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August - October 10 - What a couple of months! I'm totally wiped after this summer, and in a strange way it's nice to be back to the steadier day-to-day life in Cambridge. August saw me travelling back through France, on to Switzerland, and then to Italy, before heading back the same way. Photos from this epic trip will be up soon, and there are some incredible shots! Then in September I headed out to Zambia for a week and managed to get some insane shots of the Vic Falls in Livingstone, met a great local photographer who spends his time documenting the unknown parts of the Zambian landscape, his name is Stephen Robinson and he can be found here. Back from that trip, which included resucing a baby water-buffalo from drowning in a mud-pit, I've been writing articles for various photography magazines, including one out now in Photography Monthly. Some of my volcano shots have been used in the official Land Rover magazine, and Maxim have been in touch about publishing some of my images from Tough Guy. All-in-all a very successful summer so far, next thing to look forward to it is finding out how many shots have made it through to the final round in this years Digital Camera Photographer of the Year, I have one email confirming so far, let's hope I get some more!! In other news, you can now follow me on facebook - very good for tips, info and first dibs on calendars and the like! June - August 10 - More trips, both actually going away and laying more plans. There's been a lot of work flooding in from the University and various departments, which is nice, and things are looking set for a busy autumn here in Cambridge. In the meantime, I've just come back from a week shooting landscapes in Tuscany and Florence, including one night where I was out shooting an incredibly violent thunderstorm - lightning strikes over Italian vineyards? Yes thanks! I've currently got a week free now catching up on other work before heading out to France, then Switzerland and finally Italy, lake Maggiore. Back at the end of August for some wedding work, before shooting off to Africa in mid September, Zambia to be precise. In other news, I once again returned to compete in the infamous "Tough Guy" race just last week, the day before my birthday, and despite a poor first half to the race, managed to claw back victory from the third place, taking my third Tough Guy title so far, and by far the hardest and most well earned!! I've also been enjoying reading a variety of articles that have come out following from interviews with various magazines, mostly due to my volcano photos from back in April. Not only magazines - the images also made it into the Independent, The Metro, and the websites of the Sun and the Daily Mail, as well as a number of foreign press publications that are too many to list here. It has been a very satisfying experience, and hopefully one to be repeated... just need to find something similarly ridiculous to go and photograph - anyone have any suggestions?? March - April 10 - What a month!!! An absolute ton of work coming at me left right and centre, all great fun. To cap it off, I decided last minute to book a flight out to Iceland, hike up to the volcano that was kicking off, and photograph the beast. The highlight of my photographic career so far - to be stood in the glare of a volcano spewing out lava and growling like an angry lion, with the eerie Northern Lights flickering like water trails across the darkening sky. A view I will never forget. I stayed up on the ridge there for four days, much to the bemusement of the mountain rescue service. The first two days saw beautiful weather and aurora borealis displays, the second two days sadly a blizzard came in and I was forced to take shelter in an emergency hut a few kilometers away from the eruption site. With 70mph winds, -15 degrees outside *without* taking into account wind chill, practically zero visibilty and frequent earthquakes, this was quite an experience! On my last night, the Top Gear filming crew all piled into the hut and James May was kind enough to give me a snickers bar. What a trip!! As ever, huge thanks to those kind Icelanders that helped me travel around by hitchhiking - your willingness to help others never ceases to amaze me. I can't remember all of your names, but I remember all of your help, so thankyou! Get in touch via the contact form if you read this, it'd be great to hear from you! Check out the gallery page for photos, and prepare to be amazed... Update - I have also just heard that I have come runner-up in a competition themed 'long exposure' held online. Not a massive prize for this one, but it's always good to have your work recognised! February 10 - A wedding in Kelso, Scotland, allowed me time to also visit the Northumberland coast, where I was treated to some spectacular weather and light conditions. This also gave me the chance to meet fellow photographer Dennis Bromage and go for a shoot together. Dennis is based in Teeside, popular territory for anyone with a tripod it seems, so good luck to him in carving out a career! He was most kind in putting me up for the night and showed me some beautiful parts of the North Yorkshire coast on my way back from Scotland. Photos to filter into the galleries soon, keep your eyes peeled... January 10 - A portfolio of five images I entered into the Wanderlust Travel Photographer competition has received the highest placing in the category. This is the professional category for the competition, so the standard is pretty slick! Unfortuntely, and frustratingly, the judges chose not to award a full winner in this category this year, on the spurious grounds that no single portfolio truly fulfilled all the criteria. I, however, was chosen to be one that came closest, and so have been presented a "highly commended" for the work. Seems strange to run a competition yet not award a prize to the work that is the best of the bunch, but as ever with these things it is at their discretion. I'll take another shot at it next year! December 09 - Dorset coast gets a re-visit between Christmas and the New Year - as below, photos make their way into all the galleries - keep an eye open! Just started discussions with Cambridge University admissions department for a rolling month-to-month commission project, and had one of my images feature as their cover shot for the 2011 prospectus. December has also seen my first commission for National Geographic - just a portraiture shoot in Cambridge but it's a start! October - November 09 - More images shortlisted in the final few for Digital Photographer Photographer of the Year competition. Fingers crossed once more... September 09 - A two week trip around Saas Fee in Switzerland and then onto Venice, Italy. Photos have filtered their way into the panoramic galleries amongst others - be sure to check them out! July 09 - Another Tough Guy, another win...! March - April 09 - - Plenty more trips to be had, from Iceland again for some winter snow scenes, through to Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and then some wanderings around the North Devon and South Wales costline... Highlights of the trips have made it into some of the landscape galleries, check them out... February 09 - - On an entirely unphotographic note, I took part in the infamous Tough Guy challenge, held in Wolverhampton, on 1st Feb. In sub zero conditions (-5) myself and 5000 other competitors matched ourselves against the course. I finished the race in 1hr 18 minutes, claiming first place with a four minute gap before the next competitor. Whilst I did not particularly enjoy the free dose of hypothermia, the race itself was fantastic and as ever a huge thanks to the organisers and first aid teams on the day... January 09 - - Six of my photographs have made it through into the prestigious Digital Photographer of the Year final shortlist. Results announced early Feb... November 08 - - I have been awarded the distinction of Licentiate of the Royal Photographic society at an event held in Birmingham. The ten photographs, all focusing on Cambridge University, received great interest and were described by the awarding panel as "painting with light"... November 08 - - I have just opened a two month exhibition of photographs in The Lauries Centre, Birkenhead. Featuring 12 photographs all themed "North", this is the first location on a several stop tour with the prints... November 08 - - Due to the success of last year's calendar, another has been launched for 2009. View the galleries page to check out the selected images and order a copy - limited stock left... November 08 - - New 'Platinum' version of older website launched...
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