In 2000, I made a radical career change and moved from the field of microbiology to pursue my new found love of photography. This decision was easily made – ever since I’d left off painting and drawing at school, I’d felt the lack of an artistic outlet. Backpacking in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa renewed my desire for creativity.
In all my photography I strive to create an image so that the whole is a balanced sum of its parts. Composing and balancing the natural and built world with its numerous interacting planes, colours and light – enables me to convey the dramatic nature of the raw experience with one that is also pleasing to the eye.
While I started as a landscape photographer, the move to architectural photography – the built environment within nature’s landscape – was a natural progression, since both avenues follow similar concepts, only this time, the architect is the creator and I aim to capture their vision by using available light and careful composition.
While it was an easy decision to make, the photographic road is not an easy one to travel. I believe that building and retaining good relationships with clients, without sacrificing your identity and integrity as a photographer is really key. The good relationships I have built with my architectural clients has allowed me to return to South Africa on an annual basis to shoot for them. This approach enables me to work both in Australia and South Africa, which has the added bonus of landscape photography in the Drakensberg I enjoy so much.
