I was born in the Veneto region of Italy, in the Colli Euganei, just inland from Venice, in my grandmother’s flat surrounded by my Italian family. As my father was British and working in London, shortly after my birth we returned to live in the UK, where I was educated and where I have lived ever since. At school I was drawn to the sciences rather than the arts, and I continued to follow that path at university, ultimately gaining a PhD in Medicine - a radically different path from the rest of the family, whose professions and interests nevertheless ensured that exposure to the creative arts was ever present during my upbringing.
Living far away from the Italian matriarch, it was mandatory that long childhood summers would be spent back in Italy in the company of my maternal grandmother. These holidays were instrumental in establishing deep emotional and cultural roots with the land of my birth, the influences of which feature strongly in my life. And it was during these visits that the work of one of my uncles, a professional artist of some repute, opened my eyes to art and laid the foundations to an appreciation of photography as an art form. Photography has always been a hobby in which I tended to dabble from time to time as inspiration struck or opportunity arose. Now, in retirement, I am able to pursue it seriously full-time as a “second career”, exploring a creative side to my character that has remained more or less dormant during my long career as a scientist.
Whilst for convenience and simplicity I have often referred to myself as a “landscape photographer”, I’m not entirely comfortable with that label. Having said that, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if, witnessing as a child how my uncle’s love of nature and landscape subjects was depicted in his paintings had in some way unconsciously influenced my own photographic preferences. And whilst landscapes do feature, especially those that include water, as you can see from my portfolio the subjects I shoot are broader than “landscape” implies. For me, the initial motivation to make a photograph is driven by feeling an emotional connection with the subject, whatever it may be. My work includes subjects ranging from landscapes and seascapes, to others that capture life below the surface of the sea, and yet others that represent an eclectic mix of unconnected images, each of which triggered a spontaneous urge to release the shutter. But whatever the subject, my approach to making images has evolved to be contemplative, conveying a sense of place and, possibly, escapism, largely because my journey into full-time photography has been driven in part as a therapy. As a result, my images try to evoke a feeling of calmness and tranquility, inviting the observer to pause, think and engage with the subject, sharing that emotional connection I experienced when releasing the shutter and, perhaps, even to picture themselves being there.