Progressive Street

I grew up in a theatrical family and I think my photography reflects elements of storytelling influenced by fairy tales.

I am a full-time geologist and a lunchtime photographer with an interest in many photographic genres. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, I grew up in the beautiful Stirlingshire countryside where city life and living remained an idle curiosity until a freelance career took me on a weekly 900-mile round trip commute to London. There I developed a passion for recording evidence of human life on the bustling and chaotic city streets. 

I began my photographic journey at about the age of 5 with my father’s Dacora Digna 120 film camera which lived a few days until it fell on its face when loading film. An instamatic camera from Boots the Chemist (with pop-in film cartridge) served me better through school until I could afford a budget SLR. I found film photography frustrating, expensive and unrewarding, but I have always coveted the ‘look’ of film and this certainly influences my digital work now. Digital was an epiphany – suddenly the learning process became instantaneous. Making mistakes is the best way to learn but only if you can remember what you did wrong.

Today I wander the hills around my home in Scotland and pound city pavements with whatever digital camera is convenient to carry. For street work, it must be something small that I can conceal in one hand; a good pocket compact normally, or perhaps Micro Four Thirds for shooting after darkness falls. For ‘scapes of all sorts, probably something larger: Fujifilm X or Sony full-frame. But I’m not too bothered about equipment. It is what it is when the opportunity presents itself; you make the best of what you’ve got. I use my phone a lot, especially for intentional camera movement shots and in-camera multiple exposures.

My influences are very wide. Obviously, all the classic street greats without exception for a start. I enjoy making new discoveries; in the last year they’ve included Ara Güler, Constantine Manos and Dave Heath; all recommended by a good friend. I have collected many Pinterest boards for photographers whose work I admire.

My own style is best described by someone else, as I have no idea what it is or how to write about it. I’m told that it can be dark, although I’m not sure that I recognise anything like that in me. I grew up in a theatrical family and I think my photography reflects elements of storytelling influenced by fairy tales. My candid subjects can somehow arrange themselves like actors on a stage. I appreciate mystery, enigma and ambiguity in the work of others, so they are likely found in mine. And cinema influences me a lot too. Most of all, I appreciate humour expressed in photography; perhaps cruel and obvious at times and often very subtle. My main subject often occupies only a small part of the frame. Look carefully and you might find humour hiding in the shadows.

I work mainly in colour unless there is very good reason to simplify or convey emotion using black and white. Colour photography is much more expressive for me in most situations and I spend a lot of time thinking about colour whilst shooting, and colour grading whilst editing. I love playing with colour. And playing with titles; a good title adds colour of a differ sort.

After almost a decade of practising and studying street photography I still feel like an apprentice. And yet I often have stale feelings of walking a well-trodden path or shooting the frivolous. Sometimes I get as much satisfaction in just observing a scene as I do by capturing it. There’s really no point in pursuing the same photo idea in different locations. Clichés abound in this photographic genre. But the magnificent thing about street photography is that it teaches you how to see: glances between strangers passing on the pavement; nuances of body language; fortuitous and humorous meetings of colour, objects and people. Harnessing that skill is key to progressing street photography beyond the cliché.

Finding new directions will always be a challenge. Meanwhile, I have always enjoyed shooting with my phone; the blurs and multiple exposures that I make with it are not innovative, but the in-camera shooting processes intrigue me and often capture the feel of a place better than a ‘straight’ shot. I strongly defend these blurs and multiple exposures as valid street photography. I have also discovered a passion for making candid, but intimate, street portraits. And I very much enjoyed shooting my hometown of Glasgow in a more photo-documentary style for an article in Progressive Street Magazine during 2019 (published early 2020). I plan to record more of Glasgow in coming months.

Busy with the day job, I don’t exhibit my photography often and my photographic CV is rather modest. I’ve had two exhibitions: one in Buenos Aires (2011); and a larger one in London (2019). I’m very open to the idea of collaborative exhibitions. I produced two books of street photography in 2019 for my London exhibition with introductions written by an Iranian friend and journalist in exile. In 2016 I was winner of Fujifilm UK Street Photographer of the Year. Finally, I’ve been fortunate to have had street work published in two magazines recently: Black and White Photography; and Digital Photographer. An interview with Inspired Eye magazine is published in 2020.

Group Exhibitions