Journalism

I specialise in writing about cars and motoring subjects including tuner cars, classic and contemporary cars and find myself a regular supplier to a range of UK based motoring magazines. Additionally, the small boy inside all of us gives me an interest in all things mechanical, leading to creating features on other subjects including aviation, transportation and the built environment. Most photograpers / journalists write in the third party when describing themselves, but that feels rather odd to me, after all, I'm the one sitting writing this now.

Born in Middlesbrough in 1965, early recollections of things mechanical included tales from my grandfather about serving as an RAF airframe mechanic in Africa during WW2. The Observer's Books series began to bring out the petrol head in me, along with that JPS Lotus Formula One car by Corgi that every boy had to have.

Fast forward through school and college to a point where there's an A Level in Engineering Drawing in the bag, but more studying to follow. Then came the aquisition of a driving licence....A chance summer time job driving cars (badly) meant that studying was abandoned when it was realised that selling cars made money Right Now, not in five years time. My first Nikon was purchased...

A very happy nine years with Toyota followed, before the calling for faster, shinier metal involved a spell selling Aston, Ferrari, Jaguar and Rolls Royce / Bentley and a brief encounter with Audi, before returning to be a Lexus manager.

In 2003, after a (very) short spell as an independant, a business plan is scribbled on the back of a car brochure, an eye watering investment in Canon digital kit and Apple computing hardware and the suit and tie is gone. The big phone book full of interesting contacts is pressed into service and my skills at tracking down rare and unusual cars and other machinery is put to an altogether different use, co-ordinating photo shoots and writing to convey the emotions, smells and sensations of driving, flying and experiencing these machines.

Recent notable features either photographed or written about have included a comparision test of two Group B rally cars, Ice Driving on the frozen lakes of Sweden and joining UK traffic police training excercises including TPAC maneuvres. Non-car subjects have included flying with HEMS emergency helicopter services, a scary evening shooting Rangers football supporters (never again, Stuart....) and on a more relaxing thread, website editing and copyrighting for some lovely French holiday gites as part of our web design services.