Latest Editorial, Portrait & Commercial Photography Projects
A selection of my most recent commissions and ongoing projects.
The work shown here spans editorial assignments, portrait commissions, documentary projects and commercial photography for organisations and publishers. It reflects current areas of focus and the range of contexts in which I am working.
New projects are added regularly.
British Ecological Society Summer School
The British Ecological Society’s summer school is a week long residential field experience for students studying sciences at A-level, Scottish Higher and other similar qualifications. This year 31 students from 7 different schools across the UK gathered at Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales. I was there as documentary photographer giving an overview of the day’s activities and providing marketing and social media material.
As ever, working for BES was extremely interesting, a personal highlight being the nature walk led by Dr. Daniel Forman, lecturer in Biosciences at Swansea University. I’d walked the same route as part of the Pennine Way last year but his fascinating insights into the ecology around us was illuminating.
Event Photography: British Ecological Society Summer School at Malham Tarn
I recently worked with the British Ecological Society (BES) as a documentary photographer during their annual summer school, a week-long residential field experience for students studying sciences at A-level, Scottish Higher, and equivalent qualifications. This year, 31 students from seven schools across the UK gathered at Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales to explore ecology, fieldwork, and environmental science firsthand.
I photographed one day of the programme, providing an overview of the day’s activities while creating marketing and social media material for BES. The focus was on capturing students engaged in fieldwork, discussions, and outdoor learning, showing both the educational content and the immersive nature of the experience.
Documenting Fieldwork and Student Engagement
Even within a single day, there are many moments that illustrate the value of hands-on ecological learning. One highlight was the nature walk led by Dr. Daniel Forman, lecturer in Biosciences at Swansea University. Although I had walked the same route previously as part of the Pennine Way, Dr. Forman’s insights into the local ecology and species interactions offered students—and my photography—a new perspective on the landscape.
Photographs captured students observing habitats, taking notes, and interacting with instructors, emphasizing curiosity, engagement, and teamwork. These images help convey the hands-on learning experience to audiences who could not attend.
The Importance of Professional Photography for Educational Programmes
High-quality photography is essential for educational initiatives like the BES summer school. Images from even a single day:
Provide marketing material to promote future programmes
Document student engagement for internal review
Show the collaboration between students and instructors
Support social media, newsletters, and press coverage to demonstrate programme impact
Capturing these moments professionally ensures that BES can showcase both the learning outcomes and the immersive, field-based nature of the summer school.
Malham Tarn: A Unique Field Site
Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales offers a diverse ecological setting, including wetlands, limestone landscapes, and surrounding habitats. Photographing students in this environment demonstrates how fieldwork brings theory to life and provides unique learning opportunities. Images from the day highlight the interaction between students, instructors, and the environment, which is central to BES’s mission.
Conclusion
Documenting one day of the British Ecological Society summer school allowed me to capture the energy, curiosity, and engagement of the students while providing BES with professional material for marketing, social media, and archival purposes. Working alongside expert instructors like Dr. Daniel Forman made the day both professionally and personally rewarding.
For more information about the British Ecological Society and their educational initiatives, visit britishecologicalsociety.org.
What Makes a House a Home? for Hawkins/Brown
Hawkins\Brown have been debating this question for over 30 years and on Thursday 18 July 2019, hosted a conference party at Glass House One, Festival Square, to celebrate another successful year for Hawkins\Brown Studio North and their continued support of and involvement in Manchester International Festival.
The house: “a machine for living in” (Le Corbusier), or a place “to dream” (Gaston Bachelard)?
The panel delved into this rich and varied topic covering everything from co-living and the concept of community, to shifts in social demographics and changing lifestyles, to DfMA, buildability and volumetric housing, to what “home” means personally to each of the panellists. Some suggestions included: “my record collection”, “acoustic insulation (three children under the age of three!),” and “the freedom to DIY”.
It was a pleasure to photograph the conference while enjoying the atmosphere of MIF and the last of the sunshine.
Hawkins\Brown have been debating this question for over 30 years and on Thursday 18 July 2019, hosted a party at Glass House One, Festival Square, to celebrate another successful year for Hawkins\Brown Studio North and their continued support of and involvement in Manchester International Festival.
The house: “a machine for living in” (Le Corbusier), or a place “to dream” (Gaston Bachelard)?
The panel delved into this rich and varied topic covering everything from co-living and the concept of community, to shifts in social demographics and changing lifestyles, to DfMA, buildability and volumetric housing, to what “home” means personally to each of the panellists. Some suggestions included: “my record collection”, “acoustic insulation (three children under the age of three!),” and “the freedom to DIY”.
British Ecological Society Conferences
It’s always fascinating to carry out the conference photography for the British Ecological Society and often easy to forget to take pictures while listening to the presentations. Here are a selection of photographs from their and the Society for Tropical Ecology’s joint annual conference in the magnificent McEwan Hall, Edinburgh.
Event Photography: British Ecological Society and Society for Tropical Ecology Annual Conference | McEwan Hall, Edinburgh
I recently photographed the joint annual conference of the British Ecological Society (BES) and the Society for Tropical Ecology, held in the magnificent McEwan Hall in Edinburgh. Covering conferences like this is always fascinating, and it can be a challenge to balance listening to presentations with capturing key moments for documentation and promotional purposes.
The photographs provide an overview of the event, highlighting the diversity of attendees, the atmosphere of the sessions, and the architectural grandeur of McEwan Hall. Capturing these moments visually helps illustrate the importance of the conference as a space for scientific exchange, networking, and engagement with current ecological research.
Capturing Academic Conferences
Event photography for academic and professional conferences requires attention to context, detail, and storytelling. I focused on capturing presenters during talks, delegates engaging in discussions, and the overall environment of the hall. These images are used for marketing, social media, and post-conference reporting, providing a visual record of the event that complements the written proceedings.
Documenting conferences also allows for the dissemination of the event’s energy and significance, giving future participants and collaborators a sense of the professional and social interactions that define such gatherings.
McEwan Hall: A Historic Backdrop
McEwan Hall in Edinburgh provides a dramatic and inspiring setting for conferences, combining historic architecture with modern event functionality. Photographing within this space adds visual interest, framing the attendees and speakers against the grandeur of the venue while highlighting the professional nature of the conference.
Conclusion
Photographing the joint BES and Society for Tropical Ecology annual conference offered an opportunity to create a visual record of scientific collaboration, lively discussion, and academic engagement. These images communicate the scale, professionalism, and atmosphere of the conference, providing valuable content for the societies’ marketing, archives, and social media.
New facility opening for DB Cargo
DB recently opened their new facility in Wolverhampton close to the heartland of the West Midlands motor industry. I photographed the launch, giant hangars dwarfing giant trains delivering giant rolls of steel.
I visited the West Midlands twice last year to photograph stories related to Britain’s motor industry. The new facility pictured below to deliver and house steel by Deutsche Bahn Cargo and before that on a commission for German business magazine WirtshaftsWoche to document German manufacturer Brose’s factory making seats and equipment for Jaguar Land Rover.
Event and Industrial Photography: Deutsche Bahn Cargo Facility Launch in Wolverhampton
DB recently opened its new facility in Wolverhampton, situated close to the heartland of the West Midlands motor industry. I photographed the launch of the facility, capturing the scale of the giant hangars, the trains delivering enormous rolls of steel, and the industrial context of this major logistics hub. These images were created to document the event and illustrate the operational scale of Deutsche Bahn Cargo’s new UK presence.
My visit to the West Midlands last year took me to the region twice on assignments related to Britain’s motor industry. The launch of the new DB facility is pictured below, with its expansive structures and dynamic industrial environment. Earlier in the year, on commission for the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche (Business Week), I documented the factory of German supplier Brose, where seats and equipment are manufactured for Jaguar Land Rover models.
Capturing Industrial Scale and Event Context
Photographing industrial facilities and their launches requires a balance of documentary and editorial approaches. At the Deutsche Bahn Cargo event, the focus was on capturing the imposing scale of the new facility, the movement of freight trains delivering steel, and the atmosphere of the launch itself. The images provide a visual overview of the infrastructure and operations, contextualising the significance of the site within the UK’s manufacturing and logistics landscape.
Industrial photography like this supports editorial stories, corporate reports, and marketing materials. By showing the relationship between people, machines, and structures, the images help communicate the operational realities of major logistics investments and industrial facilities.
Brose and the Motor Industry in the West Midlands
Earlier visits to the West Midlands included a commission for WirtschaftsWoche to photograph the Brose factory, a German manufacturer producing components such as seats and interior equipment for Jaguar Land Rover. This work captured the production lines, workforce engagement, and manufacturing processes at the factory, emphasising the ongoing connections between German engineering firms and British automotive production.
Together, these visits paint a broader picture of the West Midlands as a centre for industrial innovation, logistics, and automotive supply chains. Photographing these facilities highlights the region’s economic significance and the cross‑border relationships that shape modern manufacturing.
Conclusion
Photographing the launch of Deutsche Bahn Cargo’s new facility in Wolverhampton provided an opportunity to document both a major industrial event and the scale of modern logistics infrastructure. Alongside earlier work at Brose’s automotive supply factory, these images form a coherent visual record of significant industrial activity in the West Midlands, illustrating the interplay between transport, manufacturing, and economic growth in the UK.
Night at the Museum
A commission from Manchester Museum to document a recent evening event as part of the Adult Programme. The highlight for me was a cyanotype workshop by Angela Tait and Ian Clegg of ATIC. These days the UV tubes they use to expose the images are considered a Health & Safety concern, yet it wasn't long ago they were used in sunbeds!
Event Photography: Manchester Museum Adult Programme | Museum Meets Evening Events
I was commissioned by Manchester Museum to document a recent evening event as part of their Adult Programme. The highlight of the evening was a cyanotype workshop led by Angela Tait and Ian Clegg of ATIC. Cyanotype is a historic photographic printing process, and while the UV tubes used in the workshop are now considered a Health & Safety concern, it’s fascinating to reflect that similar equipment was once widely used in sunbeds.
The Museum Meets programme offers a unique opportunity to experience the museum after hours, combining art, science, music, and performance. These evening events bring together artists, scientists, filmmakers, writers, and musicians to animate the museum collections in immersive one-off performances. My role was to capture the atmosphere of the event, participants engaging with the workshops, and the creative energy of the space.
Capturing Museum Events and Workshops
Event photography in a museum setting requires careful attention to lighting, composition, and storytelling. At the Adult Programme evening, I focused on photographing participants at the cyanotype workshop, interactions with facilitators, and the ambience of Manchester Museum’s galleries. Documentary images like these provide a visual record for the museum, helping to promote future events and showcase the diversity of the programme.
By capturing both candid moments and staged shots, the photography communicates the creativity, engagement, and collaborative spirit of the museum’s Adult Programme. These images support marketing materials, social media content, and editorial coverage, demonstrating how museums can connect audiences with collections through innovative programming.
Conclusion
Photographing Manchester Museum’s Adult Programme highlighted the unique opportunities provided by the Museum Meets evening events. From workshops like cyanotype printing to performances that animate the collections, professional event photography documents these experiences, creating a lasting visual record that promotes engagement and celebrates creativity.
Check out the Museum Meets programme for upcoming events that explore the intersection of art, science, and performance in inspiring ways.
