In the Dubai desert, after hard days of judging the Hamdan International Photography Award.
About Tom
Photographer, author, artist. Recipient of the Hamdan International Photography Award Content Creator Award 2019.
Author, photographer and picture editor of over 40 books on photography including the acclaimed Photography – the definitive visual history (now in its 2nd edition) and the best-selling Digital Photographer’s Handbook published in twenty languages and sold coming up to a million copies in seven editions.
My Digital Photography Masterclass was named The Crème De La Crème of the Top Digital Imaging Books of 2008 by Shutterbug Magazine and Best How-to Book of 2008 by the Library Journal. Other books include How to Photograph Absolutely Everything, Digital Photography Masterclass and Fundamentals of Photography, with overall sales of well over 2 million.
In 1998 I won the Thomas Cook Award for Best Illustrated Travel Book for my photography for the Marco Polo Expedition (Hodder & Stoughton) that pioneered the land route from Europe to China via Central Asia. The work was shown at a major solo exhibition at the prestigious Zamana Gallery, London.
In 2005-6, I presented two ground-breaking six-part series A Digital Picture of Britain and Britain in Pictures for BBC4. I also made an award-winning eight-part series Scene City Singapore for Channel News Asia, Singapore in 2009 (Bronze at the New York Film & TV Awards) for which I wrote the script and presented the show.
I was technical editor of Camera magazine, editor of Photography magazine, picture editor of The Sunday Correspondent Magazine and have been correspondent to numerous photography magazines.
For over twelve years, I held the post of Senior Lecturer in photographic practice at the University of Westminster, sharing my knowledge of, and experience in, photography, digital photography, journalism and design to undergraduate and masters level students as well as leading the BA photography and MA photographic journalism courses.
I was a pioneer of academic links to the Former Soviet Central Asia, leading a Know How Fund project to modernise journalism training in Kyrgyzstan that included curriculum revision and the creation of a radio station. With my partner Wendy Gray, I was responsible for positioning the university to create the multi-million dollar Westminster International University in Tashkent through building relationships with the very top of the political élite.
I was a founding member of Wandsworth Photography Co-operative (now The Photo Coop, and was, for a time, a Patron). I am a founding member of the World Photographic Academy of the Sony World Photography Awards and was for many years the photography chair for the Royal Geographical Society’s Expedition Workshops.
I have juried major competitions such as Czech Press Photo, Sony World Photography Award (for which I initiated the Student Focus component), Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Hamdan International Photography Award.
Now, I am writing and designing my own e-books and print-on-demand books on photography and other subjects.
In 2019, I received the prestigious HIPA Content Producer award.
For nearly 40 years I’ve been able to use much of the best photography equipment in the world. For the last eleven years, I’ve settled down to using only Sony cameras such as the exquisite RX-1, and the A7 series, with the A7RMIV the best camera ever.
My most used lens is the Zeiss 50mm/1.4, followed closely by the Sony 12-24mm G, then the Sony 24-70/2.8GM. Another favourite is the A-mount 135/1.8 lens.
And it has to be said my iPhone 8+ is a much-used camera that happens to make phone calls and can search the internet.
Awards
