Photographs of football stars, vineyards and churches have become the jewel in the crown for a former goldsmith whose new career has resulted in him being shortlisted for an award.
Upon being made redundant from the jewellery firm he was working for which went bust, St Albans man Jeremy Banks started working for himself.
He became a freelance photographer, based in St Albans, and was recently shortlisted for the wine photographer category of the Pink Lady food photographer of the year 2016 competition for his black and white image of a horse.
Although he did not go on to win the category, Jeremy described himself as “over the moon to be shortlisted. I took a photo of the horse in the Loire Valley in France. The horse was used to help plough between the vines, and it is the only horse found doing this job at an independent vineyard.”
His route into starting a photographer career was unusual, as it began after he started taking photos of jewellery “and was told by a professional photographer that if I could do that, I should be able to take photos of everything else”.
Jeremy had spent 13 years in the jewellery trade, doing everything from working out intricate designs with gems and precious metals to manufacturing wedding rings.
He admitted that forging a new career, however, was difficult as “I was the jack of all trades, but master of nothing, and I wanted to do something for myself.”
Jeremy was further guided to that ‘something’ after taking photos of former footballer and England manager Kevin Keegan, playing a bunker shot at a Prostate Cancer UK charity day in Wentworth.
He said: “I love the shot as I managed to capture the ball in the top of the frame with the sand flying out of the bunker, and it looks like Kevin Keegan is pretty pleased with the shot.”
Jeremy, who has set up Jeremy Banks Photography, said it was ‘exciting’ to have recognition for his photography.
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