1954-2010

Dan was born in Forest Town, Mansfield. He studied Graphic Design at Mansfield College of Art in the 1970’s, then went on to Leeds Polytechnic to study Fine Art. Dan has exhibited installations at galleries in London, Sheffield, Newcastle and Leeds over the years. Dan has also had a selection of his photographs exhibited at galleries in Cardiff, Leicester, Bedford and Bristol. The image ‘Tower Bridge’ was used to promote an  exhibition in Nottingham of his work, a year following his death. This image was short listed for the Landscape Photographer of the Year prize in 2008 (Take a View, The National Theatre).

Dan photographed Nottingham for over four years and had intended to exhibit his City Fractions series.  He had a fascination for photographing the city, often late at night or in the early hours, in order to capture the cityscapes, generally without people in his images. He would say that he had no specific agenda for his photographs; rather he took images which had a certain resonance for him. In doing so, Dan constructed a series of images that not only built up a general impression of the city, but also make a statement on an individual basis. 

Dan was interested in portraying the mundane, a bus stop, a billboard or shop window, but his finished images would demand that we look again at them and see something different. Incongruous images fascinated him and he had the ability to freeze an image in order that it should be contemplated. He had a passion for detail; he felt people often bypass the ordinary, or the mundane. He was a prolific recorder of landscapes – urban and natural – imbuing them with a heightened sense of reality. This imagery was captured in his unique style, causing the viewer to look differently at the city. 

While his portraits are sensitive, warm and affectionate, other pictures acknowledge the work of important 20th century photographers such as Eugene Atget (early urban scenes) and Robert Mapplethorpe (flowers). Dan's work is beautiful, sparse and self controlled. Able to find beauty in the harshest of environments, his work nevertheless shows a steady, discerning eye that allows the integrity of the image to dominate.