I’ve been a photographer at heart since I was about seventeen years old when I had the chance to work in a darkroom at my secondary school. I wasn’t taught as such, more like thrown in at the deep end after a brief talk on how the developing process worked, along with some some vague warnings on the dangers of messing about with the chemicals I would be using. But I enjoyed the experience nonetheless, experimenting in my own haphazard way. I didn’t know how shutter speed and aperture and ISO affected an image as such, and I had no clue on composition and how light affected an image, but I knew what I liked, and, more importantly, what I didn’t like.

Me and photography didn’t always gel. As a young boy I was too impatient, too lazy to really learn the technical side of things. Too busy playing football and messing about with mates. I had no patience to sit and read a book (thank god for YouTube in todays brave new world), so it was easy to forget about the camera, packed away in a cupboard somewhere, waiting . . . For a long time photography was reduced to day trips and holidays, and not much more. Even then, I’m sad to say, it was almost an afterthought. 

The birth of my daughter, and the fact my dad owned a Canon 350d, finally gave me the spark I needed to begin to really learn. We’d had two boys before my daughter came along and although there are plenty of film pictures of the two of them, a growing family and daily life meant camera rolls stayed in the cupboard for a good while until my wife or I could remember to get down to Max Spielman and get them developed - remember those good old days!

Digital cameras offered a new lease of life. The chance to take pictures and experiment and see my results, all from the comfort of my home, was too great an opportunity to pass up; to throw a sheet over the French Doors for a clean white background as my daughter sat in her bouncy chair blowing raspberries or sucking on her dummy, oblivious to what I was trying to do; to really start learning how a camera works and how light shapes it’s subject. The digital age was just what I needed to really get going with my photography journey. And it’s been so much fun. I’ve made mistakes along the way, a lot of them, and I’ll continue to make mistakes, most likely lots of them. Every day with the camera is an adventure. 

My daughter has been my muse over the years, and we’ve had a lot of fun times together taking sweet portraits and scary Halloween pictures. My boys have joined in too, though a lot more reluctantly it has to be said. My daughter is a teen now and not so willing, but that’s ok, there are other things to photograph, other challenges to meet. My dogs, for instance, are often used as unwilling subjects, though the promise of a tasty treat can make for some great pawtraits. 

Over the years I’ve learned that I’m a seascape photographer at heart. I love those early mornings at the beach, capturing beautiful sunrise colours with  dreamy long exposures, the beach all to myself while most others are just having their first cup of tea of the day. But then, I’ve also come to love Infrared photography. Exploring graveyards and finding those little pockets of scenes amongst the jumble of headstones and stone crosses and gnarly old tree trunks covered in brambles and ivy. And churchyards are such interesting and peaceful places to visit, and sometimes spooky, too. Infrared photography beautifully bridges that gap between spring and autumn, my favourite time of year. Infrared means I can leave those stupid o’clock early mornings and late evenings alone and shoot in the middle of the day when the sun is at it’s highest and the sky (hopefully) at its bluest. I’m also relatively new into my toy photography journey, which is great fun. Recapturing my childhood with added explosions and sparkles has opened up a whole new world to me.

I’ve had successes so far in my journey, too. I’ve won three local photography competitions, sold a few prints (which I’m really proud of). Soon, one of my images will be printed up big and proud on a board down my local seafront for everyone to see, as part of a redevelopment project that is going ahead. I never would have thought such a thing could be possible when I started out. Sometimes, I still think that’s true. Confidence has never been my biggest selling point, but like my photography, I’m still a work in progress :)

Thank you for visiting my page and taking a glimpse into my journey. You are very much appreciated.

Paul