I grew up on a farm in Essex (UK), and at the age of 7 I moved to Southend-on-Sea (UK) with my parents. I’ve always been interested in fashion, music and culture. Whilst at school I discovered the ‘Mod way of life’, loving the fashion, the attitude, and the music, not to mention the scooters, and I remained a staunch ‘Mod’ till around 1988, to this day love the sounds and the aesthetic of this culture. In 1988 Acid house threw open my doors of perception. This coincided with the discovery of Photography as a medium for which I had a true passion, and felt I could communicate through.

I studied Photography at Blackpool and the Fylde College, and on completing my degree I moved to London, and assisted 2 great photographers - Malcolm Venville and Seamus Ryan for approximately 1 and a half years. I then set out on my own path, I should mention that in the mean time, I had been shooting regularly for ‘Dazed and Confused’.

Time passed and now I work for a whole range of different people. I do my own thing and work on some really exciting projects. Whether it be commissioned or self initiated, the work has grown and is constantly evolving, the yield of which is very fulfilling. To see my client list and some of the work, visit the news page and the galleries on this site. I like to cross genres. Music is big, but there are many other aspects to my work too. To see examples of my latest projects and work you can visit my official news blog, which is updated regularly.

Exhibitions

In 2006, I felt it was my duty to celebrate the fact that music had under gone a revolution. I created ‘Now Stand Tall - Icons of the New Sonic Generation’ (with a little help on the title from Noel Gallagher... thank you!). To coincide with this show, I hosted a series of gigs. 9 Bands and 9 DJ’s over 3 nights, including a fledgling new band ‘The Horrors’, ‘Selfish Cunt’, ‘Shit Disco’ and members of ‘Ladytron’.

Six months later, I held another exhibition, ‘Southends Underground’, this time focusing on the scene that emanated from my hometown Southend-on-Sea. It was a very timely document of a young sub cultural movement. The exhibition was sighted as an influential indication of a shift in fashion, it celebrated a group of young individuals. Bringing the group to not only the public’s consciousness but also the likes Dior and others that drew heavy inspiration from the scene. The importance of the project was clearly illustrated when in 2007, it was exhibited as part of the ‘Pitti Immagine’ fashion week in Florence, Italy. Elements of ‘Southends Underground’ were also included in ‘Teenage Kicks’ a satellite of the Frieze Art Fair in London 2007. In May 2008, four new pieces of work were installed in the permanent 100 Club ‘Picture Show’ exhibition. They feature The Horrors and Kings of Leon and remain on show to this day.

The group exhibition ‘Uncommon People’ (April 09), of which I was a contributor, was hosted by The Royal Albert Hall and curated by PYMCA. The collection documented British Youth Culture between 1960 - 2009.

‘The New Faces’ (this time Paul Weller provided the title), was my next solo exhibition. A collection of photographs depicting a group of ‘Modernists’, sharp dressing, young men and women, with great attitude and dance moves to match... they are to me, a sort of missing link, a phenomenon and phenomenal. The show was unveiled at ‘The Book Club’ in London, and took place March 4th 2010 - April 29th 2010. The collection has since been shown in Gijon, Spain and as part of Reading Museum’s "Reading Steady Go" expo. The later looking into the impact of Mod culture from the 60’s to this day. The exhibition in Reading ran from July 30th - September 4th 2011.

At the beginning of 2010 I was involved with a group show held in the Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany. ‘A Star Is Born: Photography and Rock since Elvis’ and was dedicated to ‘...the pictures that have turned rock stars into legends’. The exhibition ran for 3 months ending in October and received over 57,000 visitors. To see the White Stripes image that was included in the show click here..

Young Souls is I project I embarked upon at the very beginning of 2011 when I was invited to submit a film and photographic Project for 125 Magazine issue based around an interpretation of ‘Religion’. Immediately the phase "Keeping the faith" came into my head, music never being far from my mind, I thought that this would be the a great opportunity to explore and present a subject that is close to my heart. I didn’t want to just recreate the past, but I did aim to produce timeless works that illustrate the culture as never before. It is great to show how people dance to Northern Soul music, but more importantly how it is a passionate experience, and how its devotees young and old are immersed in it. The project consisted of both a photographic side as well as a short 9 min 36 sec (to be exact) film, which can be seen HERE. The photographic aspect of Young Souls was exhibited at "Youth Club"; PYMCA’s Pop-Up Gallery space in Kingley Court, London (just off Carnaby St). The exhibition ran from 21st July - 16th August 2011. I have more exhibitions in the pipeline, keep an eye out on the blog for the latest announcements of dates.

Commercial Projects

The Ray-Ban Clubmaster project was a monumental photographic assignment, producing 3 events and exhibitions across continents New York (December ‘08), Beijing (March ‘09) and finally in Milan (March ‘09. I was honored to be a big part of this project because it encapsulated MUSIC, FASHION and ART.

The Levi’s Craftwork Campaign presented another opportunity to further celebrate my core interests. In March 2010 to promote the re-opening of Levi’s flagship London store. I was asked to create images of young, ‘craftspeople’ from London. These artisans are the cutting edge talent from the capital city and included Nail Technicians, Set Designers, Bakers, Musicians and Directors etc... (There were 18 different subjects featured in the campaign.) The shoot was styled by Karen Langley of Dazed and Confused and the creative agency was the trendsetting collective know as Exposure. The pictures appeared in Dazed and Confused, Vice and ID magazines, as well as being publicized on buses, bill boards and even the Oxford Street tube station tunnels ...it was a massive coupe; taking over the underground station’s ‘5 ways’ and utilized the space giving an overwhelming walk through experience... more information at www.leviscraftwork.com

There are many more Advertising shoots that I have taken part in that are yet to be released (at the time of writing) so, once again, keep an eye on the blog.

Moving Image

"Young Souls" was not my first short film, I've always been pretty keen on the moving image side of things, you can see some of my short films on the Moving Image section of this site. There you can Serge, Drink a lotta Water, She was a Butcher and Strip, which coincidentally won ‘Best Experimental film’ at the Kino festival in Manchester. "Young Souls" is currently being entered into film competitions so hopefully we’ll have some exciting news, so fingers crossed they have good taste ☺!

To see my client list and some of the work, visit the news page and the galleries on this site or visit my agents website and blog at www.shootgroup.com.