The sudden realisation that you’ve been back in the UK for over 6 months now, and are yet to capture any shots of London hit me a few weeks ago. An easy fix, for sure, but it also dawned on me that I was missing some standard “stock shots” of the city at night. It was time to put that right… London, to me, will always have with it a certain air of excitement. As a […]
Have you ever seen a still photograph of a cityscape move? Here’s your opportunity! Together with the guys at ToInspire, we’re pulling together each of my collections into a promo-reel, starting with cityscapes, “out of this | world”. Creating moving images from still shots isn’t the easiest thing in the world, and a lot of painstaking pixel-level work goes in to every single photograph to get the effect just right while still keeping as much of the […]
It’s a location that features on the bucket list of many photographers, and it’s a magnetic one at that. Having already visited both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon 6 or 7 times since my first visit in 2011, I still have the urge to return every now and then to capture the other-worldly scenes of light-trails, stunning rock formations and shadows throughout these two natural wonders just outside of Page, Arizona. Sadly, there is a lot […]
Despite the initial frustration, there’s something rather satisfying about finally getting the shot you’ve been working at for a while – managing to “beat the weather”, in a sense… Old Harry Rocks | East – Buy the open edition print Old Harry Rocks, jetting out into the English Channel – these chalk cliffs are all that remains of the stretch of headland that once joined the Isle of Wight to the mainland at Purbeck. Similar […]
Iceland – a country of stunning beauty, dramatic views and amazing natural resources. In some ways, photographs of the huge vistas that presented themselves before us can never really show the true nature of the vast spaces and rugged landscape – but in others, they also capture a stillness that is easy to miss when you’re stood in huge, freezing, gusts of arctic wind… With glaciers all around, the sheer scale is something that must […]
Ah, Venice. The Bride of the Sea, City of Bridges, City of Light, City of Water and Serenissima. A stunning place to just force yourself to get lost with no maps and wander around the winding streets, waterways, alleys and ancient buildings exploring an area that is so set back in time, it’s as close to arriving in a Shakespearean novel as you can get. My last visit to Venice had resulted in quite a few “learning […]
There’s always that one shot, for every photographer out there – “the one” that just keeps getting away, the one that’s never quite right when you click the button, or the one that’s impossible to find the right conditions to capture. For me, that shot has been the same for over 9 years now: San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in the fog. Finally, one random winter’s afternoon, I managed to break that spell – and shoot […]
What a view to wake up to (well, kind of “wake up to”, if you ignore the hour we’d already been standing there in the cold waiting for the light to pop through the clouds…!) This was the view I’d been hoping for – the ruggedness of the mountains and red rocks below, echoed by a powerful cloud formation that lifted just enough to allow the sun to pop through for a second or two […]
We did it! Opening the world’s most exclusive gallery – pr@hf – on the luxury island resort of PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi is something we’re really proud of, and it’s now all set to grow in its brand new home. As the first ever photographic gallery that must be accessed by seaplane or speedboat, there’s something really cool about the new space, and guests are loving what we’ve managed to deliver. But I thought I’d take […]
As part of my post last year, I briefly touched on the growing number of “photoshop-ographers” in the industry – a worrying trend which is creating a void of necessary in-camera capture skills and knowledge. This is where people are instead opting to “fix things later” (often fabricating reality), publishing fake scenes while claiming them to be photographs. In this article, I want to explore the challenges we face as a result of this apparent shift in what […]
“Any tips for shooting sunset?” – was the start of the conversation with Time Inc’s reporter. As part of Jaguar Land Rover’s latest USA campaign, the guys were looking for tips and guides to help people get the best out of their travels to undiscovered places. “Sure”, I said, and rattled off a whole stream of quick concepts, easy to remember tips and tricks and a few “be careful when….” thoughts that would help the […]
Ah, Yosemite – a “photographer’s paradise” (as claimed), but a location which can equally be the stuff of a photographer’s nightmares… On what must now be my 7th or 8th time of visiting, I was determined on this occasion to get at least one shot which stood out from the millions of picture-postcard views and Ansel Adams “tributes” that I see far too often. In one single frame, almost by accident, I managed it – […]
Since my first attempt to capture sunrise “through the hole” a few year back, a couple of things have happened. Firstly, I’ve managed to get a lot more familiar with my gear – its quirks and challenges, as well as what to do to get it to really perform. Secondly, I’ve seen a mini-explosion of photographers shrouding their images in fake mystery regarding “the art of capturing sunrise through the hole” at Durdle Door. If you seriously listened […]
With lots of exciting news coming up, I’m delighted to finally be able to announce a new (amazing!) option to my workshop line-up for next year. Working directly with the team at Phase One, not only will I be running a direct workshop on New Zealand’s south island, but in June 2016 we’ll also be offering a longer, enhanced, PODAS (“Phase One Digital Artist Series”) trip this winter! The PODAS workshops really are something else […]
Surrounded by surfers preparing to enter the ice-cold Pacific Ocean, it’s easy to forget the temperature as you set off down to the water’s edge with all your equipment – hoping for that pink morning sky. But wow, what a treat we were in for… “Zen” – Limited edition print available to buy now. Sunrise is a funny thing really – everyone looks for beauty in the sunrise itself, the golden glow, the flare of light, the warm […]
Every photographer has “the list” – the list of locations they’ve always wanted to capture. It could be 1, 2, 10 or 100 places, but we all have one – and for me, a feature on my list since I can remember is Mesa Arch in Canyonlands, Utah – and I finally got to tick that box. Introducing: “Eye Wonder”, my latest limited edition print: “Eye Wonder” – Buy the limited edition print Having years to prepare […]
I sit writing this with a smile on my face, as I’m about to link to the most unique headline I’ve ever read: “A Frog Riding a Beetle: Is This a Real Wildlife Photo or a Bunch of BS?” Reading that article, as well as looking at the claimed “perfectly timed” shot from last year’s Sony World Photography Awards, it brings back the memory of a story I read recently about the cormorant fishermen in […]
“Hey Paul, OK, got it – I’ll bring two goats.” – That was the email I received two nights before my shot with Shangri-La Sydney‘s new Head Chef, Bo Sorensen. While not necessarily appealing to all the vegetarians out there, the resulting image is something I’m very proud of, all captured in a single frame with no “tricks” added later on! So, an image that includes two goats, flying bits of meat (don’t worry, they weren’t served to […]
A couple of weeks ago, after landing back to London Heathrow, my phone informed me that I’d been “mentioned” on an unknown app called “Steller“. As is normally the case with this kind of thing, I initially brushed it off as an invite to yet another useless social media/networking tool that will likely disappear after I’ve put effort into using it. However, something grabbed my attention with this one: It listed a company that I’d recently photographed for and […]
Well, that wasn’t a bad little “haul” – 6 images credited in this year’s Epson Pano Awards 2015 🙂 On the list of award-winning images, some of my favourites: “Alone“, gaining a silver award, along with “Reveal” from New Zealand, “Bonsai” from California, “Settle” from New Zealand, “The Morning After” from Sydney and “Financial Freedom” from New York. I guess that makes it a truly International spread of awards, and adds to some of the fantastic […]
“Malaysia, truly Asia” – The jingle on the TV ad, plane intro’s and travel programmes that I’ve been hearing for years and years really did come true last week – and not only for all the good reasons they intended… I’m sat writing this blog beneath bright blue skies and a fresh breeze in Bali – and with all of that above me, it’s too easy to forget the horrendous conditions I left behind in Kuala Lumpur last […]
That’s not a sunset! That’s in black and white! …would be what I’d normally think about the shot above. I mean, why shoot at that time of day if you’re going to remove all that colour? And it really was fantastic colour – for two nights, I’d stood in the same little cliff-alcove and watched as the sun set off to the right of this amazing formation – “Pulpit Rock”. For sure, we’d been lucky […]
“Welcome to W Doha, we saw you had a good flight” – was my welcome as I entered this amazing hotel. Granted, W Hotels are unique in the way they really take time to get to know their guests, but I was still surprised. “Oh, we saw your instagram post”, was the response when I looked back at him slightly puzzled. Ahhhh, I get it… Entering in to the lobby (or “Living Room” in W speak), you’re […]
Tokyo – what a truly amazing place. Full of modern innovation, side by side with centuries of culture and history. It’s one of my favourite cities in the world, and despite visiting a few times (I’ve climbed Mount Fuji twice now!) – it was another tick off the list to head back there and capture an iconic image of the skyline before I leave Asia for a while. The standard stereotypes can actually be pretty accurate […]
