Biography

Background:

Moving to Wales in 1995 from an urban environment in the North of England helped me appreciate the UK's variety of sublime and inspirational landscapes. The mountains of Snowdonia shook me, sparking an interest that was to shape my life from that point forwards. In 2001, I was lucky enough to get the chance to move to the Lake District, helping seal what’s become a lifelong passion for getting into the landscape to discover, explore, learn and capture images.

Britain is blessed with powerful and inspirational landscapes, places that can transport you from the stresses and toil of modern living, to an elemental place where things are thrown into simple, stark relief - ourselves, the landscape beneath our feet and nature around us. Trying to capture that is elusive, but that's what I strive for each time I pack my camera bag and head out.

My approach to photography developed into something quite methodical. Initially conceiving an image, through to the planning and final execution of the shot. Much of the satisfaction in creating images that pleased me came from the knowledge that often they'd taken a long time to achieve and many hours had been spent in vain beforehand.

This type of approach has been augmented in recent years with a more relaxed process where I roam around locations with no particular plan or image in mind. I credit this new philosophy to the use of 'Toy' cameras such as the Holga and Diana F+ which provided my with a taste for 'lomography' style images and thinking - namely, you don't always want to think about what you're doing!

 

My love for Photography and the outdoors are inextricably linked, one fuelling the other. What I learn in one sphere informs the other. Together these interests help me seek a broader appreciation and understanding of the environment that I'm attempting to capture in fleeting moments of time.

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Running a Photography business gives me a great excuse to spend time doing what I love - thinking about and sharing the gift of photography with others. I work with both individuals and groups of all ages (Enhanced CRB checked) helping them to connect with the outdoors through the medium of photography. I have also also led Photography Tours on behalf of other organisations such as HF Holidays and the Field Studies Council.

 

In combination with photographic interests, I'm a mountain lover and hold the Summer Mountain Leader Award and have completed my Winter Mountain Leader training. I'm also a John Muir Award holder.

I'm the curator for "The Northern Photography and Video Show" which debuted at the Rheged Exhibition centre in 2016 (as 'The Cumbria Photography Show'). This has developed into a firm fixture in the photography calendar.

Here's to our amazing variety of British landscapes, the most incredible gift to all of us on our little Island!

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Rod