Stewart Randall is headlining the Folio Freedom Tour; taking our Fine Art Albums out on the road and travelling around the U.K. to meet all of you, and talk about everything photography. Since we were sadly unable to secure a Folio Tour Pal for Glasgow [due to the Saturday scheduling Stewart’s photographer friends in the area are all already busy with shoots] I thought that I would post instead about the main man himself. After all, everyone who is coming along to the tour and is new to Folio may be wondering ‘who is this guy travelling around the U.K. in a bright blue camper van, armed with albums and a camera?’ If this is the case – put your curiosity to rest, and read on!
Stewart has always loved photography, from getting his very first camera at 13 years old (and subsequently turning his mother’s airing cupboard into a dark room) he became hooked. His camera went everywhere with him – and Stewart still tends to always keep one in close proximity today. The passion remained a hobby up until Stewart’s own wedding day when he realised what an art wedding photography is, and he became inspired to leave behind his IT Engineer day job to become a professional photographer and take this art to the next level.
Stewart didn’t take long to act upon his decision, as soon as he returned from his honeymoon the adventure began… Driven from the start: Stewart constantly strives to be the best and pushes himself to keep developing and adapting his personal style, and technical ability. An expert in digital post-production, Stewart often teaches other photographers on industry-leading courses and contributes articles to the industries top publications. The fact that the Fuji X-Pro1 distracted him for most of the afternoon when it arrived in the office for the tour goes to show how much of a technophile he is [read more about the day Stewart and the X-Pro1 found each other here: The Tour Tech].
Stewart became frustrated at the lack of high quality albums available in the U.K., he constantly found himself ordering from companies in America, New Zealand, and all around the globe. From this frustration, an idea and a company were born: Folio Albums. Stewart wanted to create and provide albums with materials chosen by a professional photographer, for professional photographers, that were U.K sourced as well as environmentally friendly. The albums we make today aim to show off our clients’ images in all their glory, serving as a work of art inside and out that can be enjoyed by future generations.
Stewart now spends most of his time in the office, trying to make Folio Albums even better than it is now, and making sure that every album we send out is of the highest possible standard. He does, however, love to get back behind the lens whenever and wherever possible. In the style of the other Folio Tour Pals, I asked Stewart to provide an image that he really loved – just so you could all see an example of his work before going out to meet him on the road.
This image embodies everything that Stewart tries to get across to the viewer when he takes his photographs. Capturing moments that are on the one hand exciting and unexpected, but are also filled with emotion, exuding atmosphere, and undeniably beautiful.
Stewart told me that:
“This photograph was taken at Hampton Court House, an old school with quite a shabby chic look to the interior. The time of day when I took this shot was completely perfect, the light streaming through the window was beautiful and when it was coupled with the background the resulting image was gorgeous. Anna and Jamie were an amazing couple to work with, throughout the shoot we wanted to create something different and unique. This was my favourite shot of the day, all of the elements of the photograph worked together to create something classic and timeless.”