adventure
Doing it together…
Here’s an open invitation for all dads (and mums)… How would you like to spend true quality time with your little ones… shared time in nature, the change to experience a grand adventure and pass on some invaluable life skills? We all get sucked up by our day to day lives. In every short 24-hours, →
Mongolia – Treading on Bones
I landed a job in Mongolia over the summer to create an image library about dino bones. It all started with an out of the blue call from an old friend, Michelle, who’s with Infiniti Motors in Hong Kong. She asked if I was interested in supporting their media program and I was all ears. Gigs →
What I learnt backpacking in the mid 90’s
Back in the mid 90’s, at the tender age of twenty, I left the comfort of our family home to travel around Australia for a year. It was possibly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made… and I’m so glad I got to do it pre-internet. Back then, travelling was so much more about →
Waldorf Astoria Driving Experience
Over the last few years, I’ve had the great fortune of traveling around the world documenting the story behind the Waldorf Astoria Driving Experience. We’ve cruised through Rome, Paris, Dubai, Ras al Khaimah and Edinburgh. How did I land such an awesome gig? It was all thanks to a kind introduction via my friend Zantelle →
Curiosity Film Series
This post marks a sort of personal milestone for me. Over the last year or so, I’ve been working on a film series named CURIOSITY. I’m not necessary new to motion work, but producing a consistent short film series brings a new tool to a filmmakers kit so I threw myself into the deep end →
Adventure Via Ferrata
It’s adventure time! An awesome Via Ferrata recently opened on the UAE’s highest mountain, Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah. With the Hajar Mountains as your backdrop, you can now attach yourself to a steel cable and, under the watchful eye of the Absolute Adventure guides, you can spend hours exploring the rock and rushing down cool →
BTS with Karina @ Wadi Adventure
A while back, I worked on an editorial piece for Women’s Health. They were running a feature story on super women, Karina Bensemann being one of the super women featured. I know Karina. We’ve collaborated in the past with Lululemon. She’s great company and certainly lives up to what she’s known for. Wadi Adventure in Al →
Lambo’s in Paris
Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts flew me to Paris at the back end of last year to create a story around their customer driving experience. Hard to say no to a gig in Paris! It really is an amazing city. Shooting the new Lamborghini Huracan with pro drivers, a stunning hotel and an open brief made →
2016 Recap
Writing this post feels like a celebration of all that’s happened in the last twelve months. 2016 was a dynamic year. Business was a bit all over the place with some great productions and awesome opportunities in the mix. Travel is one of my greatest passions and the year took me to Shanghai, Hong Kong, →
My short film Khareef
My longtime friend Giles is an avid windsurfer and has been suggesting for years that I join him on (and shoot) one of his windsurfing trips to Oman. We finally made it work this past summer, thanks to the dates not clashing with my annual summer exodus to Europe. Beyond the usual photography, I set myself the challenge of shooting →
Three days in the mountains with WWF
There’s something remarkable about working with field biologists. Their passion and excitement are contagious. Their appreciation for the smallest gritty crawlers makes me wonder what beautiful fauna I fail to notice everyday. Recently, I found myself at a very special place… the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been appointed to create the first National Park →
Powerhouse Eva
Eva Clarke and I have competed in races together a few times now. She’s upfront and I get to hang around somewhere in the middle. We recently shot the Under Armour Middle East launch campaign together. Eva has an inspiring accolade of sports achievements under her belt but when checking out her Facebook page pre →
Ultra Running; Love. Can. Do.
I always mean to write this post during a big race, when the thoughts are most fresh in my mind, but somehow I never get round to it and then on return home, reality kicks in and the routine takes over. So I went back to a voice memo I recorded during the 50k Urban Ultra Race. →
Catch Karina
With a bit of pre-summer breathing space in the shooting calendar, I’ve been able to catch up on personal work and hangout with some mad athletes. I love the surfers lifestyle and have enjoyed getting on a board myself in the past, mainly in Oz. I dusted off my Aquatech waterproof housing then called Karina →
My fascination with bikes
During my younger years, I worked as an outdoor instructor around Europe, enjoying life’s great adventures, travel and camaraderie. One of my favourites was mountain biking in the Belgium forest with over-energetic school kids… hitting the hills, trails, mud pools and river crossings. After a day on the bikes, we’d be exhausted, filthy, aching and thoroughly beat. →
Joe Clarke in training for Rio
Red Bull UK called to build a portfolio for young and upcoming Joe Clarke, who was training at Wadi Adventure in Al Ain. Joe is a complete joy to work with, very accommodating and knows his sport as a slalom canoeist inside out. I had certain shots in mind and Joe would just appear in exactly →
Memorable runs
My love for running really took off when I moved to Dubai in 2002. It all started with my first half marathon in Abu Dhabi. Marathons and triathlons followed then eventually I discovered that my true passion lay in long distance trail running. There are so many reasons to love trail running. I love exploring →
With adventurer Adrian Hayes
There’s never a dull moment in an adventurers life, particularly when it comes to UAE hero Adrian Hayes… over the last ten years, I’ve followed Adrian’s extreme expeditions and had the pleasure of capturing some of them. I’ve seen him at his best and and at his worst… I’ll never forget his flying start on →
Urban Exploration with Canon
Thanks to Canon Middle East, I had the great pleasure of spending a day with ten media creatives from a range of publications and blogs. We were hosting a full day program centred around the theme of Urban Exploration. The video below is a great summary of the energy of the day. Urban Exploration means →
Football in Oman
Many I know love working in Oman. The people are amazing, the scenery is stunning and there’s a wonderful humility and sense of calm there. I recently worked on a reportage about youth football in remote places. There’s not a lot of text to go with it so just enjoy the images Also check out →
Young, energetic & free
The crew at Red Bull took me down to Big Red, an enormous, iconic and pretty daunting sand dune between Dubai and the Hatta mountain range. With a reputation for being able to separate the novice 4×4 drivers from the real dunes bashers, those who make it to the top are considered real heroes! On this occasion, we didn’t aim →
The world’s hottest helipad
As part of the recent British Airways PR roll out, we recently shot on the helipad of Abu Dhabi’s Hyatt Capital Gate hotel. It’s a pretty cool location with aerial views of the Abu Dhabi skyline. We were shooting Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom, a celebrity heartthrob who first landed in the limelight for his role in the →
The essential packing list for Project Pause
What do you pack for a week of solitude in the desert? I’m referring to my recent Project Pause. For those not in the know, Project Pause refers to a week I spent in the Empty Quarter this last March. I lived for seven days, off the grid (no wifi, no email, no phone, no →
Adventure HQ Photoshoot
That million-dollar question… how long will it take to shoot? Rock climbing, mountain biking, skate boarding, road cycling, kayaking, surf skiing, camping, trail running, yoga, fat biking, diving, fishing, BBQ… and the shoot list didn’t end there. I looked at the client and replied with “10 days”. They looked back, grinned and responded with “how →
Film premiere details
We’re finally releasing the beast. Project Pause – The Empty Quarter film launch will be at Adventure HQ, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Check out the details and spread the word. →
Kuwaiti car culture
How much magic can you fit into ten consecutive and insanely long days? The answer is lots! I was fortunate enough to spend a decent spell in Kuwait just before the summer, building a portfolio of local imagery for one of Kuwait’s largest car retailers. As is the case with many brands, the Kuwaiti marketing →
555 Challenge
I’m currently prepping for my annual escape from the heat… Dubai, you may have heard, was recently marked as the hottest place on the planet! As always the loose agenda involves quality family time in Europe, fresh air, green mountains, local produce and hooking up with friends. A little work but mainly play, a chance →
Studio//73
I’m a big advocate of creating your own creative space to work in… building an environment that inspires you, energises you and optimises your productivity, somewhere with a home for all your personal stuff with walls filled with doodles, art and inspiring messages. My previously workspace, where I turned a boring white square room into a really →
Falcons of Arabia – launched!
I always find it fascinating how business ticks along. Well over two years ago now, I received an email from sports marketing client, Professional Sports Group (PSG), asking whether I had any falcon images. I did as it happened and shared them with the group. It then went quiet for a while, as it sometime →
This is why I love car shoots
For some reason the bulk of my work entails the shooting of cars and in particular, luxurious and fast ones. So when a SUV brand got in touch about shooting their big car out in the big dunes, it felt like a nice addition to the mix. Any excuse to hit my favourite desert location… The →