He began his working life in Tunbridge Wells, Kent then for the rest of his life in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
His father had brought him into contact with prominent figures in the world of art such as John Ruskin, and he resented having to prostitute his art taking photographs of holiday-makers.
His business in Skinner Street rooted him to Whitby and the Eskdale valley but, by photographing the ordinary people that he knew well, he built up a most complete and revealing picture of a late Victorian town, and the people who lived and worked there.
