I turned 60 this year and, looking back, I realise photography has never simply been my profession. It has been the way I've understood people, places and the moments that connect them.

Rooted in a lifetime spent outdoors and shaped by formal training, my work is built on lived experience rather than observation alone. Nearly four decades behind the camera have taught me that the most meaningful photographs are rarely the loudest. More often, they are the quiet moments that reveal something genuine about the people within them.

 

I grew up on Cornwall's rugged north coast on a farm that ran down to the sea, where life revolved around the land, the tides and the changing seasons. Long before art school or formal instruction, my late father introduced me to photography using his well-worn Rolleiflex and a Leica he affectionately referred to as his "DeMob present", both of which I still own and occasionally use today.

 

More importantly, he taught me how to see.

 

He taught me to move quietly, to anticipate rather than react, and to compose carefully in the camera rather than rely on cropping later in the darkroom. More than forty years later, those lessons remain at the heart of everything I do.

 

After leaving art school in 1988, I moved to London to begin my professional career as a photographer. Those early years refined my technical discipline, sharpened my observational skills and taught me to work quietly within demanding environments. In time, I found myself drawn back to the countryside and the life I had grown up with, bringing together formal photographic training with a genuine understanding of the people, traditions and landscapes that make country life so distinctive.

 

Whilst my photography is often associated with field sports, it has never really been about game, fish or scenery alone. It has always been about people.

 

The friendships built over seasons together. Skills passed from one generation to the next. The relationship between families, keepers, guides, dogs and the landscapes they care for. Those quieter moments between the action often become the photographs that mean the most.

 

Each season I spend well over 100 days in the field throughout the United Kingdom before travelling internationally to photograph some of the world's finest sporting destinations. Whether working in the Scottish Highlands, the wilderness of Alaska, the rivers of Scandinavia or the plains of South Africa, the landscape may change, but the photographs remain centred on the people, their traditions and the moments that matter most.

 

Over the years I have been privileged to photograph Royalty, heads of state, business leaders, celebrities and families who simply love spending time together in the countryside. In front of the camera, titles quickly become irrelevant. Every client receives exactly the same discretion, respect and quiet attention, allowing them to relax and enjoy the day without feeling that photography has become part of the occasion.

 

The greatest compliment I receive is hearing someone say, "I had no idea you were there."

 

For me, that has always been the measure of success.

 

If my photographs feel natural, unforced and honest, it is because the experience of being photographed felt exactly the same.

 

If you're planning a memorable day in the field, marking a family milestone or simply wish to preserve time spent with the people who matter most, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

 

The finest photographs rarely become more valuable the day after they're taken. Their true worth is revealed over the years, as the people, places and moments within them become part of family history.

 

That is what Walking Gun has always been about.