Behind the lens

A photograph captures a fraction of a second, but what it rarely reveals is everything that happened before the shutter was pressed. The conversations, the journeys, the unexpected moments and the people behind the image. This is where I share some of those stories.

For more than twenty-five years, my career as a cinematographer has taken me to over ninety countries, filming documentaries, sport, television and commercial productions. While my primary role has always been making films, I've rarely travelled without a stills camera. Photography has become a way of documenting the quieter moments that exist alongside the productions, moments that often tell a different story.

The articles in Behind the Lens aren't technical guides or travel journals. They're personal reflections on the experiences behind the photographs. Some begin in refugee camps or remote villages, others on film sets, backstage with musicians, at major sporting events or simply through chance encounters while travelling. Every story offers a little more context to the images you see throughout this website.

Travelling has shown me extraordinary beauty, but it has also exposed me to conflict, hardship and resilience. It has shaped not only the way I photograph people, but the way I understand the world. Whether documenting eagle hunters in Kyrgyzstan, families living in Kenya's refugee camps or fishermen on the coast of Sri Lanka, I've learned that the strongest photographs are rarely about the camera. They come from taking the time to observe, to listen and to build trust.

I hope these stories encourage you to look beyond the photograph itself. Every image represents a moment in time, but behind every photograph is a much larger story waiting to be told.