As a child I remember my family watching picture slideshows, the colour slides were projected onto a screen we had set up in the front room.
I started to explore photography at Art College where I was training as a painter. I was always interested in people and used to sketch in the street, capturing the movement of bodies and light. A tutor suggested I took a camera – the immediacy of the medium suited my personality; I was hooked.
My first paid for and published assignment was speed skating on Baston Fen in Norfolk. The fens freeze and people race on skates. It was freezing but my small 2” x 3” black and white picture was published in the Daily Telegraph the next day, which made me feel like a king.
Photographing a recently abandoned torture cell during the conflict in Kosovo left a huge mark on me. There were pictures of men, women and children who had been held captive, and blood-stained instruments of torture were lying on the floor. The pain and terror inflicted there was a tangible presence in the room.
I love covering breaking news, political machinations and even the impact of economic stories that reach every corner of the globe. What I enjoy most is photographers being able to explain complex stories visually, in a way that makes a long-term impact.
Paying customers are the audience I have in mind. Without people paying for our images, there would be no news photography industry.
I respect photographers who try to improve their visual storytelling ability through hard work, ethically sound principles and a ceaseless questioning of the world around them.
