About me

The Artist as Photographer

It was in my late teens that the fine arts became a passion of mine and, had photography not seduced me away, I would have gone on to study fine art at Michaelis Art School in Cape Town.

The attraction to photography led me to Dirk Schwager's studio. From day one as his understudy, I was assigned to darkroom duties. After fourteen months in the 'dark ages' he finally handed me his Nikon F2, one roll of black-and-white (B&W) film and ushered me out into broad daylight, ".., bring back pictures, make sure they're bloody good okay."

It's been 40 years since I went out on my own but it's been over the last 10 years that my "first love" of the fine arts re-surfaced. In 2010, I hauled out my old SLR cameras, imported Kodak & Ilford stock; I now leave my DSLR gear behind and venture out in pursuit of creating & making black & white Silver-Gelatin handprints; "make sure they're bloody good..." echoing in my mind.

A B&W handprint is faithful to its 'original' film negative; not so with digital imagery where in post production image manipulation radically alters what was originally captured. Shooting with negative film, opposites attract; positive to negative and vice versa - "it's a love affair!"

My favoured SLR's are; Nikon F5 & F6 then my Leica M6 & Hasselblad XPan rangefinders, - prime lenses are a must added to this I carry a full range of Lee B&W Filters. I utilise ProFoto AirS Lighting System to achieve 'working' apertures when necessary.

"The camera need not be a cold mechanical device. Like the pen, it is as good as the man who uses it. It can be the extension of mind and heart..." - John Steinbeck.

Skills

Advertising, B&W Analog, B&W Analogue prints, Black & White Film Photographer, commercial, commercial photographer, digital photographer, exhibitions, Fine Arts, Hospitality, Industrial Photographer, lifestyle, Location Specialist, Photo-Journalism, Photography, PR, Travelogue, videographer

Sector Experience

Advertising, Architecture, Automotive Photography, B&W Photographic Prints, Black & White Film Photography, Books & Periodicals, editorials, Exhibitions, fine art photography, Galleries & Studios, Gallery Exhibitions, hospitality, Hotels & Resorts, industrial photography, Interior Decor & Design, Interior Designers, Interiors, Photographic Exhibitions, Travel, Travelogue Photography

Awards

Cannes Print Ad (Gold) - Sanyo CD Stackers, Creativepool Top25 Director of Photography, Creativepool Top25 Photographer, Creativepool Top25 Photographer - Film, SA Fuji ProFoto Awards; Automotive - 2 Golds, SA Fuji ProFotos Awards; Print Ad - 3 Silvers

Clients

BMW South Africa, Caravan & Outdoor Life Magazine, Drive Out Magazine, EU Europen Union, Rwanda Africa, GalleryF (South Africa), Gallo Images (Pty) Ltd. (South Africa), Getty Images, Harley Davidson, RSA, iB Agency Foto & Video Management. Milan Italy, Land Rover, RSA, Landliebe, Germany, Mitsubishi Trade Magazine, Mrecedes Benz RSA, Open One Gallery, Pietrasanta Tuscany. Italy, Regis Holdings Group. Black River, Mauritius, SA 4x4 Magazine, SA Country Life Magazine, Scuderie Granducali Gallery. Seravezza, Italy, Serevezza Fotografia 2017, Italia, SONILS OSC. Luanda, Angola, Velux, Germany, Volvo RSA