I am a geologist and keen photographer living in Birmingham, England. I’ve applied my geologic skills working for big energy companies on oil and gas exploration projects throughout the world, in the academic sector at Birmingham university, and as a civil servant with Nuclear Waste Services (see our 2023 journal paper for an overview of the science, engineering and policy challenges of selecting a site for deep geological disposal of the UK’s radioactive waste). I am a volunteer photographer for Remember My Baby, editor of the field guides series and a field trip leader for The Geologists’ Association, a Chartered Geologist, my publications number over 75 peer-reviewed journal papers and other articles, and I am a speaker on cruises with Fred Olsen and Saga.

I acquired my first SLRs as a teenager - a Pentax K1000 then a ME Super - which travelled with me everywhere. And I’ve got thousands of cherished slides in plastic folders to show for those cameras. But I can’t say I miss film and I’ve loved exploring the world of desktop image processing. In 2022 I had a camera adapted for infra red photography and it’s been quite a discovery. Even more so than visible spectrum cameras there is no ‘right’ way of processing an IR image, especially in the false colour range. Experimenting with different filters and colour balances provides an almost unlimited range of novel (and sometimes plain weird!) effects. So I’ve included a dedicated IR section here which I hope you find interesting whether or not you’re new to the genre.

Like almost everyone I’m alarmed by the sheer pace of environmental change happening all around us. Also like most of us I have no grand solutions. The geologic record tells us Earth has been through periods of extreme climate change many times before but they wouldn’t have been nice to be around for. As long as we keep appreciating the amazing beauty of the earth in all its infinite variety then we and our elected leaders are going to wake up to the possibillity that the natural world as we know it might not exist for future generations to enjoy. But to adapt to the climate crisis we are going to need to work together as a global community without borders in a way that humankind has never really done before, possibly the greatest challenge of all.

So this website is mainly about images of some of the amazing beauty which has caught my attention over the years - on my travels, in my geologic work, on family holidays, and out and about in my local area. Thanks for visiting!