I use cameras and image processing to create images for many reasons. Viewing these image galleries you'll see examples of:
- candid photography (fast, from the hip and/or uncomposed)
- formal photography (posed, arranged, aware - including portraits and wedding photography)
- manipulated images (layered, tweaked, trickery; both digital and film)
- culture photography (places and activities at home and abroad including art and serial photos)
- the natural world (flora and fauna)
A Short Ramble:
Cameras: the little rooms that capture passing light, holding it captive. I enjoy the tools but more importantly: finding the moment and then the process to bring something new/different to light. Catching your eye, holding it captive, if only for a split second of some inner recognition/recollection.
I don't always know where my photography is going but the journey is exciting.
Technical Stuff:
As a teenager I read a Cartier-Bresson quote which influenced my thinking on technolog: "Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Although I enjoy a good tool as much as the next person I believe there is much more to a good photo than the technology that helped produce it. I've always managed with a few lenses and sometimes with battered cameras. Some of my most exciting photos were made with those cameras. Whatever works....
I've used a variety of cameras over the years. I bought my first SLR, a Russian Zenit which leaked light, in 1971. In '72 I moved on up to a Pentax which I had for a quite a while. At almost the same time I purchased darkroom equipment. Cameras came and went: an early 'Made in Occupied Japan' Konica; a Poloroid SX-70 (a favorite), a newer Konica SLR. Eventually I got my first Nikon SLR. When digital cameras hit the scene I bought an early, used Kodak from a friend. Although the resolution was tiny (1 MP I recollect) it was a blast to use. From there I moved to a Nikon's Coolpix series. I loved that the body could twist so I could shoot at different angles/heights. And finally I got a Nikon D70, the camera I now use (and it's getting quite battered).
I enjoy digital processing more than working in a darkroom. I don't miss the stench of chemicals. (Once I worked in a darkroom that seemed very hot; we discovered that the furnace was on the verge of exploding. Another time a store next door caught fire and all I could think of were the chemicals that I and my neighbours had in our studios. Scary.) Now I use Mac computers, PhotoShop and Lightroom. Plus whatever printers (I lean towards Canon these days) and materials I can get my hands on. Perhaps the use of so many machines is why I've started physically working with my images lately. Cutting, building, glueing, bending....
Catagorizing photos can be a daunting process. My images have been sorted to reflect some basic themes but if you get lost refer to Site Index to locate the basic categories.
