Work in Progress

This is Us: A Portrait of Modern Britain

Britain is always changing. Every day we shape the country we share through the lives we lead, the people we meet and the choices we make. Some of those lives are lived in the public eye; most are not. Together they create the story of modern Britain.

With this in mind I have embarked on a long-term photographic project called This is Us. Through portraiture, I want to create an enduring body of work that reflects the people who are living, working or spending part of their lives in Britain today. Every portrait will stand as an individual photograph while contributing to a larger visual record of contemporary Britain.

My aim is to create a cohesive body of work that reflects contemporary Britain while taking my photography to the next stage of its development and sharing it with a much wider audience.

I have reached a point in my career where my ambitions extend beyond local audiences. This is a project intended to be seen nationally and internationally, through competitions, exhibitions and publication.

Looking further ahead, my ambition is to present This is Us as a gallery exhibition and publish it as a book, allowing the work to continue that journey beyond this website.

The project is developing in three phases. The first was reflecting on my work and where I see my photography going both in terms of style and ambition, and researching where I establish the visual language of the work and begin photographing an initial group of participants.

The third phase will see the project grow more organically through recommendations, introductions and self-referrals, allowing it to reach people and communities I might never otherwise encounter.

One of my aims is to minimise any unconscious bias I may project onto this project. Every photographer inevitably begins with the people and communities they already know, but over time I want This is Us to grow beyond my own experience. By encouraging word of mouth, welcoming self-referrals and inviting suggestions from others, I hope the project will become broader, richer and more representative of modern Britain.

At the moment there are no portraits to see. I haven’t clicked the shutter release even once, but a lot of necessary work and preparation has already taken place and several individuals have expressed an interest in being involved.

I will be sharing some initial shots here on this webpage but at the moment this space remains empty, waiting for that first portrait…

Perhaps it will be yours.

If you would like to take part, know someone who would make an interesting subject, or would like to suggest a person or community that you think should be included, I'd love to hear from you.

Every suggestion will be read with care and considered on its own merits. Not every conversation will lead to a portrait, but every conversation has the potential to broaden the project and strengthen the picture it is trying to build.

Send your suggestions to me here telling who you are suggesting and why you think they should be included.