PN

PN

Orvieto

About your local photographer

I was born in Oxford 1952 and have led a colourful and varied life which
has undoubtedly contributed to my eclectic artistic career.
I left school at seventeen to do a brief spell of military service; however I decided early
on that this life was not for me. In fact it was my commanding office who suggested that I went to Art School in Oxford - a greater contrast is hard to imagine.
During my student days I earned extra money as a stage hand at the Oxford Playhouse
as well as reviewing pop records on air at BBC Radio Oxford. From my three years work in the
theatre I developed a life long interest in set building and illusion. I went on to the
Polytechnic of Central London from where I graduated with a BA in Photographic Arts in 1977.
My first job in the film industry was as an assistant film editor at Scott Free Productions.
This experience was rudely terminated when I mistakenly ran the rushes of ‘Alien’ upside down.
Nobody has ever said Ridley Scott was an easy man to work with but after another few months in
the industry I reckoned that this world was not for me.
The next stop was Cairo in 1978 where I found a job as art director-photographer-illustrator
in Egypt’s first advertising agency after the Soviet period. After a year of living almost
entirely on beans I returned to London and tried to find my way as a photographer although in
actual fact spent most of the next 3 years as a courier driver. This did at least allow me time to
travel especially behind what was then the Iron Curtain. At last I was back on the creative road with an assignment to photograph for a budget travel company which took me to Italy in 1981; I have
lived there ever since.
In 1982 I found work as a humble beach photographer near Rimini followed by work as a
portrait photographer in a posh hotel in a seaside resort until eventually I opened my first
photo gallery in Bologna in 1988. The gallery had the unexpected result of launching me as a
fashion and beauty photographer followed by the opening of my own large studio loft. From
fashion I progressed to advertising work for the next fifteen years.
Running parallel to commercial photography was an interest in photography as an art
form. I had always sold prints to collectors since I had opened my first gallery in 1988.
The first photo of what was to be known later as the Belle (meaning beautiful women) was
taken in 1988. A lighthearted take on the Death of Marat by David called ‘Homage to Corday’.
Since then I have done around 75 further works and the project is ongoing.
Whenever possible I would involve my more enlightened clients in my artistic ventures,
producing images that went beyond the purely commercial, exhibiting them in fine art exhibitions
from 1991 to the present both nationally in Italy and internationally. For example, the series
Metamorphoses developed from a calendar for a company manufacturing automatic gates.
I started exploring Tuscany and Umbria and the little known region of Latium in the late 1980s soon becoming fascinated by Etruscan and Roman history as well as falling for the beauty of the landscape. As a result of these ever more frequent excursions I set up my photo workshops in 1999. I have lived in Orvieto, Umbria with my family since 2007.

Awards, Publications, Exhibitions etc

During my commercial photography career I was a member of the Association of
Photographers, London, for fifteen years, winning one of their prestigious awards in 1992.
Since 1988 I have had five photo-art galleries exhibiting predominantly my own work. I
have also had pop-up galleries for periods of around 3 months, the latest being in Amsterdam
(2019).
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2 Review(s)  

Reviews

  • denise
  • Sep 3, 2021

  • Very enjoyable talk. Beautiful photographs with entertaining but informative explanations and some personalised information about the women appearing in the photos. The Lisbon workshop I joined with PN was great - brilliant locations some completely off the tourist track with some unusual architectural forms and shapes to photograph. Very attentive teacher with great tips and knowledge. Highly recommended.

  • deirdre
  • Sep 3, 2021

  • I really enjoyed the talk with Patrick. I love listening to how other photographers get their ideas and how they go about shooting. He was inspiring.