For Dan there is a clear demarcation between his commissioned and personal photography. Each bring their own challenges and are often held to be the antithesis of each other, but for Dan it is the very nature of these differences that stimulate him and he brings something from each of these practices to his image making.

One of the strongest impulses in his personal work is the idea of the first take. Once something has caught his attention, Dan frames it up and takes just two or three shots and if it hasn't worked then the moment has passed and he won't return to it. A supreme colourist, he brings together the seemingly random into an image that the casual observer may have missed.