I was commissioned to photographer Danish ceramicist, Marie Torbensdatter Hermannsher, by the now folded magazine ‘InsideOut’. This shot of her was taken in a rather posh shop called ‘Egg’. Marie was wearing a yellow silk dress which had been designed by the owner of the shop and was a little ‘over the top’. I waited until she had changed back into her own clothes, before asking her to stand by the ceramic beakers that she had made for the store.

James started his photographic career in 1997 after studying at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and completing a BA in photography at the London College of Printing.

His first job was for ‘BluePrint’ magazine, photographing a new bar that had opened in Leeds called ‘Bar Norman’. He had to beg, borrow and steal an RZ camera kit to do the shoot, but succeeded in selling pictures to over 12 different magazines, including the New York Times. Encouraged by this success, he continued working for design and lifestyle magazines doing interiors and portraits and was soon receiving work from design and architectural firms offering better-paid commissions.

But in 2004 he was rushed into hospital with a twisted bowel, a condition that proved to be nearly fatal. It took another eighteen months before James had fully recovered and could begin re-building his career.

Photographer since 1997, EPUK member since 2006.

See more work by James Winspear