“I’ve always known I’d be a photographer... and it’s still the only job I’ve ever had. It’s opened a lot of doors for me to photograph royalty, presidents, rock stars, athletes, CEO’s and thousands of ‘normal’ people. Prints of my fine art images hang on collectors’ walls and my books are found on coffee tables around the world. But after more than 35 years, I’m grateful to be a survivor. This is a tough business to be in.

“But I’m sometimes asked– after all these years, what’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever photographed? And I have to go back– way back– to a time before I turned professional for the answer. Back 35+ years ago to the 1980’s when I photographed the Royal Family, before I was ever paid to be a photographer, when I took photos for the pure enjoyment of it. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it since.

“The images in these galleries are from a simpler time– the days of film photography and manual focus cameras, before the internet, social media, and before digital cameras and smartphones made photography so much easier. Back to the days when the Princess of Wales was regularly on the front page of every British newspaper, when William and Harry were both little boys, when a phone was something that sat on your desk or hung on your wall, and when you shared photos by passing prints around to friends, not with strangers on a website. Times have changed more than anyone who didn’t live through the 80’s can ever imagine. But fortunately, these images can remind again us of a time that once was… and is now no longer.”

Michael Hudson, photographer