Can a camera launch a career? Well, no, but it can certainly help! For the first twenty years of my career I was a fulltime graphic designer, clients included Adidas, British Airways, Waitrose, Toyota and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Back in the eighties we were trained to be specialists and having multiple careers was a rarity, hard to imagine now. That all changed in 2005 when I bought a Canon EOS 5D and 85mm f1.2L II USM prime lens. With a newfound confidence and purpose, I decided to see if I could fulfil my childhood dream of become a photographer too!
Fortunately for me I had a supportive client in Möet & Chandon. I’d been designing bespoke point of purchase displays for Möet, Verve Clicquot and Dom Perignon for the likes of Selfridges and Harrods.
Möet would invite me to lavish parties and I, not knowing anyone and feeling out of my depth asked if I could bring along my camera. Something I could hide behind plus it would give me something to do.
At the time no one was shooting in available light, everything was flash! Camera set at 3200 ISO, 85 prime at f1.2 pushing the autofocus to its limit I’d choose interesting places to stand, and people watch, letting the scenes unfold around me.
In 2006 Legendary fashion photographer Nick Knight was chosen to receive the prestigious Möet & Chandon Fashion Tribute at a lavish and spectacular Masked Ball attended by a wealth of international personalities from the world of fashion, photography, film, music, and art, along with me and my 5D and 85 prime.
The inspiration and creative intention for the work that followed came from one person and one place, Stanley Kubrick and his achingly beautiful 1975 masterpiece ‘Barry Lyndon’ specifically the candle lit scenes.
I submitted my edit to the team at Möet who forwarded it to Nick who phoned me the next day. A few weeks later I’d become his regular set photographer and was shooting London Fashion Week for his online fashion magazine SHOWstudio. My work was being seen and commissions quickly followed along with the career I’d always dreamed of!
