WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER & FILMMAKER DUO

My first dabble with photography was as a child, clutching my prized 110 film camera. I’d believe I was the next David Bailey (little did I know I'd one day be a Bailey), confidently snapping away on school trips. Once back home I’d be super eager to have my 'art' developed, only to find I’d managed to capture a lot of pictures of blurry cows in fields (cows were not so commonplace in the suburbs of Manchester) through a speeding coach window.

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Years later, I was handed down my Dad’s trusty old 35mm Yashica film camera (he was a pro film photographer in the 80’s) with a bunch of lenses. This got me hooked but it's an expensive skill to develop shooting film. Thankfully, digital camera’s came along and bingo. They got me to where I am today, well, not sat at the computer typing this, but you get the gist.

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So that’s where the camera wielding began but aside from that...

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Born in Germany, I spent the early years there, moved to the UK and settled in Manchester. I grew up and lived there until I moved to the East Midlands a few years ago, followed by Ireland more recently. 

As a photographer/videographer and general creative, I wear multiple hats, which is good as I have very little hair. I capture images with a photojournalistic style and always try to tell a story and capture a personality with the pictures I take.

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I'm a self confessed geek with a taste for coffee, wine, pizza & olives, not necessarily in that order. I love the outdoors, especially when the weather is playing nice, although there's much to be said for wrapping up against the elements too. I like nothing more than getting a new piece of technology and tinkering until I figure it out; also, like most men I'm not a big fan of user manuals. Unlike most men, I’m not into football (sacrilege as someone who grew up in Manchester).

I've been pointing lenses at stuff for my lunch money since the middle of the 00’s. I started out with medium format film cameras (the big ones on tripods) in the commercial world and had quite a few happy years in that arena, got to travel to some fabulous places and worked with some amazing people. Then, digital cameras got better and better, and I think I started using one as a bit of a toy. Being able to shoot without fear of the film running out allowed me to play and experiment heaps. I took more and more pictures of people's faces and life and loved it. Ultimately, I'm a complete people person so I tried a wedding and the rest is history. 

 

I love texture and movement, big skies and finding a shot where you least expect it. Happy to lie on the floor or lurk in a hedge to catch it. I love spending the day with happy, smiley people and capturing that in it's raw form in an image. I love the unseen stuff too, these days we can be super creative in the digital darkroom as well as with a camera. We don’t blanket process, every image is developed individually, by hand to bring out it's best. Sometimes my face actually aches at the end of a day's processing because I'm smiling at the screen most of the time. It's tough on the skin, this job.

 

Outside of work, I'm a mum to Oisín and feeder/cleaner upper for our two hounds Ginger Rogers Biscuit and Freda Staire (don't judge us). I like most outdoorsy stuff (just never take me caving), I practice yoga, love cooking and eating, SUP board slowly and read (faster than I SUP board). I've got plans to grow stuff and sew stuff but I don't seem to be getting anywhere with those.

 

I’m from an Irish family, grew up near London, moved up to Lincolnshire in 2005 and then bought a long term 'project' in Ireland in 2021. It's got the most amazing view and is our favourite place to do all the office work.   

 

Chips over salad, red wine over white, mountain hike over lounging on the beach, camper van (preferably our own) over hotel. I can be encouraged to do most things for a cherry bakewell.