A Quick Bio and Profile
I’ve been shooting far longer than I can remember starting back in school around 1978 running the school darkroom way way long before the word Pixel was invented. 1992 I left the UK and spent eight years on the road traveling the world learning my skills as a people photographer visiting as many places as I could such as Russia, the Baltic’s, Mediterranean, Caribbean, North America, South America and the Pacific rim and with two great train journeys under my belt the Trans Siberian Express and circumnavigating America by train I always found time to shoot by always having a camera over my shoulder.
I was one of the early adopters of digital photography picking up a Nikon E2N 1.3 megapixel camera in 1996 which was great as I never had to go back into the darkroom again or so I thought! It was to take another 4 years until the world was ready for full digital being one of the early photographers in London to be published purely from digital files from a Nikon D1X with a six page spread. Mind you that wasn’t without its own difficulties, the magazine color re-pro guys did everything in their power to sabotage the files to make them look poor quality so they wouldn’t lose their jobs from scanning the negatives! The thing is I was on too them as unknowing to them I had spent 3 years working at two daily newspapers in re-pro and page makeup so I knew what they were up to and got them to correct the job before it went to print!
Now 2010 and 10 digital cameras later I now shoot on my preferred Contax 645 and digital back and current good Nikon cameras (D700s). The other Nikon cameras being far too bulky and heavy in the camera bag in my aim to create the lightest camera kit available so I can sail through airports with out the hassle.
Ive never been inspired by great photographers only great photography no matter who it was shot by. I have my own personal collection of great images harvested from the internet which inspire me to do better. Being a great believer in “being original is not disclosing where you first saw it” I have many little ideas tucked away in my head until the right shoot with the right person when they can pop out and be exploited.
I shoot quick and fast and too the point disliking unnecessary people on a photoshoot as personally I like to know what all my lights are doing. I usually have it plotted out in my head and so I know where to position the subject and how the lights are going to effect the shot in the final image due to a large collection of lighting ideas hidden away in my head.
My studio “Pout Studios” established in central London in 2003 is a stones throw away from St Paul’s cathedral and its always busy with people being a very homely and welcoming to models and clients 24hour if required. I also live at my studio which helps.
Having shot everything from celebrity weddings, portraits, magazine spreads, dinner parties, adventure trips, hanging out of airplanes and the front end of powerboats to get “that” shot and adding to the mix shooting quite a bit of commercial and editorial has left me in good running to cater for any surprises. I like the challenge and find by not just restricting myself to just one kind of photography I’m very experienced to cater for most events and photographic challenges thrown in my direction.
I plan to be doing this as long as I can hold a camera! The thing about this job is that you never know what is going to happen next! And when you think nothing is going to happen it usually does!
Lesauvage
