Usually when I have an idea for portraits I experiment with myself as the subject. I often take days to think an idea through and do not like wasting the time of others.

When I lived near Cambridge, a friend had a ruined windmill in their garden – I felt that it had potential for a shoot sometime.

The opportunity came when a magazine asked me to do a three page photo series of “nudes”. They assumed that I would be using female models, but as they were not specific, I thought I would use male nudes. The problem was that I did not know any male models in Cambridge and I did not have time to ask agencies in London, so I did a test series using myself. I also did a series of more conventional female nudes as a back-up.

The picture editor was amused at my self portrait idea so they ran my “self” series in the magazine

I used a 5×4 inch Linhof camera with a self timer and scrambled into position – I tended not to look at the camera, not out of shyness, but I was working alone and could only compose simple shots without recording my expression.

Image Size 29.5 x 20 cm

With Frame 39 x 30 cm

Price – euro 1,100