I am emailing to see if I could ask you a few questions about you and your photography. I’m doing research for a project on Landscape photography and I have been following your photography since I first started university and have fallen in love with your shots which is why I have chosen to do my research based on your work.

Where do you take influence from in your photography?

That’s a great question and one that got me thinking. I think when i started out taking photographs of the Lake District Landscape it was a natural thing I wanted to do. I enjoyed trips into the Lake District and for some reason felt the need to capture those scenes I’d seen. Initially I was into Panoramic photography and the ability to capture a wider snapshot of the landscape really appealed to me. I made ultra wide-angle images that almost tricked your mind into what you were seeing. I was fascinated by the ability to see a wider perspective than the eye would allow us to see in real life. I spent many years developing this style of photography and spent countless hours researching and learning technique. This was just before the introduction of automated software and in camera features that now make capturing wide-angle images very simple.

Later I became focused more on regular one shot photography, I was visiting great locations in the Lakes and started to capture scenes within one frame. This was actually quite difficult coming from a panoramic image that included 360 degrees of the scene. I had to be more selective and look harder into the image to see what worked and what didn’t compositionally. I remember feeling quite motivated by this challenge of taking a fixed portion of what the eye can see and making that one frame work compositionally.

As my photography developed so did the source of inspiration and influence. I recall buying Landscape Photography books and conducting web research noting specific images and then studying them to try and understand what I found appealing about that particular image. This was a big part of my early influence in learning technique and helping me to understand what appealed to me.

In more recent times my influence has changed to more of what I want to accomplish personally. I find the process of creating an image very rewarding, from planning to taking and then processing the output. I am more influenced these days by enjoying the process than I am about the actual output.

What is the proudest moment of your career?

I wouldn’t call my photography a career, its more a pastime or way of life to me. I have taken photographs for as long as I can remember and will probably always do that. I am at my most content and happiest when I am doing that. I am lucky in the sense I enjoy the entire process from planning to doing and then to sharing and discussing with others afterwards.

If I had to pin down one particular moment or event that made me feel most proud though I would have to say it’s having a selection of my images selected from sale in the John Lewis network of shops throughout the UK.

During your photographic Career what awards have you achieved?

This is an interesting question. I haven’t won any awards for my photography in terms of trophies as I don’t enter competitions for various reasons. I would see my reward or recognition as the ability to continue with my passion and share that with appreciative people that award me with their gratitude. I really don’t feel the need to be awarded a prize to say I am better than anyone else. I am totally content with focusing on my own process and the satisfaction I get from that is more than enough to keep me motivated.

What are your aspirations for the future?

That is a great question and one I have been thinking of a lot lately myself. Over the last 18 months or so my life has changed significantly due to ill health. I have been forced to slow down and stop and take stock. Frustrating but probably a good opportunity to review everything in your life. What I am focused on and aspire to do more so now than ever is focus on my health and make a fuller recovery as I physically can. If I can achieve that then i am confident I can develop things further. I guess my ultimate aspiration is to maintain my motivation and desire for the process as I find it hugely rewarding.

Is there one image you believe defines you as a photographer?

I would have to say that would be my image titled The Retreat. It has been termed as Iconic by local people and has always received a lot of attention. Often from people who openly say they have no interest in Landscape images but that particular image intrigues them.

In return I asked Chris a few questions.

What is the background to your project and what do you hope to achieve from your studies?

I study Wildlife Media, a combination on Photography, Videography, Ecology and Animal Behaviour. The project itself is a 4 month build up to a final exhibition. We’re given four briefs to follow and produce 3 images for each brief. This being my first brief I had to Research a photographer of my choice, and ultimately create 3 photographs inspired by their style.

By the end of my course I hope to have completely defined my own style of photography, I’ve been photographing for 7 years now however I feel my style is yet to be defined. I also hope to be working alongside a conservation trust using my images to get their message out.

What made you choose to approach me?

I’ve been following you on Facebook and Instagram since I came up to Cumbria, after having found your work under the Lake District hash tag. I’m always looking towards your photography for inspiration when I am out and about, my passions in photography are in Wildlife and Landscapes. When my project was given and I was compiling my research you were the first photographer that came to mind. After looking around your website and your blog to answer some of my questions I still felt compelled to contact you myself to get a hands on feeling of how you work. I am incredibly grateful that you got back to me.

What is it about my photography that you like?

Your way with composition is what attracts me to your photography, you seem to me to capture the lakes as another planet, somewhere never the same and always changing. The way you use natural light is also how I feel you give me this feeling to your photography. Such vivid yet completely natural colours always bring me back to your photography.