I am attracted by various different types of subject matter, styles and genres of photography. I like to "see" a picture, and then just take it as it is in the viewfinder. I really admire photographers who deploy the absolute minimum of manipulation and digital post processing of their images. I much admire photographic work that stands on the merit of the original observation and the whole original viewfinder composition, using the absolute minimum of post processing. It is something that I attempt whenever I can.

I have become absolutely staggered at the huge amount of modern photography that has come to be dependent on large amounts of post processing of the image for its impact. To me these often highly processed images pushes them more and more to misrepresent what was originally there and seen in the viewfinder. I can really admire such work but personally prefer the less time intensive, less laboured, less pictorialist, less imitative, and more spontaneous modernist approach to photography.

I guess I am a bit of a reactionary to the almost universal tyranny and reliance of Photoshop and other software packages upon photographers. It often pushes them more towards making photo-illustrations or imitations of 'painterly' "fine art", rather than exploring the intrinsic properties of photography as a medium in its own right.

I have enjoyed three career stages, the first working within the audio visual/media production industries from 1972 - 1986. During this time I co-authored a book, "Practical Photography", published by Longmans in 1985, which was the first text book very specifically targeted at teenagers and secondary school pupils studying photography. Mid career, I gained a Degree in Photographic Media Studies, with Special Commendation, from the Harrow College of Art & Design (now part of University of Westminster.)

The second stage was lecturing within creative media education 1986 - 2000, and latterly as a senior manager of creative education as Head of a large Creative Studies Faculty in a central London college, 2000-2005.

The third stage has taken place after my retiring early from full time paid employment in 2005. Since then I have undertaken assignments as a cinema journalist, a consultant and national accreditor to UK University media and film school courses, and a volunteer worker and archivist for a media organisation based at the world famous Pinewood Film Studios.

Photographer Tinside Lido, Plymouth, UK, 1991