Ocean Photo Services

Mike Chambers was born with an eye for images. His appreciation of colour, shape and composition led inevitably to a love of photography, which he took up professionally in the 1990s. Today, his vivid, distinctive works adorn one of Greenwich Market’s most eye-catching stands: Ocean Photo Services.

Mike’s first professional forays into photography were on cruise ships, on which he ran multiple labs and produced tens of thousands of shots per week. Summers saw him turn his lens on sights, seascapes and sun lovers in the Greek Islands, Scandinavia and multiple Mediterranean beauty spots. In winter, his work took him even further afield – to Morocco, Madeira, Tenerife, the Caribbean and even the Far East. However, eight years on the high seas were enough to persuade this Man of Kent to return to his home county and set up shop on dry land.

When pressed on his influences, Mike is clear: ‘my work here is unique to me. My ‘influence’ is just my eye. I grew up in Kent. I photograph a lot around Greenwich and Woolwich, but also in Kent. I’m very selective about what I photograph … primarily landscapes … whatever catches my eye, really.’

And what catches Mike’s eye is given a final flourish by the process he uses – ChromaLuxe.  This high-tech process allows him to reproduce his best shots directly onto aluminium with great clarity and fidelity. Ultimately mounted on glass, the final prints are as eye-catching as they are durable. Buy one of Mike’s distinctive landscapes and the colour and detail will look just the same for decades to come.

Some of Mike’s pieces – perhaps unconventionally framed perspectives on London icons such as Tower Bridge – are icily monochromatic. Others – especially seaside landscapes and painterly close ups of wildflowers – are arrestingly colourful. But all capture fleeting visions that have caught Mike’s uniquely alert eye. Etched titles (like ‘Deconstructed Bluebells’ or ‘Eye, Eye’) and the artist’s signature provide his final flourishes.

Mike does all the printing himself and uses a local framer, a friend, to mount all his pieces. Everything he does is in keeping with this insistence on producing unique, artisanal work in partnership with quality, local craftspeople. It’s an ethos he sees echoed in the creativity of so many fellow Greenwich Market traders, and one of the main reasons he loves trading here.

He believes, ‘what makes Greenwich Market unique is the quality of the crafts. Most of the traders here make things that are unique to them. And it’s their business … it’s not like a Saturday morning flea market where it doesn’t matter if they don’t make money.’

Trading each weekend at Greenwich Market since 2008, Mike’s seen plenty of changes and plenty of strong continuities. His experience of Greenwich Market, getting to know his fellow traders, has been overwhelmingly positive. ‘Most of the other traders are friends – always good for a chat.’ Mike’s also very enthusiastic about ‘Meet the Makers’. A fervent believer in this unique market and its eclectic cast of gifted creators, he would love to see them better known.

When asked what gives him the greatest satisfaction, Mike doesn’t skip a beat: meeting people who love his work! ‘I had a girl at my stall just recently. She said to me, ‘I don’t like your work … I freaking love it!!’ She bought a piece, and Mike naturally responded in kind: ‘Well… thank you for freaking loving my work!’

But Mike knows that appreciation of his work is about more than sales. ‘Every sale is good. Not just financially, but because it means people like my work enough to buy it. However, some people can’t afford it. But if they appreciate the work, I just love talking to them about it!’

Mike has reached a stage of real contentment with his career. He still trades his art for his living, but happily admits, ‘I’m at the stage where I just want to sell my art. I do things like county shows, Grand Designs at The O2, big stage stuff and the like.’

Now a bona fide veteran of Greenwich Market trading, a true fixture amongst its rich creative set, he happily makes the trip from Kent to London every Saturday and Sunday. While he has a mobile studio and expertise across various photographic fields, he’s got no intention of giving up his patch in the beautiful, eclectic, gregarious community of Greenwich Market.