:MY PHOTOGRAPHY BIOGRAPHY   My name is Paul Robertson and I am based in London, I was born here in 1983.   My first camera was a APS (advanced photo system) Canon IXUS 1L. In 1999 I went on holiday to America and I wanted a camera to record my trip. Before this holiday I had only ever used a compact 35mm camera briefly. When I received my photos back from the lab in London, I was amazed at some of the shots I had captured, my passion for photography had begun.   At the time my APS IXUS 1L was a cutting edge camera but it was also limited to what settings you could change and I soon became bored, I wanted to do more than my camera was capable of doing.

     I wanted to learn from the start and use techniques only a 35mm SLR (single reflex camera) could handle (until now with the introduction of digital SLR's).I went to college to study

     A level photography in 2001, this was my first real taster of using an SLR camera along with the basic understanding of how it worked. Not only did I learn how the camera itself

     worked but I also learnt how to process black & white 35mm film to photo. It was about this time I got my second camera and my first SLR, a Nikon F80 (which I still use today).

     I also have a full darkroom set up, although unfortunately do not get to use it much due to accomodation and the digital age.

     Due to the digital age gripping us and taking over the world of photography I moved on to using digital more, moving away from film. It was 2003 and digital SLR's were fairly new at

     this time and very expensive so I stuck with my 35mm Nikon F80 SLR and several other compact digital cameras and camera phones. Throughout the next few years I was a

     photographer for several club nights, completed several photo shoots for advertising and company reference, shot several events for local communities, had my photos used in street

     art magazines and on several websites. In my own time I have also produced printed framed photos and photo greeting cards which sold well. It was also about this time (2003)

     when I decided to set up a website to display my photos.

     Today with so many people having access to digital cameras and the use of computers and the internet, the niche for fine photography has become very small, ultimately being you

     have to be really good to break through to becoming a successful photographer, by this I mean making a living from your work. Being realistic I decided to relax on the career path

     and enjoy photography for what it is as use it more as a hobby, which when needed can make me a little extra money here and there. Of course I would love to undertake

     photography full time, unfortunately at this time I am unable to. I use this website and my blog to publish my photographs on the internet, always looking for new oppertunities.

     Today I use a NIKON D90 Digital SLR. 

     If you have any enquiries or would like to see more of my work please contact me, click here.

     :MY PHOTOS, INFLUENCES & DIRECTION

     I admire photographers such as Mario Testino, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, David Burnett, Harry Callahan, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bill Brandt, Don McCullin, Man Ray,

     Irving Penn, Johnny Mobasher, and Paul Talling.

     My favourite subjects to photograph are urban culture and street art, although I also like to shoot fashion/portraiture, landscapes, architecture, and travel photography.

     My love for travel combined with my passion for photography is a perfect match as I always have new surroundings, cultures and subjects to inspire me. I tend to change my focus

     from the grander subject matter of skylines and architecture and discover a whole new world of less obvious but equally interesting subjects. These subjects are the kind of things

     that most people take for granted and walk by without a second look, but for the sharp eyed photographer they are key in creating an overall impression of the city/place.

     I am an ambitious photographer who tries to excel in everything I do, but still have a lot to learn. I don't limit myself to a certain discipline within photography and certainly do not let

     my camera dictate me, I am still trying to get a thorough knowledge of every aspect of photography, learning everyday and taking on board everything I can, whilst keeping an open

     mind. My presentation and promotion of both my work and myself are of paramount importance to me.

     Street photography generally refers to photographs taken in public places, In one sense it can be thought of a branch of documentary photography. Although unlike traditional

     documentary photography its chief aim (or at least its chief effect) is seldom to documentate one particular subject, but rather to create photographs which strongly demonstrate

     the photographer's vision of the world. The subject could be anything in today's world, man made or a real time event. Street photography has evolved over the decades 

     and continues to do so. Like most other branches of photography it has been driven by both aesthetic and technological innovations and often the introduction of new technology

     has had profound impact on the prevailing aesthetic.

     " I try to free my mind of all the preconceptions other than the need for finding interesting subject within the view finder and opening the shutter to record them". I quote.

     " I use photography as a means of recording today, the event or subject for tomorrow". I quote.

     " I speak with photographs and not words". I quote.

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