New Zealand
		New Zealand is a land of contrast: rural, city, exotic, overfarmed, industrial. When photos don't fall within themed categories they lie here - an evergrowing body of work as I find my way into New Zealand's many crooks and crannies.
		Animals and Zoos
		I find zoos and animals quite fascinating. While animals can be photographed within their natural environment, so often one finds them within parks and zoos. The locations can be quite surreal: we learn about animals and conservation yet also witness surreal man-made artifice.
		Ruins
		There is an extraordinary texture that can be found in old objects. Erosion creates a new face. Those objects become evocative of another time, another place; the plans and the expectation of people, now gone. Age also creates a new atmosphere, sometimes sad, sometimes surreal. By treading carefully and sensitively in such places one feels as if one is traveling back in time. Age speaks in these locations. It is up to the photographer to hear as well as see.
		Aquarium
		I find aquariums to be strange unnatural places. Great care is taken to make the environment look natural yet one is constantly presented with distortions and reflections. Aquariums are other-wordly. I like the intense colours and distortions. These can be beautiful, very rich. I like the contradictions of a simulated world that is educational, rich in colour, yet also sad. What do these creatures experience? How far are they removed from their world? What do people think when they look through all that glass?
		Showgrounds
		Showgrounds have many facets. They host events such as markets, or races, or annual shows, and have a texture all their own. Here the rural world meets the city. Events come to life. They die. In between they are solitary places echoing past events. Shows are a link to a rich tradition of farming, vaudeville and sideshow alleys. As shows become increasingly modernised I feel that we are losing something. I like to capture what I can - feeling that the modern world is often too corporate and insensitive.
		Hobart
		Having lived in Hobart I grew tired of seeing photographs of beautiful scenery. There is only so much that one can see before photographs start to look like each other, as if one is walking through a picture calendar, expecting to see dates in the foreground. Here I have chosen to capture the beauty in Hobart's ugliness. Ignoring the lovely vistas, I walked down back alleys, photographing what I could find. Hobart is beautiful in what it reveals of its past, down the backstreets, amongst the graffiti, where development hasn't conquered.
		Islands
		Islands have a mystique. Maria Island is no exception. Being once a penal colony, brutal, and isolated, it has seen a history of aboriginal visitation, convicts, whaling, smuggling, farming, and a cement works. It is currently a serene and underdeveloped National Park. Walking around Maria Island one is intrigued by its history. One feels the peace. It is one of my favourite places in Tasmania. It says a lot about the ability of Tasmania to preserve and dignify the past. One would hate to see cafes, and other trappings, opening on the island.
		Miscellaneous
		Somewhere within an archive one needs the space to put all those photos that don't quite fit. Here are half journeys, idiosyncratic moments, or unexpected strange diversions. These may develop into future themes, yet, here they sit like anxious orphans. Also, at times, I may be simply lazy. What will I do with that photograph? No problem. Let it join the orphans. The children can sing in a communal voice far different from others on this site.
		Waddamana
		Waddamana, Tasmania, was once a thriving hydro power station and community. The town now consists of the Power Station, converted to a Museum, and residences available as camp and holiday accommodation. The town has a wonderful spirit and is steeped in history. It is locked in time; still carrying the echoes of the past while placed deep within the Tasmanian bush. The houses are delightful. Fortunately the area hasn't been redeveloped. The power station has many textures that can be explored in its now silent identity.
		Melbourne
		These photographs of Melbourne have been taken during my frequent stays in Melbourne. Collins Street presents one with modern multi-storey buildings reflecting older sandstone temples to 19th century commerce. Textures are numerous. Backstreets have interesting graffiti, the Melbourne Zoo is world class, and tram power lines provide many interesting overhead patterns. Melbourne has Luna Park, St Kilda side streets, and a plethora of patterns in Federation Square. I have never really got a grasp of Melbourne's photographic potential. These photos go someway towards improving my understanding.
		Industrial
		Having seen many photographs of the Tasmanian wilderness in recent years, I chose to visit some of Tasmania's uglier places. I wanted to find beauty within industry. Whether it is tools carefully arranged, or the symmetry of machine parts, it is surprising what forms and textures can be found. I particularly like capturing scenes that reflect the aesthetics of modern art. Here is a Braque, here is a Rothko, turn a corner and you see a Warhol or a Dubuffet. Possibilities are endless.
		Gardens
		Jump a neighbour's fence and you never know what photographs can be found. Visit Botanic Gardens and photographic possibilities start to reveal themselves. Here is a pattern in the trees, an interesting reflection in a lake. Look further and you can find more - the way lichen grows on a wall ,or how decaying leaves, once rich in texture, are slowly, yet beautifully, returned to the soil. A simple leaf can be as rich as a huge tree.
		Cemeteries and Churches
		I love visiting quiet churches, or cemeteries, and letting the feel of the place draw me into taking certain photographs. Cemeteries and churches can be very absorbing. One is surrounded by allusions to the past. The congregation has left, pews are empty, hymn books lie on tables. Many graves are in disrepair. I think of loved ones no longer visiting graves. I think of loved ones who have visited recently: flowers wilting, symbolically, as is natural with the passing of time.
		Britain
		Visit Britain and one sees large industrial cities, picture postcard villages, and seaside towns basking in a culture of amusement arcades and novelty shops. Explore old buildings and one sees lichens, and other patterns that are staggering in their beauty and evocation of the past. Britain is a land of contrast - struggling with a huge population, steeped in history, and trying to find identity in a changing EEC. It is a land that speaks in many ways. I will never grasp its enormity despite is relatively small size.
		Trains
		I am no train buff. I would not know one train from another. Yet, I am drawn into exploring the texture of railways. I love the texture of old carriages, how metal rusts, how the harsh Australian sun slowly writes its name on old paint. The culture of railways always reminds me of metal: a variety of shapes, worn surfaces, markings that were once functional yet are now beautiful in the cropping of a lens.
		Shipyards
		As a child I visited my Father when he worked as an engineer on ships. Despite having poor sea legs I have consistently been drawn to the textures of ships. I love how the sea affects metal and paint. Surfaces are worn by nature. Surfaces are worn by use. Shipyards are ugly places. One finds rubbish, one smells the sea, algae and rust start to work their way into wood and metal. Shipyards are evocative. In the haste and pressure of industrial work objects find themselves arranged unwittingly in many beautiful arrangements.
		North Yorkshire
		'North Yorkshire' is my own mistaken way of defining Teesside and the north of Yorkshire. It is the area from which my father came. It is where cousins live. It is where I once worked, as a teacher, for a year. North Yorkshire, for me, has always suggested industry, the North Sea ,and the North York Moors. It is a most unusual amalgam of textures: a long tradition of working with the sea, working on the moors, and working with iron, steel and chemicals. It is an area that speaks beautifully of the past.
		Portraits
		I enjoy taking formal portraits. These portraits include people who have attended the Awakenings Festival in Horsham and other people who I have met on my travels. I like the formality of portraits - capturing a new side to people, giving the viewer the opportunity of contemplating a person in their richness and complexity; simply stepping back and looking anew rather than being caught up in what the person does.
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