Hugh Stewart: Five places that changed my life

LONDON

I left New Zealand bound for London in the very early '80s. Motivated entirely by the boredom of a small town (Auckland) and the expectation of something more fulfilling and exciting on the other side of the world. London didn't disappoint. My main motivation at the time was because of the music coming out of UK in the late-'70s, early-'80s. Living there amongst it was inspiring and motivating. It was the middle of the Thatcher years and the miners' strike was on. My first real sense of the adrenalin one could get from photography was when I borrowed a camera and followed the miners' marches on Parliament House. It was dangerous and raw; people were hurting and yet in that totally English way they were unbending and determined. London was and still is the city I probably love the most in the world. I've lived there for protracted periods over the past 40 years and despite not necessarily wanting to live there now am still drawn back regularly.

ISLE OF SKYE, SCOTLAND

While I was living in a squat in north London and beginning to develop an interest in photography my father came to visit and we went on a trip together to the Isle of Skye. The Stewart family had left from there to make their way to New Zealand in the mid-1800s and we were the first of our family to return. One could understand their motivation for leaving due to the bleakness and the isolation but I loved it. I'm always drawn to lowly populated bleak landscapes and to have been there now many times is to understand that feeling, I realise it's ingrained in my DNA and despite the last six generations being in New Zealand, it's impossible to ignore the pull from where you are from.

HAY ON WYE, WALES

When I met my wife, Emma, in London her grandmother was still alive and living in Hereford in the UK. She was from a little town in Wales called Hay on Wye, right at the foot of the Black Mountains. We would go to Hay regularly and often stay in a little pub in the mountains. It's one of my favourite places in the world. It's austere and bleak. There are wild Welsh ponies roaming wild and up above the tree line in the mountains on the fells is without doubt one of the more inspiring landscapes in the world. To truly understand it you have to read On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin, then and only then, will you get an understanding of its allure.

JAMAICA

I've been lucky enough to get to Jamaica both on holidays and for work many times. I love the Jamaicans. You need to be able to stand up for yourself but if you have a decent sense of humour and can laugh at yourself you will survive. There is real poverty but real happiness. People are happy. It's beautiful and for obvious reasons very chilled out.

MARRAKECH

I first went there on a job, arrived late at night and started the next day on location out in the desert to the sun rising over the Atlas Mountains. I love the food, the busy frenetic nature of the Souks, and the smells. There is an overwhelming aroma of fresh mint that seems to permeate everything. Everything is a negotiation. I love the way the old city is a labyrinth of twisted lanes and pathways to hidden walled gardens and roof terraces. There is a perpetual buzz from the markets, from wagon wheels and horses juxtaposed by the absolute serenity of the hidden lives behind carved wooden doors.

Each month from now until June 2018, The Gallery at Hyatt Regency Sydney will be home to exhibitions by leading Canon photographers. The first, Hugh Stewart's exhibition, features subjects such as Geoffrey Rush, Michael Caine, and Asher Keddie. 161 Sussex St, Sydney, 6.30am- 4pm, Monday-Friday. See canon.com.au