For Philip, April marks the completion of an advertising assignment with JWT London for HSBC Premier. The commission has been shot in stages, over the course of the past 5 months and across the world; from the USA through to South East Asia. 

With the scale of the project and the variety of briefs, it was a demanding but ultimately rewarding job. With each location presenting their own challenges, working with an experienced team proved essential, and ensured the best results every time.  

In March Philip went on assignment, returning to the Arctic Circle once again. This time his task was travelling through the north of Sweden and Finland, capturing different winter activities on offer in the extreme colds.

2012 has been reported to be an excellent time to see the illusive Northern Lights. After a couple of disappointing attempts, Philips late night determination was rewarded with a truly magical display. Placing himself on the middle of a frozen lake in Finland offered some unrivalled views of this incredible natural wonder.   

The Aurora Borealis seen in Finland

Philip on location in Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Philip has just returned from two commissions in two of Europes most stunning capital cities.Firstly travelling to Lisbon, Portugal for Four Seasons Magazine, the focus was on the beautiful azulejos. These are traditional hand-painted ceramic tiles, famous throughout Portuguese history; particularly the blue and white decorative scenes. It was a chance to revisit the city, and to document the extensive use of these ceramics historical importance, right through to the present. Photographing in museums and art galleries, preservation departments and local artists gave a broad view of how azulejos are used in Portuguese culture.

After a quick turn around at home in London, Philip made the short trip to Paris; the City of Light. Continuing his partnership with BBC Lonely Planet Magazine, this assignment was to give insight into a “lesser known” Paris. Featuring some of the best in local artwork, gypsy jazz musicians (in the vein of the great Django Reinhardt), urban gardens, home cuisine and absinthe bars ! This gave an interesting spin to the otherwise beautiful, but well trodden path, of the Parisian landmarks.

Between commissions over the past couple of months Philip has taken time out to complete some new personal shoots. This took him to the Gers region in the south of France for a week, where he and a small crew completed some new “luxury lifestyle” work. Some beautiful small town locations, such as Blaziert, friendly local people and the southern French sun really helped surpass Philips expectations. Check out the Lifestyle section of the website to see the new work!

Shortly after returning from France, Philip went to Wales in the UK to Snowdonia National Park. The summit of Mount Snowdon really does offer some sensational views. The weather was ideal to capture some dramatic outdoor shots, adding to the new body of work he has been working on.

Currently in London, Philip is preparing for a busy time over the coming months with back to back assignments. His work will be taking him across a huge variety of landscapes, from European cities to east Africa and beyond to south east Asia.

A shot from Philips luxury lifestyle shoot in Blaziert, France.

The top of Mount Snowdon in Wales, UK

Mountain peaks at dusk in Spitsbergen

A tepui near the huge Mount Roraima

Elephant Backed Safari in the Okavango Delta

A food stall on the Djeema el Fna, Marrakech

Sunrise near Solomeo, Umbria, Italy

Travelling Light exhibition and Private View

Philip at work photographing huskies.

Monday morning market at Djenne, Mali.

Temple of Ta Prohm, Angkor Complex, Cambodia.

St Peters Basillica and the River Tiger, Rome, Italy

Local man in the Dragon Blood Forest, Socotra, Yemen.

Dancing Lemur (Sifaka) in Berenty National Reserve, Madagascar.

March saw Philip travelling to extremes. From the dry heat of the South Australian outback, covering over 1,500 miles by road, sea and air, to the top of a glacier in the French alps.

Philip is curretly back in London working on new portfolios, but getting ready to travel to the Middle East at the end of April.

Nilpena Station, Flinders Rangers, South Australia

La Plagne, French Alps

At the start of the new year Philip travelled to Hawaii, continuing his ongoing collaboration with Lonely Planet magazine, focussing on the less commercialized island of Kauai.

The next 4 weeks alone see Philip in Australia, Lapland, the French Alps and Rome.

Philip has recently won 6 Honourable Mentions from the Px3 2009 ‘Water’ based competition and an additional entry has been selected for the 2009 Prix de la Photographie Paris exhibition in New York this May.

Philip was also the only UK winner of the TPOTY Best Single Image in a Portfolio – Life competition and was awarded Silver by the LPA.

Please scroll down for interviews about some of Philip’s recent travels.

Okkaido, Japan in December 2008

Kauai, Hawaii in January 2009

Philip recently returned to Africa to retrace the footsteps of legendary Magnum photographer George Rodger’s journey 60 years ago. Philip first went to the Maasai Mara to photograph the Maasai, then onto the mountains of Uganda to spend time with the truly amazing Batwa pygmies, culminating in the once in a lifetime experience of photographing Nuba wrestling in the central mountains of the Sudan.

Q & A

Q: Did you and the crew encounter any difficulties crossing these countries, in particular Kenya and the Sudan given the civil unrest at the time?

A: Yes, especially in the Sudan where travel is heavily restricted especially amongst the Nuba mountains. There were many conflicting opinions on what we could and couldn’t do and where we could and couldn’t go. But in the end even with all the bureaucracy we managed to make it, although there were many times when we thought we may have to turn around and come back.

Q: How closely did you follow George Rodger’s journey and had much changed from his time?

A: We tried to end up at the same destinations as George Rodger although due to closed borders and restrictions we were unable to drive exactly the same way. For example we entered the Kordofan range from the North East whereas George had driven from the South. On the surface there were probably many changes as there would be anywhere in the world over 6 decades, perhaps less so in the Sudan, although civil war has certainly changed the make up of this land and its people.

The landscape of the Nuba mountains is extremely close to how it would have been in George Rodger’s day to the point that one night we camped under the same boabab trees as he had done 60 years previously.

Q: Had time affected the lifestyles of the people you met very much?

A: Each of the three tribes had changed in its own unique way.

The Maasai have embraced tourism, and seem to have kept a lot of their traditional ways and beliefs yet have also embraced modern technology such as mobile phones and western medicine.

The Batwa 60 years ago were still forest dwelling and were completely nomadic but they left the forest almost 30 years ago due to deforestation and government pressure to comply. Their life is probably the saddest and most desperate of the three tribes we met. They rely totally on the kindness of others to simply exist. The Nuba are to a degree cut off from the outside world but have unfortunately suffered hardship due to the civil war and religious extremism.

Q: You were privileged enough to have witnessed Nuba wrestling. What were your impressions of this ancient sport?

A: Wrestling is still an integral part of the Nuba’s life, as it was in George Rodger’s day, although now one feels it is more for entertainment rather than village rivalry. Also most of the men of the village at wrestling age had either been conscripted into the civil war or had left the Sudan altogether in search of better wages.

Q: How do you feel having completed such an incredible and challenging journey?

A: It has been amazing, not just photographically but being privileged enough to spend time with Jinx Rodger, George’s wife, and to hear her tales of her time and adventures with George. My appreciation of what he achieved has been heightened by the trip and although he was perhaps the quietest founding member of Magnum his work has certainly stood the test of time.

The full article is now available to read within recent commissions on this site or in OneLife, Landrover’s customer magazine.