I welcomed the digital photography revolution when it arrived—if only because my cousin went digital and generously passed on his Mamiya 645 film kit, camera and lenses. A turning point, indeed.
I’ve worked with film cameras for as long as I can remember, fifty plus years now. My early experiences were with a Kodak Retinette, followed by various Olympus OM cameras. Today, my Canon and Mamiya film cameras and a Widelux are all vintage and still very much in use.
My photographic style is hard to define. I practise life drawing and enjoy figure photography. My background in journalism sometimes lends a photojournalistic quality to my work. Portraiture is a particular challenge I value; in other genres, I respond instinctively: if the light and subject speak to me, I take the photo.
Like many photographers of my generation, I am self-taught and not especially prolific. For that reason, each image Black and White image is individually hand-printed on archival papers by a master printer whose work is represented in major Australian art institutions and publications. For colour work, mostly shot on film, I use a high-end digital laboratory whose scanning and printing services are likewise widely recognised.
While digital manipulation and photo art certainly have their place, I prefer to create my images in-camera. Aside from minor corrections, such as colour balance and contrast, any significant manipulation will be clearly identified.
I particularly enjoy working with black and white film, which possesses a character and depth unique to the medium. Film black is truly black; white is truly white—qualities that, to my eye, digital monochrome rarely replicates. Somebody once asked me if I used film because I was old or I was arty. One of those is true and you can make your own judgement on the other.
I hope you enjoy the website.