From the age of 12 I was facinated by photography and began by deveoping prints on the kitchen table with the help of my father. I built my first dark room in the garden shed when I was 14 using paper round money & help from my mother. By the time I was 17 I was training as a wedding photographer.
My hobies at that time were climbing and caving, and in 1966 I moved to Cornwall, to Chasewater where I still live.
I began taking photographs in Wheal Jane in the early seventies.
The working conditions underground were very challenging both physically and photographically. I wanted to show the working conditions while producing photographs of artistic merit.
Over a period of 20 years I was fortunate enough to be involved with both Wheal Jane and South Crofty mines and had ample opportunity to develop the relevant skills needed to photograph all the different aspects of miming both underground and on the surface.
I have spent the last 15 years archiving over 2,000 photographs. In 2006 I published an award winning book 'Painting the mines with Light'recording some of the processes I was involved with whist working in Wheal Jane, which gives a flavour of modern tin mining in Cornwall.
All of the photographs in this exhibition were taken for industrial purposes and have been chosen primarily for their artistic quality. I hope they will inspire the viewer to be inquisitive about the Cornish landscape and its heritage.