About Me
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Hi, I'm Kevin, a landscape and travel photographer with experience exploring fifty countries with my camera. I travel independently for photography and love researching destinations and spending enough time in the landscape to discover new compositions and get the most from the conditions.
I also write about photography, and focus on storytelling and practical guidance for composition and working on location. I think the best way to improve our photography is by thinking about our intentions - why we visit a location, or compose images in a certain way - and gradually getting to know what inspires us in photography.
I run Shutter Safari as a place to share advice about photography and travel. In the last few years, I’ve noticed that the more I write about photography, the more I learn through the process. I hope my articles and books can help you with your own images and adventures, too.
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Background
I started in photography as a backpacker, eager to explore as many places as I could in my spare time. I always took a camera to document my adventures, but became gradually more interested in the process of getting a good photograph than simply recording the places I was seeing.
My pack evolved to include more camera gear on each journey, and I eventually accepted that I had become a photographer rather than a traveller with a camera. I began to refocus my trips to spend more time behind the camera and visit places known for being great photography destinations.
As my interest grew, I became more drawn to landscapes rather than the urban environment. I had always found landscape photography more inspiring, but struggled with the complexity of composing images at such a large scale and working with the conditions to be on location at the right time. Landscape photography takes more practice and experience, but the results can be spectacular, and I’m always chasing the moment when light and terrain come together in a beautiful display.
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Writing
I had always loved to write, but hadn’t developed the consistency and discipline you need to make writing a regular part of your work. I came up with the idea for a book during the pandemic but struggled to make real progress, working on a few pages only when I felt inspired, with long gaps in between.
One day in 2022, I decided to try writing every morning for 30 minutes to make some progress on the book. Although the plan was to test the idea for a week, the habit stuck like no other ever has, and a few years later I now write for 90 minutes each morning.
Writing consistently can be incredibly powerful, and this daily habit is the engine behind all the content on Shutter Safari.
How I Work
I still spend a lot of time out with the camera and treat my photography trips as field research for the website. I spend hours researching destinations and learning from other photographers, then balance visits to well-known locations with searches for original places and compositions.
Shutter Safari has become the home for my photography and writing, and contains a large collection of free photography advice as well as a growing library of books for photographers. It’s helpful to have a single, consistent project to build, and I’ve found that the website helps motivate me to edit my images and finish pieces of writing.
In 2024, I started the magazine In The Frame, which features three articles each month (a location, an image, and a technique) and goes out on the first Saturday of each month. I love the process of writing and designing a magazine, so I give it away for free to interested readers.
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My Inspiration
My favourite thing about photography and writing is the process of gradual improvement that comes from making small adjustments to build a long-term skill. I still consider myself to be learning photography and constantly want to explore what works or doesn’t work about each image I make.
As a photographer, I prefer long, slow sessions where I spend entire mornings or days at a single place, watching the conditions change and searching more deeply for original compositions and ideas. As a writer, I like to produce articles and books quickly and consistently, then revisit older pieces to see how I might change my approach.
Shutter Safari feels more like an ongoing research project than a finished display of work, and I hope the website can continue to grow and evolve long into the future.
What’s Next
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Shutter Safari has evolved over many years, but has recently started to take shape, and I now have a clearer sense of how I’d like the project to develop in the medium term. I plan to continue releasing destination guidebooks for places that photographers often visit and will publish In The Frame as a free magazine for as long as my capacity allows.
Currently, I’m in the process of making Shutter Safari multi-lingual, and I’d like everything I write to be available in English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian. I also hope to develop my image-making advice into a large photography Masterclass.
Finally, I’m always open to new ideas. I only take on projects that feel long-term and sustainable, but I’m sure the next stages of Shutter Safari haven’t even occurred to me yet.