News
This is the place where you find out what I'm up to. I'll try to be good and post regular updates, but I can't promise so don't get mad if you log on and there hasn't been any ‘news' for months. I'm either too busy or there's nothing to write home about.
May 12th
A collection of my Bhutan images have just been published in Skylife Business, the magazine of Turkish Airlines for business class customers. You can download the magazine as an iPad App from The Apple Store.
May 5th 2012
Namibia was awesome, as always and as expected. The last time I was there I was still shooting film so this was my first digital trip - and what a difference, not only in the amount of gear I needed but also the number and variety of shots I managed to take. From Windhoek we headed to Amani Lodge where we photographed cheetah and lion, then on to the granite monolith known as Spitzkoppe via Okahandja before spending a night on the coast in Swakopmund on the coast. From Sesriem, the gateway to the Namib Desert, we made dawn and dusk sorties into Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei. At Wolwedans we enjoyed an amazing couple of days staying in the Dune Camp, photographing the stunning landscape and wildlife, and before leaving even managed to squeeze in a dawn hot air balloon flight. Next stop Luderitz and the amazing ghost town of Kolmanskop then onto Keetmanshoop and the Quivertree Forest and finally Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch. After a night in Windhoek we piled into two four-seater Cessnas and flew north to Kaokoland, staying in a camp on the banks of the Kunene River where Namibia borders Angola. Our main reason for heading there was to visit and photograph the Himba people, which proved to be a fascinating and rewarding experience. I’ll be adding a portfolio of images from this trip very soon, but Iceland beckons on the 18th so be patient! Also watch out for an article in the July 2012 issue of Black & White Photography magazine.
Namibia 2013 is currently being finalised so if you’re interested, drop me an email and you’ll be given priority on one of the limited places
29th March 2012
Well, another memorable Cuba photo tour is over as always I’ve returned home with a mountain of Raw files to work on. With only a few weeks to go before I fly to Namibia on an 18-day trip, I’m not sure when that will be! After 9 or 10 trips to Cuba I still find the place exhilarating, inspiring, exciting and surprising. The people are among the friendliest and most welcoming I’ve met anywhere in the world and despite facing severe financial hardship for decades are proud and patriotic. Cuba is changing very slowly, or at least, Havana is. New bars and restaurants are popping up as private enterprise becomes more accepted and building are being slowly restored. But even if unlimited money was pumped into the country it’s going to take many years to put right the result of over 50 years of neglect and decay - the very things that make Cuba such a fantastic destination for photographers and why I will keep going back.
February 29th 2012
Had a great 1:1 workshop today on the Northumberland coast, kicking off with a dawn shoot on Bamburgh Beach and ending with an amazing sunset over the Aln Estuary in Alnmouth. It's rewarding to spend the day passing on my experience and advice to a keen photographer and see them become more confident as the hours tick by. Even better that they go home with some great images. I run these 1 day workshops for 1-4 people - email me if you're interested.
February 23rd 2012
My first workshop of the year has been and gone - a weekend on the Northumberland coast with a group of 6 mad-keen enthusiasts who came from far and wide to explore my amazing back yard. I've lost count of the number of times I've stood on Bamburgh Beach at sunrise, but it never fails to inspire! We enjoyed a good mix of weather, including a dusting of snow, and were lucky to get a fantastic sunrise on both mornings - one at Bamburgh and the other at Embleton Bay, seen here.
I have two more Northumberland coast workshops organised for this year - June 18th-20th and October 22nd-25th. Places are limited to 6 on each workshop and are selling fast, so don't miss out and book one today!
November 29th 2011
My recent Bhutan trip involved flying into and out of Kathmandu in Nepal, so we had a morning at the start and a day-and-a-bit at the end to explore this fascinating city. Compared to Bhutan, Kathmandu is chaotic, but it's also a fantastic place for photography and somewhere I'd love to go back to, if only to hang out with the Sadhus at Pashupatinath and shoot lots of colourful portraits. Steak and chips at Kilroys was also very welcome after endless rice, chicken and chilli cheese in Bhutan! A small set of images will be added to the Latest Work section very soon to give you a taster of what Kathmandu has to offer. Pete Adams, my co-leader on this trip, is busy in Brazil at the moment, but our photo tour of Burma for 2012 will be finalised on his return. Also, watch out for a feature on Bhutan by me in the next issue of Digital SLR Photography magazine, out on December 6th.
November 21st 2011
Back from Morocco now after a fantastic week riding from Marrakech over the Atlas Mountains to Ait Benhaddou, up the Dades Gorge, down the Todra Gorge, to the Saharan dunes at Merzouga, west to Zagora on desert piste then back north via Ouarzazate and the Tiz n Tichka Pass to Marrakech. Combining 'serious' photography with motorbike travel is tricky as the gear needs to be packed away and protected in case you have an 'off' (which I did on this trip, when one my panniers clipped a rock on the piste), so stopping and unpacking takes time. Consequently, most of the shots I take end-up being the bikes in the landscape! Here are a few from this trip.
My next big trip isn't until March next year (Cuba), but I'll definitely be heading off somewhere before then. India's on the cards for January and I'm hoping to spend December shooting some new local images here on the Northumberland coast. February? Possibly a short trip to Iceland for the Northern Lights, or Venice, or Valencia... Decisions, decisions!
November 10th 2011
I'm recently back from leading a fantastic photo tour of Bhutan with travel pro Pete Adams. What a place! The Kingdom of Bhutan, often referred to as The Land of the Thunder Dragon (though I'm not sure why - we didn't see a single dragon!) was effectively closed to the outside world until the mid-70s and even today only 25,000 tourists per year are allowed in. To put that into context, London receives over 30,000,000 visitors each year! Consequently, the culture, customs and traditions (most of which are based on Buddhism) have pretty much remained in tact. We spent 11 days travelling east from Paro then back via Gangtey, attending several colourful Tsechus (festivals), exploring villages, ancient monasteries and doing the legendary trek to the Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest Monastery) perched 900mm above the Paro Valley on the sheer side of a cliff. Awesome. The trip was topped off with two days in Kathmandu, Nepal - a chaotic contrast to the peace and calm of Bhutan but fantastic nonetheless. A portfolio of images from this trip will be added very soon to Latest Work. An article will also be appearing in the Jan 2012 issue of Digital SLR Photography, out on the 6th December.
As this trip was such a success, Pete and I are currently organising another new photo tour for late 2012 to Burma - email me if you're interested.
I'm Morocco bound on the 14th, crossing the High Atlas and heading to the desert on a motorbike. More on that when I return.
November 1st 2011
Iceland article in Adventure Bike Rider magazine, issue 7. I've been writing articles on photography for over 20 years, but this is the first article I've had published in a motorbike mag! It tells the story of my ride around Iceland in June. ABR isn't widely available in newsagents, but can be purchased on-line at www.adventurebikerider.com. Here's a sneak preview of the opening spread. There will be more from me in future issues.
September 20th 2011
My first workshop after the summer break kicked off with a week exploring southern Skye, Lochalsh and Kintail. The trip was co-led by Duncan McEwan and though the weather tested us at times, and the midges were out in force in places, we still managed to get some great light at a number of stunning locations, among them Plokton, Glen Sligachan, Loch Duich and Loch Hourn. We even managed to shoot Eilean Donan Castle, floodlit at dusk. Well, when it's so close, how can you resist? In September 2012, Duncan and I will be leading a week-long workshop on Harris and Lewis in the Outer Hebrides - email for more information.
June 26th 2011
My motorbike ride around Iceland is sadly over - but what an amazing experience. On previous trips I’ve never ventured much further than Höfn at the eastern end of the south coast, but now I´ve done the full circuit, covering over 1000 miles on tarmac and gravel roads, riding through wind, rain, fog and bright sunshine. Recced some amazing new locations for future photo tours, though in my opinion the south coast to Höfn on Route 1 plus the Golden Circle and the Reyjkanes Peninsula still can´t be beaten in terms of diversity so my May 2012 Iceland photo tour - dates to be confirmed in the next week or so - will follow the same itinerary as the 2011 trip. Some images from the May 2011 trip have now been uploaded to Latest Work in Portfolios.
I’m off to the North of Scotland in mid-July on another bike ride/photo trip so hopefully there will be some interesting images to share.
May 18th 2011
I'm just back from leading my first group photo tour of Iceland, and a great time was had by all. Even Bob, who fell on his face and needed stitching up. Being a tough northerner (like me) he was back behind his camera within minutes of leaving the hospital and didn't miss a shot. As for the rest of the group - they were so engrossed in the location that most of them didn't even realise what had happened and when we returned an hour later were still shooting away.
No volcanic eruption this year to muck up our sensors (unlike during my recce in May 2010), but amazing scenery, changeable weather and endless photo opportunities that we all took advantage of during out 1000+ mile journey along the south coast. Highlights have to include lots of 10-stop ND action on Vik beach, an amazing sunset at the Jökulsarlón glacial lagoon and fantastic stormy light during our evening visit to Geysir, though everything about Iceland (except the cost of beer) is a highlight.
I'll be adding a portfolio of images from this trip to the New Work page as soon as I've gone through the Raw files. In the meantime, here are a few of early samples and a taste of things to come...
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I'm off back to Iceland on June 13th to ride around Highway 1 on a motorbike with a mate. It's primarily a road trip, but will give me the chance to recce some new locations along the Eastern Fjords and in the North. I'm sure we'll take a few photographs along the way as well. Iceland really is a photographer's paradise and I can see myself running a variety of photo tours there over the coming years. One trip barely scratches the surface.