Born in 1968 in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, Simon first picked up a camera at the age of 11 and attempted to photograph birds and other animals, along with his family and friends. However the combination of a cheap 110 camera and the cost of getting films developed at the local chemist, soon put him off the hobby. In fact it wasn't until he was 22 and serving with the Queens Dragoon Guards in Germany, did he once again develop a passion for photography. This time it was an advert on TV, for the new Nikon F401 that inspired him to pursue the hobby once again. Shortly afterwards he discovered that the Regimental Photographer was due to retire, and armed with his new Nikon he successfully applied for the job, a position which he held for 6 years. Having built up a vast experience in almost every aspect of photography and Darkroom practice. In 1991 Simon was offered a job by the photo Editor of a national newspaper, after hundreds of his photographs found their way into both local and national newspapers during the Gulf War of the previous year. At that time however, Simon was unable to accept the offer due to his military commitments. Upon leaving the Army in 1992, he was forced to sell all of his beloved Photographic equipment, in order to pay off a number of debts, which he had incurred during his recent divorce. In fact it took him another 3 years before he could afford another camera, a second hand Nikon F401s. After a few menial jobs, and with the help of his wife Anna, Simon eventually founded his own IT company, designing, installing and maintaining Computer networks and systems for a range of companies around South Wales. However, the company floundered in 2005, leaving Simon to make a quick decision about his future. Having travelled around the Middle East with his family and his trusty old Nikon, Simon decided to take the plunge and embark on a Photographic career, so in September 2006 he enrolled on a BA (Hons) Photojournalism course at Swansea institute of Higher education, where he is currently completing his degree. Most of Simon's previous work was done using traditional darkroom methods, where he’d print his favored Delta 3200iso negatives to 12x16 or 20x24 on Ilford Warm tone Fiber based paper, before Selenium toning the final print to enrich the tones and improve the archival properties of the print. However, Simon has now moved over almost entirely to Digital, and uses the latest 12.8Mp Nikons and Professional editing software to produce the same stunning results. Although Simons Equipment has moved on since his early days, you’ll still find his trusty old Nikon F401 tucked into his camera bag alongside his D3’s and Mamiya RZ67proII Studio System.