NotOfThisEarth is a name I landed upon at age 15 when trying to come up with an idea for a very heavy and groove filled downtuned metal band!
It stuck.
The name remained with me as a drawing of a logo and an idea for quite a while until I discovered web design in 1998. I bought the domain name then and have used it ever since. It has been a handle for numerous social media accounts and the name of my past photography efforts.
It remains with me for good reason.
When I read and listen about the world and the awful things humans can do to each other and the planet I often shake my head and realise that I do not feel hugely connected to the majority of what goes on. Rather I often think that my mindset is very much at odds with the norm, it is Not Of This Earth!
Also, I just like the phrase.
I was born in the year that Elvis finally left the building, Star Wars graced the silver screen and the Apple II computer first went on sale. My dad is an artist so I grew up with art all round me and explored as many different avenues of creation as I possibly could; from drawing and painting to sculpting, film, music and photography. I have my dear old grandmother to thank for buying me my first proper camera and an enthusiastic GCSE lecturer to thank for letting me loose on a wonderful, gadget filled darkroom. Seeing my first photos developing really was love at first sight!
I have travelled quite a bit but not half as much as I would like to and I love meeting and talking to new people as much as I love finding a beautifully empty beach or forest to wander through.
The Dave Matthews Band, Black Sabbath, Bon Iver, Lamb, Loathe, Korn, Daft Punk and Pearl Jam are regularly found playing on my headphones. Music is the most essential thing to me these days. I play guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and somewhat sing though mostly my own songs as I can never quite bring myself to learn others work.
I love super heroes, fantasy, science fiction, Role Playing Games and will always have a soft spot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Books I read these days tend to be more fact than fiction though classics such as Dracula and Lord of the Rings are well loved and treasured memories. In truth, however I grew up reading more comic books than anything else!
If someone were to feed me my ideal food I’d have either fish, Thai, salad or a really good burger. That being said, a donut or a lemon meringue pie wouldn’t go amiss either! If that were to be followed up by watching the Lost Boys or one of the many other vampire films I have adored through the years wouldn’t hurt either.
So that’s pretty much me. I love life, I am enthusiastic about what I do and I give 100% to everything I commit to.