First things first, tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a British social-documentary photographer based in Peckham, London. I have a disobedient dog, I love the colour orange and I like to photograph and have conversations with total strangers.

What was the brief for this work?

‘The Power of Belief’ print campaign follows four real people, with four important stories, who have benefitted from Sky’s investments in a diverse range of social initiatives across the UK. Each personal story raises awareness of the issues involved and document how these initiatives are creating positive change directly within their individual lives.

Through this campaign, we enter the lives of four unique individuals. We learn their story, their inspirations and passions, and about their creative processes. We enter their homes, we meet their families, we see them create and perform. We learn the power of the human spirit and how opportunity, dedication, and purpose can transform lives.

How does it fit with your usual style?

This commission really felt like an extension of my personal work in the sense that through all the work I do, I engage directly with the individuals I photograph through collaborative, posed portrait sessions that serve to empower the subjects, providing a platform to tell their story. That was the purpose of the stills: to reveal a personal and intimate story relating to each subject who appeared in the campaign.

What do you usually try to convey in your work? Do you have a preferred shooting subject? What do you like to photograph?

My works largely explore aspects of British culture and rarely documented communities and subcultures. I like to record stories where identity, values and customs are shared, and people are connected and appreciated. I strive to seek out the glue that unites individuals together as a collective, leading me to explore the realms of Aladura Spiritualist African churches and congregations, afro hair salons, banger & stock car racing, streetcar culture, arm wrestlers, Travellers and British cowboy culture.

I want my photographs to celebrate the idiosyncrasies and nuances of the human experience. I am drawn to people who make our world dynamic and interesting. Human life is incredibly eclectic, there are so many facets of life and people to be celebrated.

When I look at your work, it is reminiscent of someone like Martin Parr in that it’s able to identify the curious in the everyday. Is this fair? 

I have a huge respect for Martin Parr’s work. We are both British photographers who document the nuances of British culture and human behaviour. I guess we both react to our immediate environments. I wouldn’t say our sensibilities are similar but certain narratives are. I think we are both drawn to humour and humanity which can sometimes lead to the curious.

Luke and Joseph’s style seems to rhyme with your own, do you think there is a greater demand for more human, grounded visuals than in the past?

I definitely feel myself and Luke and Joseph share a genuine love of human and grounded visuals.

I do think there is a greater demand for this style of work because people respond to truth and honesty. People want to connect with reality and humanity right now. I think there is something refreshingly honest and relatable about imagery with a pure, natural aesthetic — especially in the commercial realm — which is saturated by photography that is theatrical and overly produced.

I believe people can more easily relate and respond to realistic depictions of human life where they are able to connect with real people and documentary narratives that they recognise.

People are clearly central to your work, how did lockdown — which separated us — affect yourself, your work, and your style? 

Lockdown made it impossible for a while to make social documentary work because in order to create work of this nature I am always reliant on social interaction and travel… It was really difficult; I wasn’t able to leave my front door and make work with the freedom that I do normally.

It was only in late Summer 2020 that restrictions in the UK lifted, and people started fleeing their homes to open spaces like beaches. I began to make regular trips to our charming and eccentric British seaside resorts to record the return to life. In the face of Covid-19, the beach has posed as a valuable place of fun, freedom and community, but mostly as a unique space where it is still possible to experience the idiosyncrasies and quirks that distinguish the British. It felt like the first idea that I could actualise since Covid emerged.

I knew in outdoor open spaces, such as a beach, that people would feel safe to collaborate with me and it was one of the only spaces where you could find crowds. Really the project started as a reaction to desperately missing the process of making images during lockdown. I’m not certain that I would have found this narrative if it wasn’t for Covid. Silver linings, eh?

And finally, what are you working on right now?

My Beachology project is on-going. I am deep into another personal project which is top secret!! I will probably be working on that for at least the next year so I can’t reveal more any time soon but watch this space. I am also producing an editorial about show dogs and owners right now for Vogue Italia. A good healthy balance of all the fun stuff really.