What do you do for a living, on the side and for fun?
For the past 2 years I’ve been working as a photo assistant & digital tech to a photographer based in Chelsea, New York. Day-to-day I oversee the general workings of a photo studio in a kind of evolved, non-traditional photo assistant role. On the side, I try and shoot as much as I can - if there’s money in it, at this stage, that’s a bonus. I just finished shooting a run of shows for The Love Show burlesque group. They are a bunch of amazingly talented, underpaid performers working in some of NYC’s grimiest nightclubs. They’ve been generous enough to have me tag along to their performances and shoot them backstage. My main focus right now is to revisit some of my early work and begin the task of retouching it to go up on a new website I’m working on.

For kicks, I try and watch as much Premiership football as I can. I also enjoy playing in a expat footy league on Saturday mornings. Other enjoyments include - the embrace of my lovely broad, Sarah, watching the Yankee’s and trying some of NYC’s great micro-brews. 

What are you working on at the moment?
Work’s been pretty busy for the past 12 months, my boss has been shooting the phallic shapes of some pretty sexy looking orchids for a new book. We’ve been traveling to a lot of huge research facilities out in the middle of nowhere, pretty amazing places full of rare and interesting flora. In my personal life, I’m working on an idea to shoot some moving portraits using some of the Love Show members. I’ve also just finished retouching some shots I did for ‘Grinder Girl Surf Wear’ and my girlfriend (who works as a Lady Gaga impersonator).

What do you like and dislike about what you do?
My full-time work and my general interest in photography are so closely linked and I love that every single day I’m immersed in something relating to image construction. It really helps to keep the creative juices flowing in the right direction. Negative thoughts about my own work and the constant niggling to keep narratives in my work fresh are what I dislike most about what I do. It never seems enough to just enjoy taking pictures when you’re constantly thinking about making something better and critiquing your approach.

Where did you grow up and did this affect your life choices and aspirations?
I’m from an industrial town in the the northwest called Macclesfield. Famous for Joy Division and er, silk. I grew up pretty comfortably as one of eight kids. The usual banter living with five brothers helped give me a pretty thick skin. At school I was a bit of a tit - big swagger with no end product. I coasted through school and university without really applying myself. I knew I wanted to do something hands-on and creative (and not end up like Mr Ian Curtis) but I needed something to really jump out at me, such a spoilt, middle-class curse! I picked up a camera while working as a runner in a London ad agency and began to understand what I really wanted to do with my life. In London, I was surrounded by people doing awe-inspiring stuff everyday and I knew I had to sort my shit out and start applying myself. I moved to NYC in Oct 2009, and up to now I’ve been pretty happy with my decision to pursue a career in photography.

What’s the best advice anyone’s ever given you?
Stop being a c**t Will, it doesn’t suit you. I kind of apply that theory to everything bad in my life. Thanks Dad.

What’s your number one recommendation?
- NYC has got to be the most famous place to grab a slice and my favorite place is Artichoke Pizza on 10th Ave.

- Take the Metro North train up to DIA Beacon in the Hudson Valley is worth a crack. It’s got a great collection of contemporary art.

- I just finished reading Walter Benjamin’s essay titled ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’. That guy pretty much wrote the rule book for photography (fucking epic on so many levels).