parliament House here in Sydney. Next month I'm also showing at PhotoIreland Festival in a group show curated by Claire Monneraye from the Australian Centre For Photography. Called 'Island - Australia' Claire is showcasing works by 10 contemporary Australian artists and it's showing at the Copper house Gallery in Dublin. There are a couple of other group show opportunities for later this year that are yet to be confirmed. I don't have a solo show planned for this year but I'm looking at having one in 2016.
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