Twenty twenty five is now three months old and is playing out well, but it is also in stark contrast to this time last year. These past few years I have rekindled my love of photography and I have been fortunate to be able to dial up the focus year on year but I’m not sure I’ll be able to top 2024. I began the year with a lot of enthusiasm which was strange given I was suddenly out of a job, one I had had for ten years. But that’s me, glass is half full.

I seized the opportunity and booked in a number of photography trips. However, two weeks into this new life and I was offered a 3 day a week contract. I had promised myself I would take a break (I’d had two jobs in twenty years) and I also had said I wouldn’t take the first job that came along.

But it was a great role and I really liked the team and project AND they were fine with me working around my planned trips. It wasn’t long before that became a full time job and I love it. But that has meant that my day job takes focus and this year I have had fewer opportunities to shoot. That being said, the studio time I have had has been very productive, each one special and a reminder why I love the creativity that photography affords me. This is the story of the three awesome shoots I have had this year.

This story is taken from my book; ‘2024, in review’. This is something I do every year for me alone, a way to compare my work year on year and perhaps something to enjoy later in life when I have packed away my cameras.

I’ve had an amazing year; 2024 is going to be a hard one to beat. These past 12 months have been truly special, the by-product of a collection of unplanned events. I’ve had two jobs in 20 years, and that streak came to an end in March this year. Suddenly, I had a lot of free time, and I knew I wanted to dive into some travel photography before getting back behind a desk. So, I seized the opportunity and booked a bunch of trips. But two weeks later, I was offered a job I couldn’t say no to, and they were kind enough to work around my planned trips. So, this is the story of a wild 2024. Buckle up; it’s been a fun ride!

Digital photography and the nature of an image going no further than a jpg, be that on your website or on social media, has created a fast food attitude towards photography. Too many times have we scrolled past an image that has taken hours or even days to create. I hated the idea that my images were trapped in their digital form.

But when I started printing again I found that my attitude to the way I composed and framed an image had changed. I was being more considered with my approach given that I wanted to print the end results. In the past I would shoot slower, mindful that there are only so many frames left on the roll. That necessary delay waiting for the film to be processed and printed made you appreciate the time you had to capture the image in the first place.

So knowing that I am going to go home, invest time in editing the images but also invest time and money into printing them has caused me to once again be more considered with how I take the images in the first place.

Iceland has been on my list of places to photograph for many years, but the idea of coming here had gained momentum after I discovered a passion for capturing people in otherworldly locations. Iceland is a place where movies are filmed to ensure the audience is transported to another world so it should surely work for me as well? I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to visit some remarkable places in the past few months and to be honest I thought I was done with my trips for this year but the network effect of having creative friends found me booking tickets to Iceland the month before.

I was holding my phone when a WhatsApp notification appeared on the screen from Elena. “We’re downstairs!” It was a dark and rainy morning in London, a perfect way to leave for a warmer island. I got in the front next to the driver and simultaneously greeted Mark and Elena behind me, whilst also apologising for the early start. Our final moments in the UK were spent in Gatwick airport sharing a homemade cheesecake that Elena had brought. A nice symbolic gesture, but also an indication of how we were all going to enjoy spending time together. Afterall, you can do anything with people that you have shared a cheesecake with before 6 am in the morning.

I was already awake when my alarm went off but it startled me all the same. I’d been awake for a while now, sleep had been elusive since coming to California as I take ages to acclimatise, but this morning was special and my brain had been busy imagining the day ahead. It was 5 am and my body still ached from being in the car for the last two days as we drove from the Bay Area to Death Valley.

My camera bag was at the foot of the bed along with my clothes ready for me to quickly get going. In the room next to mine I could hear the faint movements of life from my neighbour and shooting partner; Sirena. We’d briefly met the night before after she too had driven from San Francisco. She had greeted me in the lobby of the hotel with a massive smile and an enthusiastic hug, any signs of being on the road for eight hours had evaporated.