About

At the start of 2006 I started my Guernsey Coast photographic project. The intention being to photograph, in depth, the shoreline of this island.

I had no idea back then what a joy and a challenge this would turn out to be. In the last year I have scoured practically every bay and rocky headland, in all weathers and at all states of tide. Some shots have required many repeat visits to the same location before the combination of time, tide and light has come together to enable me to capture the final image.

I tend to shoot at either the beginning or the end of the day for a number of reasons. Firstly, as any landscape photographer will tell you, this is when the light tends to be at it's most magical and dramatic. The warm light of a sun low in the sky can transform a scene and is completely different to the (often harsh) light which one finds during the middle part of the day.
Shooting in low light also allows me to employ very long shutter speeds, of up to a few minutes in some cases. I use this technique in an attempt to transform and simplify the image. I want to strip away excess detail and visual 'noise' in an attempt to reveal the fundamental form and structure of the landscape. The sea is transformed when photographed with a long exposure - A half a second and detail and texture can still be made out, along with the movement of breaking waves. More than thirty seconds and the water is magically transformed into mist or a glass-like mirror.

Guernsey is a small island with a relatively large population. It can often feel quite claustrophobic. I love the feeling of being outdoors at sunrise, whilst the majority of the island is still asleep. The sense of peace with nobody else around to break the spell is intoxicating. It is at times like these that I feel most alive and able to produce my best work.

I have been asked why there are so few people in my landscapes. Well as I've already said they're either still in bed or at home having tea! Actually the absence of people is intentional. I want my images to appear timeless. If successful they should not only capture the scene as it was the moment the shutter was pressed but should also hint at the slow evolution of the landscape over time. I'm happy to include man-made structures, like the groynes at Vazon or the bathing pools at La Valette because these structures are subjected to the same forces as the natural landscape that surrounds them. They have weathered and been eroded in the same way as the sand and rock. The presence of people just doesn't seem to fit and would, in my opinion, ground the image too much in the now and ultimately leave less to the imagination of the viewer.

A note on equipment

I don't like to dwell on technical details concerning cameras and lenses. In fact it does annoy me sometimes when someone’s first response to looking at a photograph is to say 'Wow great photo, you must have a really good camera!' After all if someone serves you great food you don't immediately think ' Wow, I bet you’ve got a really good oven!’

Up until May 2006 I shot all my images exclusively on colour transparency film. However, following the latest developments in digital equipment I, along with many other serious amateur and professional photographers, took the plunge and moved over to this medium.
I now use a Canon EOS 5D digital SLR and Canon 'L' series lenses for all my landscape work. The quality is outstanding and is equal not only to the finest 35mm transparency film but also, in many peoples opinion, to that of medium format film. The images when viewed on a computer screen can only hint at the quality of a large, professionally produced print.
I don't use any coloured or special effects filters when taking photographs and only use Photoshop to make fine adjustments to levels, contrast and saturation, in order to match the image as close as possible to the scene that originally presented itself to me at the time. The amazing colours and tones present in some of these shots is purely a result of nature doing its thing and me dragging myself out of bed early enough to witness and capture it on camera!


A note on print quality

All prints are produced to the highest standards by a professional laboratory using the latest printing technology and fade resistant, archival materials