A few notes about My Passion, My Jounery, My Work and My Ethos.

Whilst I've always had a love of Photography, my passio0n for it has always primarily been a creative outlet... and in some ways, it's the flipside to my creative career.

Photography is a medium that allows me to indulge, to relax or to exercise my mind, far away from the commercial work that I do day-to-day, and without the constraints of deadlines, guidelines, etc, etc.

I love finding gritty New York street scenes to shoot in Black & White, graffiti covered walls in London, the variety of scenes on the seafront in Brighton, beautiful landscapes from far away lands and many strange and interesting characters to document. If armed with a camera I'll happily spend my time creating and collecting a diverse spread of images from across the Globe.

The everyday norm, viewed from a different perspective. Highlighting things we often pass by day after day... and yet we've never even noticed. The hidden beauty in everyday places , or the private side we rarely show others.

Aside from my own work I do undertake some commissions, although I have the luxury of being able to do pick and choose these to suit my tastes and time constraints. I fond that the taking on the occasional commercial project offers me an avenue for fresh challenges and some interesting collaborations.

If you asked me what my ideal scneario might be ...? There's still nothing quite like losing yourself in a new place, roaming the streets without a plan, and feeling a city yawn, stretch and begin to stir as dawn breaks . The steam rising from the streets, the taxis racing by, the hustle & bustle, the busy city exec rushing past the unnoticed guy asleep in the doorway. All this combines to make a the kind of vista's we are now accustomed to. A modern day, 'urban landscape'.

Sound interesting? Fancy seeing one? Well, next time you feel like you need do do something different, set the alarm for 5am and head straight into town. Find a good spot in a busy district and just watch life unfold. Absorb the atmosphere and watch the characters perform their daily dance. You'll most likely discover that over time you have become so absorbed in your day-to-day life, that you've forgotten where you are and what's around you.

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Myself, I've been involved in the creative field since day-one.

Working by day as a Creative Director, my personal creative style is bold, challenging and assertive. Always looking to communicating on many levels and always leading the eye or the mind to create rich and engaging experience. In my photography the same can often apply.

After finishing school at 16, I found myself wondering what to do next with my life, and one bright summers day I decided my destiny was Art College (and the long road to a BA). This seemed life it could be be a good way to spend some time, and learn something new.

So began a year of painting, photography, sculpture and boredom... I laugh now, but at the time I hated every minute of it. I rarely attended as the months went on, eventually dropping out in the final throws of the first year.

I recall at the time of leaving a tutor informed me that without a BA I'd never make headway in a creative space... thank you. That was the exactly what was needed, as i spent the next 10 years proving that wrong. Having squeezed a job out a of a a great agency in Soho (London), I began to learn computer graphics and work with various broadcast systems. It was a great learning curve and the job took me all across the world. Looking back on that I couldn't have been luckier.

Today I'm still based in London, and now I own and run my own Agency along with a couple of great partners and a fantastic team of people around us. My work still allows me to travel, but I find that time is even more of a premium. Therefore, the imagery I create now reflects this, encompassing many different styles and approaches.Images grabbed when I have a moment, and the inspiration strikes.

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I have always had a strong passion for Black & White work and for many years this would account for the bulk of the film that traveled through my camera's and the little darkroom in my attic. I feel B+W film is probably the most incredibly versatile tool any photographer can have to hand. It's timeless, applicable to any style or idea.. and I'm very happy that after years of bold colour, it's now been enjoying a huge revival in the fashion, advertising & editorial worlds.

Perhaps the appeal of 'colour, for the sake of colour' has now passed, and people are once again are beginning to see the true beauty of Black & white work.

You view the world through different eyes when you look into a black and white print. It's instantly more emotive and thought provoking. You look at the texture, form, subtle tonal values, or details can easily elude in colour. As opposed to the vivid hues that may be the only reason a picture is really eye-catching, we see the structure & composition of elements behind the image. Perhaps giving us more of a view into the world in which they live or the thoughts of the artist who has chosen to immortalise them in print.

I also feel that black & white work provides more of a challenge to me personally, it requires more of a focus on composition and technical excellence than colour work, which is a more forgiving medium. Yet anything can be made to look beautiful in monochrome, there's no need for correctly balanced films, large studios and a plethora of models & stylists. Simply a close-up of a hand, the study of a statue, or a grabbed shot of the messiest back alley in the worst neighborhood can be enough to set the mind and eye racing.

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In our increasingly digital age, sometimes, we often forget that the simple route is still the most effective. Don't get me wrong, I'm no technophone (quite the opposite), and I am by no means against working digitally - these days my Digital Canon kit see's more action than the Hasselblad's I used to swear by.

It is true though that digital does not often suit all occasions. I still have a passion for film, a love of the process of producing it, and always find loading a magazine with 6x6 to be very cathartic! Not to mention the far superior quality of a medium or large format negative.

I have now spent many years fulfilling different roles from digital re-touching and film based work, through design and digital creation of resources, a wealth of technical work in the live broadcast arena and plenty of consultancy or creative direction after that. But I find, having been immersed in all that it's somewhat refreshing to escape the high tech world and the complexity by getting back-to-basics. One kit bag, one lens, one chilled out day.

I have always been happy behind the lens, and a good few years ago I purchased my first proper Canon SLR (which did me proud service as a starter kit), and I got stuck into teaching myself the basics of creative control and composition. However, after some time, as my knowledge and understanding of photography grew, my ever-so-automatic SLR began to annoy me. Always bleeping, complaining, or attempting to correct me for altering its chosen settings. Having a fully manual option, it still took longer to set up than the truly manual camera's I'll swear by now.

These days things are different, I work between digital SLR's and medium format equipment, my workhorse camera being a completely manual, and battery-free, Hasselblad kit with a few stock lenses. I moved onto the 6x6 system some time ago (having fancied one for years), and I have to say it's incredible. It just goes and goes in all conditions. As opposed to the modern kit that died on me whilst snowboarding at the top of the Alps; the batteries just refused to work at -35C plus a windchill!

This is why I now stand by my back-to-basics philosophy. The rule of keep it simple applies now more than ever. No gadget will ever replace having a good eye for a picture. No computer can replace having learnt the basic skills of composition. It's so easy now to become laden down with every gadget and gizmo on the market. And if you do, the only guaranteed result you'll have is:

1. You'll lug 20 kilo's of equipment around, and one day you'll realise that you rarely use most of it, and probably didn't need to buy it in the first place.

2. You get a sore shoulder - I know, I tried it!

Look back ot the early parts of the 20th century, all you would have had then was a good eye, a manual camera and a basic light meter. Yet people still managed to capture images back then that we all idolise today... and still strive to match or recreate now. Go and buy the kit they used... it'll cost you about £15 on ebay, and then you're free to learn and create!

What could be more simple?

I'll now end this mindless ramble. I do hope you gain something from this site, I know I have , and I always welcome any comments or questions you may have.

Enjoy, and all the best.

Gavin