I’m delighted to announce that the HMS Belfast ad campaign poster has won Gold at the Graphis 2025 Poster Awards.
Rose, who commissioned me to undertake the photography, won the award along with 4 Silvers, at the recent event in New York.
You can read more about the original commission and shoot, here.
Below is the winning 4 sheet poster, with full information, here.
Client : IWM. Agency : Rose Design. AD : Garry Blackburn.
I’m delighted to have just had work selected for the Communication Arts 2024 Photography Annual No. 65.
The winning photograph was made in Milford Sound in November of 2023, while on a trip to New Zealand’s South Island.
For many, many years I’ve wanted to visit New Zealand, and in particular the South Island, so when the opportunity presented itself last year, I didn’t hesitate.
There are a large number of iconic locations in the South Island and so in no time at all a ‘road trip’ was put together with the help of my good friend Chris Lewis, which I’ll talk about in more detail in a future blog post.
Of course Fiordland was a key segment of the trip, and in particular Milford Sound.
I’ll be honest, when I finally arrived there, after much anticipation, I was a little surprised at just how busy it was. It was not at all what I was hoping to experience. But… after 16:00, when the tourists head home, a wonderful calm descends over the place and you feel quite alone. The same thing occurs at dawn, as the tourists don’t descend until around 11:00. There is a magic and a peace to the place that leaves you feeling in awe of the cathedral like surroundings.
The photograph you see below was made at dawn, before the sun hit the top of Mitre Peak (to the left) and as we were treated to a display of low cloud and mist, which slowly moved through the fiord as the tide receded.
If you look closely you’ll see two female Mallard ducks standing in the shallows. One was feeding while the other cast it’s beady eye on me. As I was on a 4 second exposure I was really hoping I’d have a frame or two with at least one of the ducks appearing sharply, and fortunately I did. It really was a very special moment, in so many ways.
While the photograph works as a single frame, I wanted to create a stitched image of three frames, as I felt it encompassed all of the visual elements and would represent the sheer scale of the scene, perfectly.
This was easily (and quickly, using custom indents) achieved using my ALPA 12 STC with HR Alpagon 4.0/40mm lens and with three horizontal frames at 10mm left - 0mm - 10mm right.
With this camera the lens is stationary and it’s the MFDB that shifts. This creates a distortion free image of extremely high quality. I also enjoy the format it creates. It is wide, but it doesn’t ‘feel’ wide. It doesn’t feel forced, pulled or distorted. It feels to me, like I am simply standing there.
One last thing to note, and another thing that surprised me about Milford Sound, was the speed of the incoming and outgoing tide. Be warned!
Dawn at Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand.
“Milford Sound/Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island, within Fiordland National Park.
It has been judged the world’s top travel destination in an international survey in 2008 and is acclaimed as New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination.
Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world.
Rudyard Kipling called it the eighth Wonder of the World...”
Detail - A rather special moment frozen in time, during the 4 second exposure.
Our dawn set up, from the following day. Otherwise known as ‘set up and wait’
The photograph below also made it through to the CA shortlist, but in the end it wasn’t a ‘winner’
It was part of an exciting commission for the good folk at the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT)
You can find the full set here.
The front cover photograph of the EHAAT 21/22 ‘Everyday Heroes’ Annual Review.
I’m again delighted to have had work selected again for Lürzer’s Archive’s Top 200 Ad Photographers Worldwide 2023/24 annual.
It’s always a treat to have work accepted in to this prestigious publication.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have appeared in every edition of the book since 2008.
Below is one of the images selected, a variation from a commission by Rose Design, for the Imperial War Museum and HMS Belfast.
There’s more information to be found on the actual shoot here.
Below is the final image placed in the 48 sheet poster.
Client : IWM. Agency : Rose Design. AD : Garry Blackburn.
I’m delighted to have had work selected again for Lürzer’s Archive’s Top 200 Ad Photographers Worldwide 2021/22 annual.
It’s always exciting to have work accepted in to this fabulous and prestigious publication.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have appeared in every edition of the book since 2008.
Below are two of the images selected, from a commission for Land Rover USA.
Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. Commissioned by Land Rover USA.
Agency : Spark44 New York. Art Director : Peter Cooper.
“It was back in the early 1980s that advertising copywriter and agency owner Walter Lürzer banged his fist down on the table and resolutely shouted out to himself: “If no one’s going to do it for me, I’m going to have to do it myself - for everyone!”
What he was referring to, back in that dark pre-internet era, was the laborious process of hunting out and compiling advertising campaigns from around the world. In those days, there were not many ways of finding out how products and services were being advertised in, say, America, Asia, or individual European countries. The first issue of Lürzer’s Archive magazine was published October 1984 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and today the title has over 150,000 readers worldwide.”
Rowena Crest viewpoint, Oregon. Commissioned by Land Rover USA.
Agency : Spark44 New York. Art Director : Peter Cooper.
Lürzer’s Archive are the celebrated creative resource for advertising professionals worldwide, has been offering a full set of inspirational tools since 1984: Lürzer's Archive magazine; Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Specials; the Lürzer's Archive website, plus their wide range of apps.
Since 2004, Lürzer's Archive has been publishing the 200 Best series, featuring a range of different volumes focusing on a variety of graphic design disciplines. Each carries only work by the best 200 creatives to have submitted to the respective volume. Titles in this series are published every two years. A jury specially convened for each volume selects from the work submitted the items they consider to be the best
Early morning at Salmon Cove. Commissioned by Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism.
Agency : Target, St John’s. Art Director : Kevan Kalyan.
The finished press ad.
Pleased too to have be considered as one of the six front cover options.
Full details of all those nominated can be found here.
I’m delighted that work from my Turner’s House In Twickenham commission has made it in to the Lürzers Archive ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers Worldwide’ 20/21 awards annual.
You can find more work from the project, with larger versions here.
Here’s the story behind the work, along with some history on the house itself..
I was contacted by one of the trustees of the Turner’s House Trust, who had read in an article that I was a great admirer of J.M.W. Turner’s landscape painting. He asked me if I was aware of the restoration project of Turner’s House in Twickenham, and would I like to contribute in some way. I immediately thought I could help in my capacity as a photographer, and so a plan was hatched, and in March of that year, just days before the restoration work was due to commence, the Trust kindly granted me the great honour of two days access to the house.
I wanted to approach the work in a simple and honest way, and so decided to work purely with natural light, with the single aim of capturing the atmosphere of the house. Turner’s work, for me, is all about drama and the play of light and colour, and I’ve aimed to capture the spirit of that in these photographs. All the work was shot using available light, on the ALPA 12 MAX with the excellent ALPA HR Alpagon 32mm SB17 lens.
“Sandycombe Lodge was built by 1813 to the designs of England’s great landscape painter, J.M.W. Turner, working here as his own architect to create a quiet retreat for himself, away from the pressures of the London art world. It also provided a home for his father, old William, in retirement from his trade as a barber and wigmaker in Covent Garden, and with old William’s declining health and changes in his own life, Turner sold the house in 1826
Turner’s House Trust has restored Sandycombe Lodge and made it available for all as a living reminder of J.M.W. Turner’s life in Twickenham and its influence on his art; 2013 marked the bicentenary of this building, a three-dimensional work by an artist renowned in his time and celebrated internationally today.
The house has had unsympathetic additions and is in a run-down condition. Turner’s House Trust intends to restore it to its original appearance and make it a monument to Turner in Twickenham. The house is open to the public and visitors can explore the small but beautiful building, with fascinating stories to tell”
For more information on the history and restoration of Sandycombe Lodge, and the Turner’s House Trust, go here. You can also find information on Butler & Hegarty’s web site, the project’s architects, here.
I’m both proud and delighted to say my forthcoming book ‘North Northwest’ has just won Best British Book and Book of the Year at the British Book Design & Production Awards.
"A fantastic 101 books made it onto the shortlist, but only 19 winners could be crowned. ‘North Northwest’, entered by Boss Print (Concentric Editions), was the star of the night, triumphing in the Best British Book category and winning the title of overall Book of the Year.
The judges commented that “Even amongst the highest of competition, this entry captivated us. There was not one element that did not fit in. The book was seamlessly put together as a whole with beautiful production and design, making it a truly worthy winner.”
My thanks go to fellow collaborators Fenton Smith of Boss Print and Concentric Editions and designer Les Welch. These awards are a true testament to the superb quality of the print, production and design of the book.
The book is available in three editions, with full information and purchasing options here.
After leading an ALPA workshop in the beautiful Olympic National Park with Capture Integration I decided to stay on for an extra week, to make some work for myself.
The sheer scale of the landscapes in the Pacific Northwest do beg the question.. how on earth do I make a photograph of what I’m seeing before me, that feels natural to the eye? Instead of simply reverting to using a super wide lens, which I’m not particularly keen on due to the pulI and distortion, I found the solution in using a slightly longer lens and shooting panoramic images. I used my ALPA 12 SWA with HR Alpagon ƒ4.0 40mm SB17, which allowed me to shift the lens vertically (especially in the rain forests) and dial in some tilt when required, while importantly keeping the camera level for shooting frames for stitched panoramics.
Many of the images were shot in damp and windy conditions, with movement in both the water and the branches and leaves, the stitching software taking care of any movement and anomalies. With some of the images being created from 10 x 80mpxl frames, you can imagine.. the resulting 16 bit PSB files are large!
I’m pleased to say that some of the work has been selected for ‘Lurzers Archive Top 200 Best Advertising Photographers Worldwide 20/21’
Below are some examples of the work I made, with more images available to see here.
Below are a few ‘behind the scenes’ images of my ALPA 12 SWA..
Delighted to have had my portrait of biologist and seaweed expert, Agnes Mols-Mortensen, selected for the AOP Awards finals, 2016.
This was shot as part of a commission for Land Rover, on the beautiful black sand beach at Tjørnuvík, the northernmost village on the Faroese island of Streymoy. It was raining for much of our seven day trip, which added to the soft light and general mood of the imagery.
The AOP Awards event will be held at The Old Truman Brewery, in Brick Lane, London, on the 13th October 2016. The exhibition will be open to the public from 14-17 October 2016.
Client : Land Rover. Agency : Redwood. AD : Dan Delaney.
Detail.. Note the drops of rain on her face..
Last week I was extremely pleased to be told I’d won a place at the AOP 2011 Awards exhibition and in the accompanying Awards book.
The category winners will be announced at the opening on Wednesday 26th September at Ambika P3, 35 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LS. Tickets go on sale shortly and can be purchased directly from the AOP.
For those who like to know, the picture was made with my trusty Alpa 12 SWA & Schneider Alpa Apo-Switar 5.6/36 mm.
Nortonstreet Lane under snow, St Paul’s Walden, Herts.
