First of all thanks for stopping by the website and taking the time to come and find out more about the person behind the photographs. My name is Glenn and I'm a photographer based in the English Lake District; something for which I count my blessings every single day. I'll normally be found on a fell side or rummaging around in a deep ghyll somewhere because the Lake District is more than just my home; it's my lifeblood. I actually need to be out there in the wilds, in all weather and preferably lost. Without it I become a very grumpy sod!
How it all began
I’ve been a bit of a photography-nut for what seems like forever. I was 14 when I got my first SLR which, as it turns out, was my first camera ever; no point-and-shoot or disposable to whet my appetite. Nope, straight in at the deep end. Well, I was hooked instantly.
I remember the excitement I felt when I went to the local newsagents to buy my first photography magazine to accompany the unopened 24 exposure roll of film in my hand. I think it was Practical Photography and the photos inside blew my mind. “I’m going to take photos like that one day” I thought.
A friend of mine, who was an aspiring theatre lighting technician, would give me off-cuts of his gels for his lights. I’d then fashion them into crude filters and gels for the front of the camera lens to try to turn the sky red or blue or some other weird effect. I would spend many hours in Furness Abbey ruins and even the local cemetery photographing ‘spooky’ stuff and practising low-light photography with long exposures.
In the beginning I’d rush to the shop to pick up the developed photos, so excited and absolutely sure I’d have photos worthy of the cover of Practical Photography but instead I’d have a wallet full of completely black photos or so blurred you couldn’t make out what the subject was. And of course, each photo had that familiar ‘Under exposed’ sticker just to reiterate my failure. In time, though, the stickers became rarer and the photos less black and blurred. My camera went everywhere with me.
I think my passion for photography comes from my dad. As kids, my sister and I were forever being posed for photos. “Smile”, “don’t smile”, “keep still”, “walk towards me” was the routine on many days out. These weren’t quick snaps with a point-and-shoot, these were like full blown photoshoots with professional light metering and everything! I was about 5 and I hated it. I hated his camera and that awful light meter that was constantly being thrust in my face.
Some of the locations we were photographed in, although very beautiful, were not suitable for small children:
An example of bad parenting
Not surprisingly I have no recollection of sitting on this rock; the trauma must have made the mind forget! But strangely, that passion and desire to get a stunning and exciting photo must have rubbed off. However, this photo is probably why I prefer to be behind the camera and not in front.
These days, like most of the population on the planet, I’m photographing with digital cameras and though the creative possibilities have widened to unbelievable proportions I do still miss some things about film photography. Like that familiar and reassuring resistance against my thumb when winding the film on for the first time and seeing ‘1’ in the exposure counter window. Even the smell of the roll of film as you popped the cap off the tube. But the thing I miss most of all is the fact that my photos were always printed and viewed by holding them in my hands - the way they should be viewed.
Clients & media
I’ve worked with Michelin starred chef Ryan Blackburn to provide 6 photographs for his restaurants in Ambleside The Old Stamphouse and Kysty
I was featured in the May 2022 edition of Cumbria Life Magazine
I’ve worked with a number of architects and interior designers on various projects including Ben Cunliffe Architects, Dynargh Design (Rothay Manor), Accentia Arts Ltd (The Ro Hotel) and ID Team (Athens restaurant)
I’ve worked with Freemantle Media providing them with footage for a show about the Lake District
