They say that a photographer is either a picture taker, or a picture maker - and I am firmly in the picture makers' club. While fully appreciating the "what you see is what you get" approach, I am much more interested in chasing an ever-elusive image that appears in my mind's eye, an image that conveys my feelings and emotions, rather than remains a mere statement of fact. It may take a while, sometimes weeks and even months, before I can get the right picture in my mind's eye. Then I need to find all necessary objects to implement my idea, go through the process of staging, lighting and shooting, and finally finish it off in post-processing. For me, all stages of this process are equally fascinating and enjoyable.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS) and an assessor for RPS Visual Art panel; I have an EFIAP photography distinction, as well as a number of international photographic awards, medals and distinctions from various photography competitions. I teach photography and run photography workshops; I am also a photography judge for Royal Horticultural Society.

My fascination with the art of photography has developed through love and study of visual arts in general. Modern technology equips you with some amazing tools that the artists of the past could not even dream of - but the main task is essentially the same: to draw the viewer in, so that they can share your vision and tune into the emotions that you are trying to convey.

I was lucky to have had a chance of working in several galleries and picture libraries dealing with masterpieces of contemporary and classic photography. This certainly helped me put things into perspective (forgive the pun), and even as I was getting serious about own image-making it was still daunting to call myself a photographer.