About Me
Born and raised in sunny South Africa, I started my career as an engineer and project manager, ventured into the world of business as a partner in a construction company, and fifteen years later took up digital photography to resume what had been left behind.
Life sometimes smiles upon you very favourably. In my younger years I was fanatically involved in photography. It was the days of manual cameras and glorious hours in the darkroom. I had a dream, which got lost somehow to make place for the realities of life. Thankfully, it returned, enriched by new, better and more diverse computer and graphic technologies.
What drives me today is quite different from anything in the past . It amazes me that one image alone can create such strong and rewarding emotions of satisfaction and achievement. The realities are still there. Doing what you like is not always in line with commercial requirements. Personally, I found stock photography to give me more freedom regarding choices and for now, that will remain one of my focus areas.
About My Work
Am I a "purist" in any way? No, cropping, healing, cloning, composites, etc., are part of the tools in order to create the image I have in mind. The final goal will mostly dictate the rules. When looking casually at images, I rarely question the processes involved, but rather appreciate the message or beauty of the subject. However, read a news article and one suddenly expects all relevant images to portray the absolute truth. And yes, in-between lies a myriad of gray areas which create hot debates between extremists.
Most of my work gets sold via microstock agencies, which allows for freedom in creativity. While some traditional agencies indicate whether the image has been digitally altered or not, others just leave it to the imagination. The mere fact that some customers contacted me before publication regarding authenticity, made me aware that there might be a need for this information (even if marketed under creative categories).
What to expect from my work?
My wildlife work comes close to reality. I do remove clutter and in most cases will work on the background. The majority of other post processing will be selective curve adjustments, which includes burning and dodging, to emphasize subject matter.
When it is classified as fine art you can assume anything and forget about reality.
Editorial work is only processed with curve adjustments and color balance.
The rest of my work consists of studio work, 3D and other graphics. These are all treated as creative subjects and thus requires no further clarification.
Recently I have started to state any major alterations in the description field of commercial material. In conclusion, I do not want to be bounded by the many different sets of rules, but surely do not want to misrepresent the truth where needed.
Where to License / Buy My Work
Below are links to my images at the more popular agencies. The most complete portfolio is at Shutterstock (where I started with submissions).