Why photography?
Photography is my escape from the real world. I find that when I'm taking pictures I get into a trance or a mindset where nothing else really matters and I lose myself in the moment. It's my way of exploring, enjoying and celebrating the natural environment. It's also my way of story telling as I love to get people thinking about what they're seeing and showing them something they might otherwise have walked past.
I found myself drawn to landscape photography pretty much from the start. I always thought it was the most amazing genre of photography because it can't be faked and it requires pure determination, patience and trust in the powers that be to make it all come together. You can't adjust the lighting of a landscape like you would in a studio or elsewhere so you have to just wait and wait and wait. In doing so I've learnt a lot about the world around me and the process has made me focus on things that I wouldn't have paid attention to before.
My style
My personal work tends to focus on views of local landscapes that are hidden away. My major influences include Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite and David Ward. I favour vertical compositions quite regularly as I like to move the viewer from the near foreground to the sky and above. I also have a fascination of trees which shows in many of my pictures.
My kit
I currently use a Nikon D200 with a range of lenses and a slightly battered Manfrotto tripod which I swear by. I don't like using filters either on camera or in the computer. I generally take bracketed exposures of a scene and then blend them together afterwards (which is, in effect, like having a graduated ND filter).