Ever since I was a kid I have always been intrigued with the way things worked and I had a deep passion to discover how and why. My poor hapless Dad was always putting back the bits and pieces from clocks and various contraptions that I had destroyed, in my efforts to find out how the confounded thing worked.
To me, life is an incredible journey of discovery and hunger for the serendipitous interactions that await the bold and adventurous.
Photography gives me the perfect instrument to marry my passion for travel and discovery, with the intrigue of technology and precision equipment. It is then through my images that I can reflect, relive and recount my journey through life.
However, and not to forget, these journeys always revolve around people, and the interface that is involved with human interaction. Through my travels I have met the most wonderful, courageous, humble people, who in the face of daily adversity and hardship that would daunt the bravest soul, have kept a quiet dignity that neither privation nor the tyranny of time could steal from them.
In spite of the often violent world we live in, and the feeling that most of our traditional values are being challenged on a daily basis, I never cease to be amazed at the virtual goodness of humanity. From the peasant woman in her humble abode in an isolated country community in Vietnam, who cooked me a vegetarian meal, to the grace of the street children in Cambodia, who have only a smile to offer - my faith and reconnection with humanity has been strengthened afresh.
Sir Walter Scott once wrote "One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum, in which men steal through existence, like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honour or observation."
It often saddens me to think that many have ‘sold out’ for a life of mediocrity - to be content to play the spectator instead of the active participant in the ‘game’ of life.
It is my sincere hope that through these images you will catch a vision of the beauties, challenges and opportunities that God has given to each one of us, and you too will be inspired to experience more deeply the marvels that abound in your part of this world.
Equipment: I keep my kit very simple and uncomplicated. I've tried lots of different brands and cameras over the years. Keep this in mind - no camera or brand is perfect and will NEVER exactly meet all of your needs. Photography is all about a compromise and always will be - choose the kit that gets closest to what you need and that will be good enough. When I'm shooting fast moving events, I don't want to be changing lenses or messing around with equipment - whilst I miss out on once in a lifetime images. I have two camera bodies on me - each with a lens attached, and that's it. One of my Nikon Z6ii bodies has a Z50mm 1.8 attached and the other Z6ii body has the Z24mm 1.8. Because I get in very close when I shoot, I rarely ever need anything longer than my 50mm lens. In case I do, I have the fabulous Z24-120mm F4 zoom. However, I don't often use this lens, as I prefer primes, as they have a 'faster' aperture and I can isolate my subject from the background. I am more and more using fill-flash outside - it just evens out the light and I don't have to stress if I'm shooting in harsh sunlight with lots of shadows. For this purpose I use the Nikon dedicated TTL, HSS Godox V1.
Items that are indispensable - my Thinktank Hubber Hubber Hiney and Speed Changer V2 bags. Large camera bags and photographic backpacks are a thing of the past. Strap one of these small bags around your waist and it makes your camera virtually indestructible. I have just completed a five month stint in Vietnam - crashing through jungle, bouncing over rough roads on my motorbike, getting doused in tropical downpours, crawling on my stomach through seething mud - and all the while my cameras were as safe as the military leaders who run the 'show'.
Philip