Although I was born and grew up in Sydney NSW Australia I now live in Armidale, a big country town also in NSW.
My interest in photography began after leaving school and finding employment in a commercial photographic studio in Sydney and where I nurtured a growing interest in black and white imagery while relishing the work of such greats as Andre Kertesz,Walker Evans, Robert Frank and Lee Friedlander to name just a few while seriously pursuing my own work and eventually having my first solo exhibition at the Rennie Ellis Brummels Gallery, Melbourne Victoria. Since retiring I now devote most of my time to traveling and photographing in both Australia and overseas destinations, always feeling a heightened sense of expectation and inspiration especially when arriving in countries I’ve never visited before.
I photograph and travel by myself and like to stay focused all the time when I am on the prowl with as little distraction as possible.I travel light carrying two cabin class bags, one for personals and the other a Manfrotto camera bag for my camera gear and laptop including accessories for both, it can also double up as my overnighter, my office and my shopping and laundry bag and yet despite being quite bulky it never seems to be big enough for what I need to put in it at any given time. Having said that I must add that I never ever carry it when I am on the prowl and usually wear hiking pants with lots of zip and velcro pockets should I need to take any extra stuff such as a spare ND filter, lens cleaner cloth and blower brush, phone, cash and most importantly my hotels business card and details as I can be out all day wandering the streets for hours and have often got hopelessly lost especially in big cities, so it’s great having peace of mind knowing that when I’ve had enough I can just jump a taxi, hand over the card and tell him to turn up the air….perfect !!
I have only one camera with one lens, it being a Nikon D5300 with a standard 80-140 mm Nikkor lens, which automatically physically fuses itself onto my right hand and takes it’s orders via bluetooth directly from my brain….perfect !! The most surprising thing I carry is a tough question as it’s all in there for a good reason, so perhaps a dirty sock or something left over from my laundry run the night before ….who knows ? The one thing I can’t live without is my garden which is on equal par with my need to take good photographs….perfect !!
