Having the way I see things recognised as something that appeals to others was quite a defining moment for me. Art directors looking at my work and saying they felt it was more like art than commercial work felt good, and having that repeated to me started to instil a sense of confidence that what I was doing was right. 

I had tried to learn about photography in my teens but it had all felt so incredibly difficult and I was weighed down by the technicalities of it. In 1988, I went to Berkshire College of Art and Design and did a foundation course at their Maidenhead wing. Leaving there I went into a job in a couple of provincial design studios and after a few years I picked up a camera and started taking photographs during my own time. It was something that felt very true to me. When I wasn’t doing photography, I was thinking about it, so I knew this was going to be something that would take over my life. 

I worked very much from my gut, moving the cameras around until it felt it right and teaching myself as I went, which was a slower process as it was all on film. I think there have been moments that have made me realise what I wanted to shoot, and people seeing the way I saw things as different and exciting.