About
Biography
My career started as a dairy farmer on a small farm on the Pennines in Yorkshire. It was a hard and lonely life but fulfilled my love of working with animals and being outdoors. Pressures on small farms meant that it was not sustainable, so I came to working with people via a few years of ‘career’ exploration. I now teach mindfulness meditation and compassion to support emotional and mental wellbeing and volunteer as a hospice chaplain. Working with the NHS, Public Health and hospices, I am passionate about caring for the carer, supporting those who are grieving, and providing skills to those struggling with stress and anxiety.
I have always been interested in the big existential questions, with a restless and inquiring mind informed by Buddhist philosophy, psychoanalysis, and contemplative practices. Like an explorer, I enjoy discovering our inner and outer worlds and how they very much reflect each other.
My passion for photography enables deep and meaningful self-expression, and I have found my work to be a cathartic healing journey. While I hope that many of the images stand by themselves, they collectively tell a story of deepening self-awareness and self-understanding.
I aspire to create expressive, thoughtful, and atmospheric images that find the exceptional in the ordinary and inspire the imagination. I hope my work can connect us and deepen our empathy and care for the world around us and towards one another.
I aspire to achieve no difference between how I live my life and my art that expresses it, vitally connected to the essence of my true nature.
Acknowledgements
It is with deep appreciation that I thank all those who have influenced my spirit and allowed me to grow.
Many I cannot thank for their influences transcend time and distance but for those whose steps I walk within and for those I have been trained or guided by I thank you with deepest appreciation.
In particular I would like to thank:
Rafael Rojas mentor and teacher for the encouragement to give images depth and meaning
Sharon Tenenbaum for your training and inspiration as a fine art photographer
Adrian Beasley for your mentoring, feedback and courage to push the slider boundaries
Nick Wilcox-Brown (Wildlife Photographer) for our long established friendship, days in the darkroom, technical consultancy and inspiration to follow my dreams
Andy Gray for the courage to give the camera a wobble
Cat Easterbrook for all your support, friendship and developing this website (www.helloworldmarketing.com)
equipment used
- Canon Full Frame EOS
- Range of Canon lenses and Lee Filters
- Images processed in Abode Lightroom and Photoshop but always experimenting