Derek commenced photography in 1959 with an Agfa Silette camera, but it was not until 1976 that he obtained his first SLR film camera. He turned professional in 1979 and purchased a Hasselblad 500CM to start his own Picture Library of Landscape & Architectural scenes of the British Isles. Today he has more than 180,000 images, half of which are digital and reproduced by major publishing houses in quality books and magazines.
When it comes to picture-taking Derek is a traditionalist. Whilst he keeps abreast of modern developments, he does not regard digital imaging as a substitute for poor photography. On a shoot he keeps his camera equipment down to a minimum, particularly if it involves shank’s pony over mountain and moorland for miles!
Derek is an 'OM System Ambassador' and has hosted Olympus Event Days with visits to the Bluebell Railway and Ely Cathedral. Derek has written articles for 'Outdoor Photography' magazine, ‘Amateur Photographer’ and ‘In Britain’. Autumn 2001 saw the publication by Countryside Books of ‘The Landscapes of Surrey’ (which has been reprinted twice), 2002 ‘Nottinghamshire: A Portrait in Colour’ and 2004 'Northamptonshire: The County in Colour'.
He has also produced over a dozen books on a variety of landscape subjects using Blurb on-line publishing. His lectures and audio-visual shows have been presented nationwide. He is an expert with PowerPoint, raising the software above the jibe of ‘Death by PowerPoint’ with innovative productions by offering ‘Life after Death by PowerPoint’! He also has a YouTube channel with over 300 productions on photo-technique and places to photograph.
Music is his other passion and prior to becoming a photographer he worked for EMI Records in London for 15 years. His skills include the ability to read music, sing in a choir and to play the piano badly! Off duty he likes nothing more than a night at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and to get away from everything, much as he loves his own native Surrey, he concedes that there is no better place than the Lake District.