Where do you live and work?
I live in Brisbane.. Sometimes. I’m an IT contractor, at the moment I contract for a bank, since march I’ve worked in Perth, Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne and Toowoomba. I get to go home most weekends. It’s a good contract, the travel can wear a little thin at times, but it’s only until December, then I’ll be looking for another contract.



How and when did you discover your love for photography?
I have been in to photography on and off since 1998 when I finished school, I had access to some digital gear (an old Kodak brick and a sony that took floppy disks) through work and decided to try my hand at it, I came out with some stunning results considering the equipment, most phones have better cameras in them these days. I seriously got into photography in 2002; I was contracting and took a working road trip around Australia. I took an APS film camera with me, I took a heap of shots on the Great Ocean Road and along the Hay Plains in NSW, some of my results were very good. The end of my trip was in Cairns where I got some awesome photos of trinity beach and palm cove at dawn. I’ve upgraded cameras over 10 times now and have taken some pretty good shots.



How much of your talent lies with intuition as opposed to training?
Well I’ve always been a hands on learner, trial and error, both in IT and in photography. I’ve had no formal training in either one. I’ve read a few books in order to learn the technical skills to achieve what I see in my mind when taking photos. I’ve also found some great tips in photography magazines. Mostly it’s intuition though, I can thank my mother for that, she’s an artist.



Which subjects inspire you the most?
Water. I love water in all forms, probably 80-90% of my work has some form of water in it, whether it be a sunrise or sunset over a lake or ocean, or a waterfall in the rainforest. I also love reflections, my most recent work has featured some of the best reflections that I discovered while wandering Melbourne’s Docklands at night.



In what way do your surroundings influence your work?Well my job takes me to many places, so I try and find what I call “time out” spaces, places where I can just get away from everything and think about nothing related to my job. Docklands was a great distraction from work, as were the 12 Apostles and the creeks and waterfalls around Apollo Bay. When in Queensland I try and make time to visit Springbrook and go hiking at least once a month, along with Natural Bridge and a few other places.



What is your favourite time of day to work?
Anytime but midday, I love the quality of light that comes in at dawn and dusk, but I’m just as happy wandering around in the middle of the night armed with a camera (or 2) and a sturdy tripod.



What cameras and equipment do you use?
Currently I have a Canon EOS 300D with 3 lenses, I also carry a film Canon EOS body, usually with a nice Fuji Film in it. I have a couple of tripods so I’m usually carrying one of them. I love my circular polarising filter and a ND8 for those broad daylight waterfall shots. My laptop goes where I go. I always try and carry the following: water, sun cream, bug repellent, a torch, something to munch on and spare batteries for everything



What are your thoughts and preferences on film vs digital?
I like both. I don’t think that you can quite get the quality of the film in a Digital SLR yet, not without going to a Canon 5D or 1Ds. I’d really like to try out the new Hasselblad 39 megapixel medium format camera. I suspect that may come out looking too clean though, film has a nice grain to it that people expect to see.

What would you say is the most important element to capture in your photography?
I like to capture something worth putting on the wall and framing, something that captures the essence of the landscape in a light that few see. I think it’s  essential to capture “the moment”, something that inspires others.



What inspires the subject and theme of your photography?I don’t like to capture what everyone else captures, I like to try to be unique. I hear people say that my work is as good or better than other well known photographers, but I think that’s like trying to compare a Monet with a Van Gough or a Picasso, they are all great masters and it is a matter of taste. I don’t want to be as good as Peter Lik, Steve Parrish or anyone else, I want to be the best I can be. So if that means going places where others don’t or won’t go, then so be it, or even going places at times that no one else (in their right mind) would think of doing. I recently took a trip to the 12 Apostles, everyone has taken photos of the 12 Apostles, bus loads of tourists flock there every minute, there is not an angle of them that hasn’t been shot. I was the only one there at 10pm doing a long exposure of them though.



How would you describe your style?
In a word: Unique



What interests do you have outside of photography?
I’m not sure I understand the question.. no really, I’m mainly into photography but I love hiking, graphic & web design as well as audio production and engineering.



What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
The most rewarding aspect is capturing something that no one else sees, give 10 people a the same camera and tell them to take a photo of a subject, you will get 8 or 9 photos that are the same or similar, it’s the 1 that see things different who get the awesome shot. The most frustrating, well apart from not being able to afford the equipment I want yet (I want a 5D), it’s going somewhere and all you see is angles and frames, sometimes its hard to actually enjoy a trip when all you are looking for is “that” shot. It’s like tunnel vision through a camera.



Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I have no idea, ask me that question 5 years ago and I wouldn’t have said the place I’m at now. I hope to make my photography at least support itself financially by then, if not supporting me full time. I’m in the process of developing my website so that I can reach that goal.



Any words of advice for readers who are looking to start their own path into photography?
Keep on shooting, read all you can. Be unique, we don’t need another Peter Lik, Steve Parish or Nick Rains, they are great, but you aren’t them. By all means, learn all the technical aspects you can from the greats, but use them to develop your own angles and style.