'I believe in the imagination’……..’To photograph reality is to photograph nothing.’ Duane Michals.
As an experimental and expressionist photographer, my goal is to reinterpret the world around me. I strive to capture the essence of my subjects rather than their reality, aiming to create images that resonate with the viewer's emotions, memories, and life experiences.
Digital technology has democratized photography, a development I embrace, yet it has also introduced a frustrating uniformity. It appears that every conceivable photograph of landscapes, wildlife, and portraits has been captured ad infinitum. While I have delved into these genres, I was never content with producing images that mirrored others. Echoing Matisse's sentiment that 'Creativity takes courage,' my journey has been equally frustrating and enjoyable. I draw inspiration from nature, colours, shapes, and textures, as well as everyday objects found in my home and garden.
I have practised the skill of using my camera as a paintbrush, creating most images on this website using in-camera techniques like Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), Multiple Exposures (MEs), or a blend of the two. This style of photography's serendipitous nature is incredibly exciting to me. It's impossible to recreate the same image twice; each one is heavily influenced by the quality of the light, colour combinations, and the complex camera settings at that moment of time. I can spend hours focusing on a single subject, tweaking the camera, until I feel I've captured one of the images stored in my imagination.
Digital technology has democratized photography, a development I embrace, yet it has also introduced a frustrating uniformity. It appears that every conceivable photograph of landscapes, wildlife, and portraits has been captured ad infinitum. While I have delved into these genres, I was never content with producing images that mirrored others. Echoing Matisse's sentiment that 'Creativity takes courage,' my journey has been equally frustrating and enjoyable. I draw inspiration from nature, colours, shapes, and textures, as well as everyday objects found in my home and garden.
I have practised the skill of using my camera as a paintbrush, creating most images on this website using in-camera techniques like Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), Multiple Exposures (MEs), or a blend of the two. This style of photography's serendipitous nature is incredibly exciting to me. It's impossible to recreate the same image twice; each one is heavily influenced by the quality of the light, colour combinations, and the complex camera settings at that moment of time. I can spend hours focusing on a single subject, tweaking the camera, until I feel I've captured one of the images stored in my imagination.
Recently, I began experimenting with mixed media, employing my numerous photographs to craft digital collages and occasionally using AI to generate the foundation image. I've also started to use a Gelli plate, combining the results with in-camera multiple exposures. This technique often yields fewer successful results, but the excitement of success when the artwork and photograph complement each other is thrilling. My journey of experimentation goes on.
'The two most engaging powers of a photograph are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.' William Thackeray
My photographs have received international recognition, with exhibitions in Harlow, London, Birmingham, and Switzerland. Many of my works have been featured in the Royal Photographic Society Magazine and the esteemed FRAMES Magazine. Additionally, a selection of my photographs is included in the online publication Behind the Seen by Adrian Lowe. I am delighted and honoured to be the Royal Photographic Society Visual Art Group Monograph Photographer 2025. Visual Art Group Monograph 2025 by Royal Photographic Society - Issuu
My Favourite Images '5 from the Archive': a Youtube video interview with Mark Evans for Camversation can be found here
Creative Photography: What is it? An article by Angela Nicholson for the SheClicks website can be found here