Self portrait / Leica M8 + Voigtlander Nokton 40mm lens / f1.7 ISO160 1/90sec

I started taking photography seriously during the summer of 2011. Music was always my first love, both as an avid listener/collector and a performer/label boss, and so that's where all my time and money went. When I found I was becoming less involved in music, I felt the desire to express my artistic urges in a different way, and photography seemed like the natural progression. I've owned cameras all my life (mostly cheap things I could fit in my trouser pockets and carry around everywhere with me) and have always believed that I see things with a 'photographic eye'. Because I wanted a compact and pocketable camera I was immediately drawn to the idea of the Micro Four Thirds system developed by Olympus and Panasonic (small, light, mirrorless cameras with DSLR like performance), and so I bought an E-PL1, one of the first digital PEN cameras from Olympus. It was already two-year-old technology by then, but still light years ahead of anything I'd owned before. The PEN cameras are the size of a point-and-shoot compact and they can be used like one in fully automatic mode, but you can also turn the dial to 'M' and have total control over aperture, shuter speed and ISO - this was all new to me, and I lapped it up.

Nearly 2 years on and I'm still shooting Micro Four Thirds, but now with Olympus's high-end Micro Four Thirds camera, the OM-D E-M5, along with an Olympus E-PM2. The new PEN mini is the camera I carry with me every day - it's pocketable, produces wonderful OOC files and is a perfect stealthy street machine. I've also returned to film, with two classic examples of 1970s/'80s SLR cameras; the Olympus OM-1n and the legendary Nikon F3. I love the feel of shooting film, I find it a totally different experience, one massively enhanced by the almost orgasmic feel of the shutter release on the entirely mechanical OM, and the tank-like construction of the F3!

I shoot as much and as often as I can, I'm still learning and I believe the best way to learn is by practical experience. The genres I've gravitated towards are street photography, urban landscape and live music, along with documenting life in my native Leigh-on-sea. You can see examples of my work in both digital and film by following the portfolio link above. Musicians/bands can hire my services for live or promotional photography - feel free to contact me.