You’re known as a fashion and social documentary photographer. Can you explain your process for shooting the New Gypsies?
This is not fashion; it’s just my eye is the same whatever I do. My fashion work is also documentary in style. From a creative point-of-view, I grew up in a sort of interesting landscape. In Dorset, the landscape is cherished and romanticized by the middle-class. Britain is still a country of class – It’s not like the states. Very much part of the British identity is its landscape – the Englishman’s garden. I think it’s interesting that these people from poor cities and urban people who have come out of the cities are subverting that landscape and that kind of chocolate box identity of the middle and upper class. I think one of the traveler’s was saying to me how she’s got the biggest garden in the world…

I read the New Gypsies embrace modern technology. Doesn’t this counteract the idea of a simple life free from the trappings of urban society? The point is it’s all about contrast. They are punks in the landscape – anarchy and beauty. 18th century technology combined with 21st century like solar power and leaving no carbon footprint. They are combining the best of both worlds; they are looking into the future as well as the past. Yes, they are modern people like you and me – that’s the twist. They are even on Facebook. They live under the stars and moon and connect with the cosmos. The horse eat the grass and when it’s gone they move to the next location, hence the cycle is complete…it’s probably the most sustainable community in Western culture. They’re not setting out to do anything from a sort of higher ground. They’re not trying to change the world; they’re just getting on with it.