A recent family bereavement unsurprisingly resulted in some personal contemplation about how we make an impression in life. My professional life in the fire and rescue service is now a closed chapter in my life and my contributions in that time will be eventually be untraceable. My recent experiences in relation to my photography has seen some of my work recognised but in the longer term, will this still be the case?

With the 2nd anniversary of this website’s publication approaching, I thought it would be a good time to look at refreshing it, as the design and functionality had been unchanged since its launch. There was nothing particularly wrong with the site I published in 2022, so my initial thoughts were a few tweaks here and a spruce around the edges and it would be done in a few days. Well, it’s 5 weeks later and the tweak and spruce tuned out to be more of a dismantle and rebuild with some head scratching and compromising along the way, so here’s what I learned from this experience.

It has been 2 years since I launched my photography website, so it was time to reflect on the experience, freshen the site up and then get back to the business of creating images. My initial plan was to take a few days to spruce things up ultimately it became a 5 week total rebuild but overall it was a worthwhile experience

Trying to devote some quality time to photography whilst undertaking a holiday to New York did not go to plan. So what were the key factors that influenced the outcomes of the trip?

Whilst I have a strong bias towards black and white fine art architecture , I also enjoy other genres, so I don’t feel the need to create delineation and boundaries to my photographic identity…

A trip to the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia didn’t go according to plan so the original plan was adapted to include some improvisation. It also was used an opportunity to scout and learn for a future return

Studying the work of others is a great way of learning, however there is a risk that you end up in a cycle of emulation. Finding your own creative pathway is a personal journey which offers up the prospect of fulfilment and accomplishment

Little did I know at the beginning of 2021 that it would be a year of recognition and accomplishment. It was also the year when personal confidence began to push on the boundaries characterised by being an introvert by nature

Working within the Fire and Rescue Service for 30 years was one where the processing of learning and developing was a continuous cycle and is a psyche that is now applied to my photography….

Whilst retirement can be viewed as the closing of a chapter in life, it can also represent the beginning of a new chapter. The opportunity to devote more time to my photography created the perfect bridge to transition from life in the public sector into a world of creativity and new experiences.