Flickr: professor

I studied Fine Arts as my higher education, but went on to do other things, as they say, 'Life Happens'.

And life started happening for me when I moved to San Diego. Everyone should visit San Diego at least once in their life. That was the beginning of a road more traveled. I have been lucky, or fortunate enough, to live in Hawaii, mostly on the Big Island though I did spend some time on Oahu. After nearly 20 years, I moved to Scotsdale Arizona. The desert has it's own beauty, but after 5 years of oven baking hot, I went back to California and settled in Carmel Valley. After visiting Scotland over several years, in 2002 I packed up and move here.

Through my travels I have picked up many trades, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, masonry, horticulture, gemology, law enforcement and animal husbanddry. Whilst in Hawaii I collected tropical plants and enjoyed building a Tropical Flower Export business, growing and exporting Dendrobium orchids, anthuriums and foliage. Whilst in Arizona, I took my rock collection hobby to a new level and studied gemology and became a gem and mineral collector/dealer. I volunteered with American Red Cross, worked for D.L.I., the Defense Learning Institute in Monteray California, graduated the California Police academy and was the Grounds manager for a lodge in Carmel Valley. Out of necessity I have learned computing inside and out, how to build LAN and wireless networks, and digital graphic arts, and currently I work for my local council as an IT manager in a primary school, while still finding time to breed, show and compete my Arabians. And while my life passion has been horses, I also have had a life long passion for art and photography.

Soon after moving to Scotland, I was offered a job in a Primary School to help with the re-training of staff to use technology to teach and soon after got involved working with the children on various levels. I started an after school photography club, expanded on the Enterprise in schools programme, introduced The Young Engineers, Roboitcs and 3D learning, where children use K-Nex sets to build models of what they are studying. In 2007 I was awarded the Teacher of the Year award for my work with the children and technology, and in 2008 the school won the Enterprising School of the year in West Lothian, awarded by the West Lothian Chamber of Commerce.

Well we all have to start somewhere, and my photography has kicked off from carrying a camera around everywhere I go and having people ask me to take pictures of their animals, or what paper/magazine do I work for...needless to say, it got out of control and here I am. It has always been a hobby and though I never took it serious, I now have decided to pursue my passion for Fine Art Photography.

I got my first digital camera back in the 90's, a Canon Powershot A model, with 800 mega-pixels, WOW, I thought I had some piece of technology. But even after I bought other cameras, I carried that little camera around for years, from Arizona to Hawaii, around Asia, through Scotland and back to the states. I have been a Canon person ever since.

There are a great many landscape photographers, and Great Britain has its share, as this island has some of the most dramatic and photogenic scenery anywhere. The air here is clean, the long days of the northern sun draws out for hours and the evening colours just pop out at you. But if colour isn't your thing, you are in no shortage of stunning subject matter for Black & White photography. Ruins dating back to before the Romans, castles, cottages, rock walls, sea cliffs, stately Country Manners, lochs, rivers, mountains, fog, rain, sun and clouds that are so dramatic they could make you believe in a higher power, or at least take cover from impending doom! Never stop learning and never give up on your dreams, because you never know when those dreams are going to come true.