Health before safety

Beijing, China. 2011


What's the safest way to get to the middle of the frozen lake when, in your old age, you want to go ice skating? Definitely bicycle.

Life's a beef

 Mangalore/ Palolem/ Mangalore, India. 2010

Did you know cows are allowed to wander the streets in India? Everyone knows that.

In some cities the government is trying to remove the cows, thinking they don't fit with the whole 'new economic superpower' image. But for the most part they're still allowed to lounge on the beach or obstruct the traffic as they please.

Possession of tea with intent to supply

(Preparing fresh fish for dinner. Note the cat sneaking up in the background)

(The fish is not relevant to the story)

Ras Abu Galum, Egypt. September 2009


As a traveller in Egypt, you get accustomed to the idea that everyone you meet is trying to rip you off. Which is why I appreciated this man's refreshingly transparent approach to business. When we first arrived at this place a friend and I were trying to agree a price with him to stay in one of the huts in the background. The haggling went as follows:


Him: "One night 50 (Egyptian Pounds). Food and drinks are seperate."
Us: ''Can't you do it any cheaper"
"Hmm. No. But do you like to smoke? Maybe I can throw in some free hashish"
"No thanks not tonight. How about tea. Can you give us the tea free instead?"
"No. The tea is where I make my money"

China in a crabshell

Sanya, China. January 2011

I shot loads of pictures in this harbour because it was one big ready- made visual metaphor for the story of China's transformation. There's the traditional way of life: the multitude of rustic fishing boats and adjacent market, and behind them the economic boom: rows of gleaming skyscrapers. Then, along the quay, are the overwhelmingly optimistic giggling people of China. Holding barbecue tongs and waving crabs in your face.

Oarsman grins his toothless smile...

The backwaters of Kerala, India are most easily described as being a bit like a rural Venice. They're a popular tourist destination due to the incredible beauty and tranquility of the canals and small villages. But the popular motor barge cruises are polluting the water and damaging the banks. This chap is one of many locals who make a bit of money ferrying tourists around in traditional canoes; a much more peaceful and environmentally friendly way to navigate the waterways.

The Beginning

Over the last 5 years I've visited some incredible places and, as a photographer, photographed them. Some of these pictures have earned their keep and some are on show on my website, but others sit on a hard drive and never see the light of day. It seems a waste, so every day (more or less) I plan to pluck one lucky picture or series of pictures from digital hibernation and drag it, blinking and yawning, out onto this blog to tell it's story in the bright lights of the information superhighway.