Photography

My passion for the arts evolved through my early days of school.  I was always good with my hands in carpentry, architectural drawing, art and sports.  Through these activities I found the creative side of me.   My mother was also an inspiration to me.  She was one of those mothers who would always madly take photos of what we did as children.  At a young age this sparked my interest in photography.
Later in my life after becoming a qualified chef I went into fine dining which is more about the artistic side and presentation of food. I have always been a person with drive.  Other than photography I had found that I had the knack for interior decorating, fine art, food and music.  At a young age I was drawn towards the art form of body building which is a form of sculpturing.  This also led me to do personal training, and to combine my food science knowledge.

It wasn’t until I was about 22 I picked up the camera again and started to shoot anything that moved.  While still working in a restaurant I had the opportunity to shoot an Australian swimsuit model.  After getting the photos back from our beach shoot it was then glamour photography which then became a passion.

I had my first studio at the age of 24.  I worked with lot of advertising press and glamour.  Photography as a full time occupation is a very hard job to actually make a living out of.  But the day I opened up my first studio was the first of my best days that were to come in my career as a glamour photographer.  I had slow times and busy times.  To keep it going I worked as a chef at a fine dining restaurant part time and also had a part time job in a gym.  Things began to pick up after I had developed a good client base.

I met a well known Gold Coast photographer by the name of Bruce Hortz, he invited me to work with him in his studio and combine facilities.  I did a great deal of portfolios, worked with Myers Catalogues, and Keith Williams for Hamilton Island.  From these jobs I found I was improving.

I won a scholarship to the Queensland College of Art but did not accept it as I was embarrassed about my dyslexic problem at the time.  I found out at a young age that I was diagnosed with Dyslexia and found it more difficult than others growing up and with managing my schooling.  It was quite a few years later that I found I wasn’t embarrassed to talk about being dyslexic.
I had a sense that I had learnt more about photography working in the industry than what I would at any college.  I didn’t know anything technically but what I learnt from the courses I did in the dark room.  I knew I had an eye for the subject.  I began to learn about lighting my subject.  I bought my first set of studio lights and began to learn how to use a light metre, I understood what it did.  I made a lot of mistakes along the way but I also learnt a great deal from these mistakes that no University or College could ever teach you.

A couple of years later I had a motorbike accident which put me out of action for about 6 months.  During these 6 months I had to close the studio as I could not manage to maintain it and found I could not afford to keep it.  After getting back on my feet I travelled Australia for a couple of years.  It was then a few years later I picked up the camera again and slowly with my marketing ability I began to get on my feet again and began photographing for some magazines.  I then decided it was time to go back to full time photography.

I haven’t looked back and this is where I am today.  My future plans are to try and take some control of the glamour industry.  The industry has changed quite a lot since I have come back.  But with the power of the web and my past 7 years of learning the new dark room with the digital era I was ready to get back into action.  I think it is very important that a photographer should know his dark room.  It is very surprising to me how many photographers don’t know their dark room in the changeover to digital and how much they rely on others to correct and airbrush images.

Seven years ago I met my partner/ fiancée Elizabeth; I knew she was a hairstylist and a talented one.  It was soon after that I realised how talented she is in makeup.  She has six years training and 15 years experience in the industry.  I owe some of my success to her with her ability to create flawless make up.  Together we started up a photography studio which combined our skills. I trained with a makeup artist myself who was considered one of the best.  This was not so much to apply makeup but more so to know what to look for with makeup artists to get the look I want.  I have worked with many makeup artists but I am lucky I ended up with one of the best, one who is actually qualified with hair, makeup and beauty and creates the exact look that I want every time.

In the last seven years I have moved from strength to strength; my magazine clientele, calendars etc continues to grow and I am fortunate to say I have met some wonderful people through this industry.  I also do a great deal of model portfolios and find this a great way for sourcing subjects which may be suitable for magazine shoots.  I look forward to chatting and meeting people who share a love for the arts; if you need a portfolio, commercial photography, still life or wedding photography etc; drop me a line and I will get back to you