Obviously, I'm strongly against copying anyone's work, integrity comes only from creativity and originality – anything else is simply theft. That said, we can't help being occasionally influenced and inspired by others, sometimes subconsciously, sometimes with intent and in this instance, the subject, ceramicist Matt Sherratt, had expressed a great admiration for the work of Phil Sayer and in particular, his incredible shots in the the book Studio, Ceramicists and their studios, published by Ruthin Craft Centre.

So, with Phil Sayer's work in mind, I shot Matt in a similar style. Clearly, I'm many, many years away from having even a fraction of the skill and expertise of Phil Sayer, my photograph is just a poor facsimile but I think the basic feel is kind of there – let's call it a homage to him and hope he's not in any way offended by my efforts.