You could be forgiven for thinking the salt pans of Gozo were created millions of years ago by meteorites or perhaps they are the remnants of an alien structure. Visually they are immediately ancient, belonging to a history that we couldn’t possibly have learned about at school. The islands of Malta are rich in this same history, one that attracted countless civilisations over time. At the heart of the Mediterranean, Malta is studded with ancient fortifications that illustrate the strategic importance of its location for militaries and trade alike.

I have wanted to visit Petra for many years. It’s one of those places that is immediately recognisable by your friends and yet the same people might struggle to say exactly where it is. It has been the backdrop to movies and covets history from many of the major civilisations this planet has witnessed. It’s an ancient city carved into the sandstone mountains and who’s monuments have stored the treasure of pharaohs or welcomed the Greek and then Roman empires. All of this is framed within a jagged mountain landscape that is only made accessible by enormous canyons.

My first job in photography was working in a professional darkroom, printing other people’s photos. I later created my own darkroom in my parents garage and would spend hours in there perfecting my photos. I’ve always enjoyed the end to end process of photography, the pre-planning, the styling and makeup, collaborating with a model, lighting and of course the photography. But as soon as the shoot was over I would rush to process the film and then print off a few photos. It wasn’t uncommon for me to open the door to my darkroom to discover it was 3 am in the morning.

I found myself in the lobby of a hotel on the outskirts of Salt Lake City in Utah waiting for a chap called Dmitriy, that classic American name, to take me to meet Jenn, the lady who would be the model for our trip. I would later establish that Dmitriy was of Greek origin but born in the Ukraine. I love to travel and I truly enjoy meeting new people, but this was definitely out there, even for me. I was alone in Utah and about to meet two total strangers for a photography tour that specialises in art nude in the desert, how did that happen?

A few weeks back I got an email from work to say that I had a lot of holiday allowance left to use, the second most in the business and we are 750+ people. Use it or lose it! This was timed with me chatting with a model who I had worked with earlier in the year and she was planning a trip abroad, a photo tour of salt lakes and the Moab desert.

I make no secret of the fact that I like contrast in my images. It’s always been a part of my photography since I first picked up a camera. Today when preparing for a shoot I often think about clothes and backgrounds knowing that I want that contrasting look.

I used to work in photography professionally, but today I work in software development. At first glance these two worlds seem very disparate. But in fact there is a lot of synergy, or at least there is for me.