2024. A year in review.

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!

First up, I should clarify that 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 (if?) I have packed away my cameras.

2024 Book and a few prints from the pages within. Plus two books from past years.

Nausicaa (London)

In January, I caught up with my photographer friend Dave. He was over from Canada and had a number of shoots booked. I insisted on buying him supper, and he returned the favour by inviting me along to a shoot he had booked with Elena (Nausicaa Yami), someone I knew of but had never met.

We all shot together in a very cold studio in Greenwich, and I took one of my favourite photos this year: Nausicaa the Acorn, the cover of my 2024 book. I didn’t know it then, but Elena would soon become a good friend.

See the photos we took together here.

Audrey (London)

Audrey was familiar to me. She had worked with a number of photographer friends of mine and was after some test shots for her portfolio. Shortly after these were taken, she discovered she was pregnant and is now a mother of two, still working in front of the camera.

Cariad (London)

My shoot with Cariad was an unexpected surprise. I had a free studio day at the Buckle Factory (my favourite studio), and Cariad and her husband drove a long way to shoot with me there.

I had sent a mood board ahead and, while we referenced it, we both enjoyed each other's creativity and shot the images we wanted. I loved that shoot and have many printed images from it. Cariad’s parting words were, “You exceeded my expectations,” which took me by surprise. How could anyone have expectations of me? See our photos here.

By now, it was March. I was unemployed but honestly excited about what the future might hold. I didn’t have a crystal ball, but I was confident in my abilities. For now, all I knew was that I was planning a number of photography trips abroad. I had become friendly with Elena, chatting about possible shoots. She was super busy—I remember laughing at her saying, “I might be able to fit you in in May.” Despite that being a long way off, we agreed on dates, and I started planning. My lack of driving meant I was quick to snap up a model who liked my work and could drive.

Kiwi (Gran Canaria)

But I still had an itchy trigger finger and wanted to take some photos before coming back and looking for a permanent job. It was Elena who recommended Cristina to me. She knew I wanted to shoot art nude in potentially unforgiving landscapes with someone unafraid of sharp rocks. Cristina had proven herself capable of that with one of Elena’s photographer friends.

I planned a trip to Gran Canaria, and Cristina was excited to come along. This was my first solo trip—a set of locations I had scouted online, with travel and accommodation that I had arranged. We had a very productive five days, mixing landscape work with Cristina’s favoured stylised shots. It was a brilliant and creative time, confirming that I could organise such trips.

Our photographic adventure was covered in my first travel blog of the year.

Meg (London)

Back in the UK, I had a shoot planned with Meg a day or so after I landed. Meg had travelled from Birmingham on her own. It wasn’t until after we finished shooting that I learnt she thought this was a test shoot. Meg is incredible, an artist in her own right. She studied photography at university but discovered a passion for modelling while trying to demonstrate techniques to her subjects. This was a fantastic shoot; we connected and came away with so many images that both of us use in our portfolios.

We reviewed the photos in a local café, and Meg thanked me for allowing her to be herself in the images. I’m not great at receiving compliments, but I always strive to create an environment where someone feels safe and can trust me to capture who they are. See the photos we took together here.

That same week, I had an interview that quickly turned into a job—well, a three-day-a-week contract so we could test each other out. Plus, I had promised myself at least six months off, and it had only been two weeks! They were accommodating enough to work around my planned time away, which was fortunate, as I was about to head to California for Easter with the family and then spend a week in Death Valley and Vegas.

Sirena (Death Valey)

Death Valley had been on my wish list forever—a landscape perfectly fitting with my desire for ‘otherworldly’ scenes. Karen, my mother-in-law, who lives in the Bay Area, offered to drive me down after Cleia and the kids returned to the UK. However, Andy, her husband, pointed out that it was an eight-hour drive, so he offered to join us and share the driving.

A road trip it was! Sirena had been introduced to me via the model network I was now very much connected to. She had seen my landscape work and was keen to get involved—so much so that she drove eight hours straight on her own in one day!

Sirena on the mud flats of Death Valley

The Death Valley trip was truly special: hard work with early starts, but an important life event. Sirena was fantastic. I loved her enthusiasm, and she completely understood what I was trying to achieve. I came away with many cherished images, now framed, as well as lots of fun memories.

Karen and Andy enjoyed Sirena’s company so much that she has since house-sat for them and joined them for suppers. It’s wonderful when models become friends, especially when it’s not just you who gets on with them. This was another trip that was deserved of it’s own blog post.

Printing

I think the raw creative energy of being in the desert nudged me to revisit printing. I was already ordering prints of my work, inspired by seeing my images with Kate in Malta, which are now framed in my studio.

But the idea of printing on demand again excited me, and before I left California, I had ordered an Epson SC P900 large-format printer to arrive when I got home. I didn’t know it then, but this tool would shape my approach to photography for the remainder of the year.

May is a month of birthdays at home, but Lanzarote was booked for the end of the month, and I was looking forward to it. Elena and I were now chatting regularly (I know I chat a lot, but I think she is even chattier). A few weeks prior, she asked if her boyfriend Mark could come along. Of course, I agreed—my only request was that he join in with the photos if the opportunity arose, which they both embraced.

Nausicaa in Lanzarote

Lanzarote was another important photographic week for me. It reaffirmed my belief that I could plan and book these trips and make them productive. But also, we had so much fun in the process, just the three of us. The days were divided into mornings and late evenings (it’s always about the soft light). Elena drove while I navigated to the locations I had scouted. We’d shoot for a few hours, with Mark documenting the process with behind-the-scenes images and videos. Evenings were spent sharing meals and reviewing the day’s photos. We mixed art nude shots in the wild landscape with fashion shoots in the villas we shared. It was so rewarding to shoot on our own schedule, knowing everything we did would be productive. Elena later said this was her best trip of the year, and I think I agree. Read about our adventure on my blog post here.

Daria (London)

It was now June and I had a shoot planned with Daria in my favourite studio, the Buckle Factory. This had been organised for ages, but coincidentally, I would soon be with her in Iceland.

Our studio shoot was unscripted and brilliant. We used the natural daylight and improvised with random furniture that was strewn around the studio. Just two people getting to know each other with a camera. Daria was lovely and creative, and I was learning that I got on very well with Canadians.

Check out the photos here.

Shivani (London)

The studio was booked for the day: Daria in the morning, followed by Shivani and her makeup artist, Yvonne. I had met Shivani the year before when her agent pointed her my way for a portfolio update, and this was another similar shoot. She is full of life, with a wonderful accent—a mix of Indian and Italian—and always incredibly polite. Her beauty is defined by her personality.

A few weeks later, I found myself in Iceland, sharing a beer with Dave, who had planned this trip with Daria and me. The network effect of creative minds is a wonderful thing. I had wanted to shoot in Iceland forever. Dave and I spoke about it last year, but this opportunity came out of the blue, and I couldn’t say no.

Daria below Vestrahorn, Iceland

The sun never truly sets in Iceland in July, which we used to our advantage. We arrived at stunning locations when no one else was around—often at 3 am. A week of very little sleep, fuelled by creative energy and packed with Canadian banter. This was an unforgettable trip, a bucket list location spent with two very cool people. A precious time I will never forget and one that was worthy of its own blog post.

I even reunited Daria with a print I had made from our shoot the previous month—a creative loop I now exploit whenever possible. By some strange twist of fate, Marisa, who is on the cover of my Twenty Three book, was also in Iceland at the same time, so I reunited her with a couple of prints. A simple gesture that makes me complete.

Halyna (London)

Back in London, Halyna reached out, asking if I wanted to shoot. My favourite studio was unavailable, so I booked their sister studio upstairs, which also has great daylight. Halyna is a dancer and has a classic, almost timeless look. She is Ukrainian, speaks many languages, and also paints.

Such natural ability might explain why her poses are so graceful and reminiscent of another era. I had specific ideas in mind to complement her attributes, and she played her part perfectly. We met up later so I could give her a few prints. This was becoming a fun way to conclude a creative process.

These are some of the photos we took together.

Sara (Venice)

The summer ended with a long weekend in Venice to celebrate my father turning eighty—a wild idea my sister Claudia and I dreamt up one afternoon while chatting on a dog walk.

This was my second time in Venice, and it was truly magical. I arrived first and headed out to meet Sara Ghedina, a photographer friend I had only met once on a video call and was native to Venice. We had a lovely catch up over coffee and chatted all things photography. It’s so nice to meet other creatives in their own environments.

Check out Sara’s portraits here.

Claudia (Venice)

My parents and sister arrived shortly afterwards. Our precious hours in Venice were meticulously packed with places to visit, each day concluding with a lovely meal out. Fate once again played its part; amongst the renowned art was the Venice Film Festival and a Helmut Newton exhibition, both significant to us all and events we participated in. I even managed to capture my beautiful sister a few times.

Kate (London)

Somehow it was September, and I was very aware that my time off work was ebbing away. The day job was cementing, and I was agreeing terms to go permanent. But I still wanted to add to my photographic adventures. Kate Ri contacted me, and I was excited to work with her. I was also in contact with a clothes designer based in Notting Hill who made one-off pieces, and I was keen to combine his work with hers.

I returned to the Buckle Factory, but it was a shadow of its former self. The entire space had been divided into six artists' studios—great for them but a tragedy for photographers who love natural daylight. Crammed into a smaller space, we were forced to improvise, but we made it work, and I took another of my favourite images of the year. Kate left the UK for NYC armed with a three-year work visa and hoping to find a husband. She was always very clear about her goals in life!

See the images we created together here.

Jordan (London)

October marked the end of my three-day week work life. In truth, I had not truly leveraged this, as my work week often spilled over, and I was enjoying the project. But I had every intention of going out with a bang. The penultimate four-day weekend was going to be creative. Thursday was a day in a new studio with Jordan, someone I had not worked with before (a trend this year).

Jordan is another dancer and, as a friend would later say to me, has incredibly angular features. Our day was a mix of daylight and flash photography and genuinely lots of fun. She worked so hard, and the output was proven by me selling three different images of her from my new print shop on my website.

More photos from our shoot here.

Noémie (Paris)

The next morning, I woke early to travel to Paris by train. My Saturday was spent in a gorgeous studio with Noémie Doragon, who is creative inside and out. I say "out" as her entire body is covered in a carefully designed tattoo—something that is known as a body suit.

You might be forgiven for assuming someone with tattoos is loud or provocative, but Noémie is a quiet and collected soul. Her very genuine personality is reflected in her poses and approach to her work. Everything she does is very earnest—a footprint she left behind in the images we created together.

Check out the photos we took together here.

Carl (Paris)

My final hours in Paris were spent having a four-hour breakfast with Carl Fehres, an American photographer I have followed for a number of years who had recently moved to Paris. His work is beautiful and heralds from the fifties. His very analogue approach was perhaps what inspired me to order a Pentax 6x7 from Japan. I had last used one of these in 1997 while working for a decent fashion photographer, and whilst I loved my Mamiya RB67, I was hooked and promised myself that one day I would own this camera. How wonderful to be able to make these sorts of decisions in life on a whim.

Like Sara, it was great to catch up with Carl and just chat about our shared passion. Check out his wonderful work here.

Nausicaa (London)

Much like my desire to complete creative loops, my final shoot of the year was with Elena, the first person I photographed in 2024 and someone who, by now, was more friend than muse. We both chose the studio, another daylight space, and one with plenty of room for the big black backdrop I planned to bring with me.

The owner of the studio was Greek and helped me create the set I had in mind. Elena and I were then free to try out some more fashion-inspired sets, and I would take my first roll of 120 film in nearly 25 years with my new (made in 1969) camera—a test roll to learn its quirks, of which it turned out to have a few.

This year has been a creative milestone for me. My unusual work situation freed me to further explore my photographic side, and I managed to pack so much in. But I also love (and need) to work, and my new business was essentially a start-up, which also feeds my inherent creativity. Each month brought something new, and I was learning with every moment. Printing is now a staple of my approach to photography. I am more methodical with how I shoot, conscious that I need to justify whether an image is print-worthy.

I love to travel; I love new experiences. Being able to revisit my past life in the darkroom with a new Giclée printer has invigorated my way of working. But none of this would have been possible without the people I have met along the way. My passion for photography has always been about capturing the beauty of a person. I am constantly amazed by the people I meet and consider myself very fortunate to have found such a rich and inspired vein of humanity, many of whom are now friends. 2024 was an amazing year, and, as I said at the beginning, it will be a hard one to beat.

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Ten things I have learned after 6 months of giclée printing with an Epson SC P900