The faces of Sri Lanka

Since the start of the year, I've been travelling around Sri Lanka with fellow designer Kat Summers.

Touted as one of the most beautiful journeys in the world, we took the train from Colombo to the Hill Country (with some tickets costing as little as 15p), stopping off at Hatton, Nuwara Eliya, Ella, and then travelling on the south. Wandering around local markets, hiking to temples above the clouds, and watching the world go by from an open train door, I was in awe of how colourful this country is.

Women in bright coloured saris pluck tea leaves in lush green plantations. Red, blue, and yellow Tuk Tuks weave in and out of trucks adorned with hand painted lettering. And every colour of fruit and vegetable is sold on streets lined with a rainbow of painted houses. My camera never left my side.

But of all the photographs I've taken here, it's the ones of the Sri Lankan people that have captured the spirit of this island - and been the most fun to shoot.

Shooting with a 35mm prime lens means getting up close to the people I photograph. Whilst this often foils any plans of lurking in the shadows - capturing people unaware - it also means I end up talking to the people on the other side of my camera. The Sri Lankans I met were incredibly welcoming and as inquisitive about my life as I am of theirs.

Hindu woman, Nuwara Eliya

Street life in Sri Lanka

Market seller, Nuwara Eliya

Man with a hat on in Hatton

Women outside the Electrical Board, Adam's Peak

Market seller, Kandy