My grandad was a sculptor, and my mum is a painter, so I believe there is some artistic skills transmission through the family. While young I was drawing a lot, mostly portraits, but was enjoying photography as well. Then, I went to university and found no time to keep going. After that, I spent more time on photography, which became a strong passion.

I am a self-thought photographer, but I developed my skills when I joined a photography club when I moved to Oxford in 2004.

The very first one? That is difficult to remember! With my film SLR Camera, it was the portrait of a friend looking at a mirror. So, I had two angles on the same photo.

I normally refuse to answer this question!

If you have money to buy yourself a Ferrari, it won’t necessarily make you a good driver!

But hey, you need a decent equipment though, but remember there is some brain work too. The camera is just a tool. I started photography with a basic equipment, and slowly upgraded to enjoy the improvement: My first camera was a Canon EOS100 (film). I then moved digital with a Canon EOS20D for 7 years, and a Canon 5D MarkII since. I am still happy with it. Together with this, I have up to 4 lenses ranging from 16-300mm and more recently I bought some studio lighting (two Bowens spotlights).

It is always nice to see the completion of a large project published as a book.

I had the privilege to publish all the photographs I took of Oxford during the 9 years I spent there. I consider this book as a big achievement. The book, entitled ‘Oxford Through the Lens’ actually received a GOLD Award at Muse Photography Awards 2021!

When I ask female models not to wear any makeup and leave natural beauty to speak by itself. When they discover the prints and realise how good they look. So, I guess the best compliment is to make my models changing the way they see themselves.

As a portrait photographer, I think portraiture is a way to immortalise people.

Conceived

Directed

Precise

I wasn’t expecting to receive up to… 16 awards!

My goodness. It means a lot.

I take these awards as rewards for all my models, for their time, patience and trust. It also helps me to keep confident, as I am rarely happy!

Beside my book (GOLD AWARD); all the other 15 entries were portraits! As explained above, I like to celebrate the victory with my models.

Note some entries were self-portraits, but these were also a form of immortalisation: my ‘COVID haircut’, which vanished once shops reopened after the very long lockdown. I had to capture this moment of history!

We are always in love with our last masterpiece, but is it that good? What do the others think?

I think this is what drives my motivation in sending photos to photography contests: recognition from others. Also, if you are internationally competitive, it gives you credibility when you plan to approach more ambitious projects.

David LaChapelle

Rankin

Richard Avedon

There were many advice!

Learn. Practice. Compete. Win

Perseverance, while enjoying what you are doing.