Who am I ?
Born in the Netherlands, but educated in the UK, I started out in photography at the age of 12 when my parents gave me a Brownie 127. For quite a few years I took photos of landscapes, my friends, our holidays etc using this very basic camera. Somewhat later, at the start of my career as an engineer, a Mamiya reflex helped me to do a bit better. It was at 40, after a radical career change - I founded a PR company/advertising agency - that photography became much more important. Working daily with professional, highly-talented, creative photographers I learned a lot and was inspired to take many more photos during my frequent overseas business trips, notably to the USA. At this time a Canon T70 and later a T90 with long lenses for wildlife replaced the ageing Mamiya. For favourite subjects landscapes were steadily replaced by people : mainly portraits and street photography.
Fast forward now to 1999 when I decided to sell the business and retire to France. Finally plenty of time for photography and a new life in the Périgord countryside for inspiration. However, very quickly the digital revolution arrived and it was time to change cameras, still a Canon reflex though and with several new lenses. It was also essential to learn new tools for developing images : Lightroom and Photoshop. I kept the T90 by the way, I still have it !
Photography is essentially a solitary activity, however, it is through discussing and sharing with others that one advances, so in 2010, with several friends from Jumilhac and the surrounding area we started a photo club and began exhibiting our work. I also became a member of club OPPV in Thiviers and the photo cooperative PhotoLim87 in Limoges.
Today, I take photos principally for my pleasure : I am inspired by the beauty of the countryside and the villages around me in Périgord-Limousin but the subject that interests the most is still my fellow citizens : portraits, street photography and events such as the jazz festival Eclats d'Email. As a professional photographer I exhibit frequently in the towns and villages around the area and sell a few of of my creative images. Based near St Yrieix la Perche, I work both in studio and also travel around the area to take pictures for brochures and for web sites etc., using the Fuji X system cameras and lenses - superb quality, yet smaller and lighter than their Canon reflex predecessors.
My recent creative work is centred around people in motion - finding ways to reveal the beauty of mouvement normally too rapid to be fully appreciated by the naked eye. And when it's cold and wet : portraiture or still life photography in a warm studio are very appealing.