A Gentleman Discusses Photography
No matter when or where I go out with my camera, I seldom have a definite plan in mind. I’ll go do a definite area or location around the world, but rarely do I know the exact images I want to capture.
I might go to a particular area in a city and photograph an interesting element or two. Then, I take time to view the photographs and think how the area could be captured differently. What could I do differently to create sensational photographs? What perspectives could be more interesting? Should I be higher? Lower? Stand on my head?
When I return to an area I’ve already visualized in my mind the photos I want to take. I look at the scenes differently and with a new set of photographer’s eyes. I could return a third or fourth time and repeat the same process.
Long story short, if a scene or particular area interests me enough, I’m on a mission to photograph the area in a unique way. Rarely am I satisfied with the first images I’ve captured. How can I photograph the familiar in a new and interesting way; this is what I’m thinking when I’m on location. This is true whether I’m in an urban area like London or amongst inspiring landscapes like Morocco.
I always call photography my therapy. When I’m out with my camera, it’s just the two of us and the world’s issues go away. I get “lost” with my camera. Being in tune with my surroundings is important for quality images.
Whether it’s beautiful architecture or rolling landscapes I’m photographing, it doesn’t matter. Photography is almost like an escape for me. What I’m trying to do is discover something new wherever I am. The goal is to see the familiar in new and different ways.
Instead of being eye level, I’m looking up or laying on the ground or laying on the ground on my back looking up with my camera. Obviously, by approaching photography the way I do, you see the world differently. You also see a whole appreciation for the world around you which we often take for granted.
And that’s what photography is for me – discovery, and this is true no matter where I am with my camera.
I’m looking for lines that lead to a new perspective and creating some sort of depth.
I continue my journey in photography because it’s something I love to do. Photography has allowed me the opportunity to be taken out of my comfort zone. Photography helps me learn about the world around me and cultures foreign to my own. More than this, photography has given me the chance to learn more about myself and has helped me grow as a person.