About me

Me, myself and I (April 2006)

I am currently based in Glasgow, Scotland, where I was born. I live with my family, and dog. I graduated in November 2001 from the University of Strathclyde, with a BSc degree in an odd combination of things (none of them anything to do with photography).

I work in Glasgow doing all manner of computery things for a charitable organisation.

My spare time is split between: photography, travelling, paying bills, rock climbing, cycling, paying bills, marathon training, web site design, eating toast, programming, paying bills, sleeping and walking the dog.

Some of my other projects avalible from my main home page.

Photography

I have been interested in photography since I was about 8, and seriously so since early 1997. Gradually I became more and more capable, experimenting with my equipment, helped by learning everything I could from as many books as I could get my hands on. Since then I have learned from experience, trial-and-many-errors, and helpful advice from countless other people.

The best book I have come across on the subject of photographic technique and practices is undoubtebly "Basic Techniques of Photography" by John P. Schaefer (ISBN 0821225758).

Black and white

Black and white is my speciality, and my favourite. The shapes in a black and white photograph emphasise the textures and contours in the subject, without colour to distract from form.

I feel that in some ways this makes black and white a harder medium to use — there is one less thing for a bad photograph to hide behind. In other ways it is easier, as there is one less aspect of a photograph to worry about.

Darkroom

I do all my own darkroom work, as it allows me to control every aspect of creating a print from start to finish. By doing this I can make sure that what is produced is as close to the photograph I had in mind to begin with. This cannot be done if the work is contracted out to a lab. The down side to this way of working is that prints may take a little longer to be done, so I can't produce out vast quantities of work quickly, however I feel that the advantages more than make up for this.

Many photographers miss out on a versatile creative opportunity by getting other people (or machines) to print their photographs for them. The different interpretations that can be produced in the making of the print are very varied, and can totally change (or ruin!) the mood of the original photograph.

Digital

Many photographers these days — seemingly every one you talk to — are switching over to mostly, or completely digital work-flows. Whilst I have nothing against this, I greatly enjoy the slow, considered pace of the more traditional methods, and don't foresee myself making The Change in the near future.

In scanning in the prints I make for this web site I could easily play around with them in Photoshop to make them look better — remove that dust speck, improve the contrast — but I instead try to get them looking, on-screen, as much like the original print as I can; flaws and all.

I terms of satisfaction gained, I don't think you can compare something which takes a few minutes in front of a computer, and something which takes hours or days (usually in the dark, usually rendering yourself sterile with nasty chemicals), even if the end results are almost indistinguishable.