“The human spirit is as expansive as the cosmos. This is why it is so tragic to belittle yourself or to question your worth. No matter what happens, continue to push back the boundaries of your inner life. The confidence to prevail over any problem, the strength to overcome adversity and unbounded hope — all reside within you.”

Daisaku Ikeda

As I climbed through the Khumbu Icefall, from Everest Base Camp up to Camp One and on to Camp Two, every step, every movement, was a struggle. The thin air at that altitude meant that I was constantly gasping for breath and try as I might I couldn’t get enough oxygen into my lungs. By the time I reached Camp Two, at 6,500m above sea level, I could honestly say to myself ‘that was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life’, but experiencing the terrifying beauty of the icefall, and photographing sights that few people will ever get to see for themselves, was worth every gasped breath.

The most amazing experiences in my life have come through photography. From climbing to Camp Two on Everest; photographing axe-wielding Black Metal bands in the woods of Norway; meeting a snowmobile-riding Arctic vicar in the the most Northerly town in the world; or drinking beer with Finnish ice fishermen on a frozen lake, all the most rewarding things I’ve done have come from the times I challenged myself and stepped outside my comfort zone.

I’m fascinated by the human spirit, and the amazing things people can achieve when they dedicate themselves to a goal. This often means spending time with people in their world, rather than staying comfortably in mine, and it is this outsider perspective on other people’s amazing lives that has produced some of my best work.

You can’t spend ALL your time outside your comfort zone however, and in between adventures I spend time at home in North London with my wife Amanda and my cat Oryx, drinking good coffee, riding my motorbike and practicising archery (not at the same time, though that would be amazing).