My Grandfather painted portraits, he used oils on wood and canvas. He was an accomplished artist, but he never exhibited his work. I remember playing in his studio, the smells of the oil paint and the turpentine solvent that he used.  This instilled a deep desire to make portraits. Learning photography during my school years, and actually developing the images in the school darkroom. I tried painting with watercolours for about 25 years, but eventually decided that I was a much better at photography. This set the pattern for my life in photography!

As an adolescent I played with cars, then worked as a mechanic. In 1982 my dad accidently set fire to his house, I became a professional firefighter very soon after that. I also joined Longtown Mountain Rescue Team, that year.  In 1992 I left the Fire Service to set up Axiom Training. We trained 40,000 people in First Aid. In 2004 I was awarded BSc Honours in PreHospital Care, with a Post Graduate Certificate in Allergies in 2009. In 2005 I started as a Community First Responder for the Ambulance Service, and retired from Mountain Rescue. In 2023 I was awarded a "Chief Officer Commendation" for services to the community. At the beginning of the first lockdown in 2020, I swapped first aid training for full time photography. Axiom Pictures rose like a phoenix from Axiom Training. It was actually much more of a challenge than I had imagingined, starting a photography business from nothing! However, I have built a strong portfolio of portraits and weddings, of which I am very proud. My image making has gradually improved, and like a lot of life, I continue to work at honing my craft. I periodically attend training courses and also teach courses on photography. I treat landscape and travel photography as a hobby and a good excuse to travel around the UK and Europe.