Growing up, I had a love affair with movies and spent many a happy hour watching old black and white, or technicolour films that transported me away from 1970s England. My destination was Hollywood, with its style and world narrative that was so unrecognisable to me. This frame would shape how I interpreted life from here on in. 

It was at the back of the cinema, hauled up in the tiny projectionist’s booth that the potency of reaction became more important to me than the films themselves. Witnessing how film shifted the emotions and someone’s understanding of the world left me changed. As I moved from projecting film to designing and delivering interactive exhibitions at the Science Museum, I utilised these spaces to explore the dialogue between producer and viewer further. Later as Director of Gardens for the Royal Horticultural Society, I could produce spaces that connect people with human stories and engaged with the viewer’s emotions.

This led me to want to have more of a lasting impact, help people, especially the more vulnerable. I spent several years working with veterans, many of whom had been homeless, had addictions, physical and mental health conditions. I then went on to lead a mental health charity, Mates in Mind, and promote de-stigmatising mental health. 

As a Photographer, I recognise that like any artist, I am on my own journey and there is much to learn. My photography aims to capture human moments and emotions that can be gone in an instant. 

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