I have been photographing for as long as I can remember... during the age of film and before the wonder of the Internet. It was harder to learn anything, but especially photography back then. Most of your information and knowledge came from magazines or books ... remember them? Those things with 'leaves' made from a wood-based material called 'paper'?
Your progress as a photographer involved a vast expenditure of time, effort and money, mainly because, in those days you had to wait for your film to be developed and printed before you could assess the quality of your images. For those who were meticulous enough to be taking notes as they shot, learning progressed in leaps and bounds. For the rest of us, trial-and-error eventually gave us a better understanding of how light works and what we must do to capture its nuances on film during different times of the day. One thing we definitely didn't have was the luxury of checking on-camera if the image we captured was not blurry, not under or over exposed or if the composition was ineffective. We definitely didn't have the ability to shoot an endless series of images in the hope that, at least one, would be a "keeper". Patience and memory were virtues that every photographer had to possess. If you were a wedding photographer courage was also essential because the last thing you would want for your business was to mess-up a once-in-a-lifetime photoshoot.
On occasion you would come across another, more experienced photographer who shared the same passion as you and who was willing to pass on some of his knowledge. You stuck to this rare individual and valued his/her criticism and advice. It was a time when competition in the field of photography was not so great and one's photographic impact and success was mostly local.
Today, technological advances in communication and digital photography have allowed many aspiring young photographers to make their presence known to the world. I don't say this in a negative way. After all this is progress. Not everyone of course has what it takes to become a well known photographer. Talent, technical know-how, imagination, creativity, perseverance and yes, opportunity are fundamental requirements but today you also have to have "an internet footprint" if you are to escape your local boundaries.
So it is that, I too now venture into this digital global community. Unfortunately people devote so little time to reading anything more that a few bytes these days and although it seems video and vlogging is the easiest way to get your ideas across nowadays, I am not a video person.
I, however, am a lover of the written word. Many times when in the past I would turn to pen and paper to write down my musings in an attempt to clarify in my own mind my thoughts. This blog is one such attempt.
So what is the purpose of this blog?
to create an online presence that shares ideas, thoughts and techniques relating to photography.
to write down ideas for projects and possibly go through the evolutionary process behind each project. These could be conceptual fine-art projects or landscape or any sort of photographic endeavour worth talking about.
to explore and showcase the work of other photographers that might be a source of inspiration for the rest of us.
where possible include interviews of other photographers in order to get an insight into their style and method.
I don't know if anyone is going to find it interesting or useful enough to stick with it but it is not something that I can know unless I try it. Let's see how it goes...