One of my favourite personal projects is exploring abandoned spaces across both the US and UK. After the break are some of my favourite shots showing the urban ruins of Detroit set against the evocative words of the poem “See it Through” by Edgar Albert Guest.
I recently decided to take some time off commercial shooting and traveled to Northern Norway to photograph the Northern Lights. After extensive research, I decided to base myself out of Tromso. This small university town sits about 300 miles inside the Arctic Circle, is appropriately cold (about -17 degrees Celsius!) and has a healthy reputation as one of the world’s best places to see the Aurora Borealis; a natural phenomenon caused by the collision of solar charged particles and atoms when entering the earths atmosphere and magnetic fields.
You need three things to see the lights: clear skies, minimal light pollution and maximum solar activity. On arrival, things were not looking promising as my flight was delayed by a huge blizzard and as my cab took me the short cab to my hotel visibility was no more than five feet…this was not going to be easy.
I had done a lot of research beforehand on Google Earth and OS maps to see where the best places might be in order to get good photographs of the lights; I wanted to ensure that I got some water in my shots to achieve some reflections from the lights. However, on the first two nights I was out until 5am having driven 3 hours out of Tromso in search of clear skies and saw little more than the shot below due to inclement weather. This photo was taken on the Eastern coast looking out on the Atlantic Ocean and although the green activity of the lights is JUST visible behind almost 100% cloud cover in camera, it was barely visible to the human eye. Also, it was taken in gale-force 35 metre per second winds (the strongest I’ve ever experienced). In fact, the wind was so strong that it stripped some of the paint off my 14-24mm lens. Needless to say I was already planning my return trip next year with my spirits dampened by two nights of failed attempts of chasing the lights.
Determined not to give up though I headed out the next night with a different strategy to head west towards the Finnish border having seen on radar that there was the possibility of the clouds parting and some clear skies developing for a few hours just before midnight. Fortunately, as I got further and further away from civilization I began seeing stars until the whole sky was covered in constellations as I sped eagerly towards a Fjord that I had identified could potentially make for a good photo spot. I couldn’t have timed my arrival any better as I pulled over, looked up and began seeing one of the most phenomenal sites I’ve ever witnessed in person. Words cannot do it justice as you see flashes of coloured lights meander and manouver their way across the sky; it as if God is playing with a paintbrush. The show lasted about four hours and I’ll let my pictures describe the scenes better than my words.
I was very lucky as I have spoken to numerous photographers who have spent weeks in Tromso and seen very little. On the other hand, you could turn up for a day and see a far better show than me; you really are at the whim of nature. Nevertheless, I left more than contented. Thanks to Arctic Guide Service for their help and advice.
p.s. I also got extra lucky on my SAS plane on the way up to Tromso when speaking to a flight attendant and telling them about my planned trip. They happened to be able to see the Northern lights from the cockpit during the flight and invited me into the cockpit! Even better they let me take my camera in (you never know unless you ask) which I was amazed at; truly blessed and an unbelievable experience to be able to see them from the air as well as ground. The below shot was therefore taken by resting my camera on the dashboard of a commercial 737 at 37000 feet with the towns of Northern Norway below whilst my camera was resting on the cockpit making an impromptu tripod.
Please contact me if you are interested in seeing more or purchasing prints.
Over the course of the past few years I have been working on a global commission for a large golfing publication photographing some of the world’s most prestigious golf courses for a feature called “One Course Meal”.
A wise man once said “My worst day at the golf course still beats my best day at the office”. Indeed, luckily enough for myself, some of the finest and picturesque golf courses in the world have become my offices over the past year. My brief was to photograph the signature holes on courses across Europe and the United States including Wentworth, Sunningdale, The Concession and Cascata in Las Vegas for the largest golf magazine in the Middle East. The magazine has a readership of almost 1.5 million people and my ongoing brief is to showcase each course in a unique and artistic light to an Arabian audience. As part of the feature, I spent quite a bit of time shooting some of the most stunning holes in golf including the notoriously difficult 18th hole on the West Course at Wentworth. I was also asked to photograph the signature dishes served in the clubhouse for hungry golfers after finishing their rounds.. What was even better was I often got to eat these delicious creations after shooting them which, was much appreciated.
Below are all of the covers from the various features:
Undoubtedly, the highlight of my photographic career so far was the opportunity to photograph, meet and spend time with Nelson Mandela while on assignment in South Africa; arguably the most inspirational, charismatic and compassionate icon of our times. In fact, meeting Madiba is arguably one of the greatest moments of my life to date.
Hearing of his passing is such sad news as I was so touched, inspired and moved after our meeting. Following the opportunity to photograph him whilst working with the US delegation at the World Cup in 2010, I have read and endeavored to learn as much as I can about his incredible story. As President Barack Obama so elegantly surmised Madiba “took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice”. Below are just a few of some of my favourite photographs from my shoot with Nelson Mandela and President Bill Clinton at one of his homes on the outskirts of Johannesburg…photographs that I will cherish forever . May his legacy live on and his message of freedom and equality for all continue in his memory.
In his own words: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
I was very excited to see the results of my studio session with Andy Murray recently published on the front cover of Wentworth’s Club magazine. I’ve also included below a couple of other shots from the day with the shoot taking place just a week after Andy had won the US Open after beating Novak Djokovic in an epic final. Here’s hoping he can repeat the feat this week at the ATP Master’s tennis series at the O2 in London.
On my recent trip to New York, I was recommended by a friend who knows I’m a fan of urban art to take the subway out to Long Island City to check out 5Ptz. The 200,000 square foot complex consists of a graffiti covered warehouse, adjacent garages and railway lines and is widely regarded as the global epicentre of the aerosol-based art.
It was lucky I took his advice as all of the grafitti in this amazing urban art space has tragically just been whitewashed to make away for a residential development (See this article from the Huffington Post.) The name of the colourful outdoor art space had derived from the coming together of the five boroughs and on arrival, I was blown away by the quality and vivacity of the murals. Therefore, despite temperatures being well below freezing, I spent a number of hours admiring the walls and enjoying a couple of hours out of the city. Below are some of my favourite shots which now hopefully serve as a nostalgic reminder of a fascinating urban space:
