Photography is about creating art
ABOUT ME
I am a travel photographer and photo artist. I love to explore every nook and cranny of anywhere I visit and I am always looking out for something unusual or unique, interesting and intriguing. Half the challenge is the initial taking of the photo, looking for something that catches my attention, and trying to capture the perfect composition. The other half is post processing, the tweaking and twisting along with my imagination to convey what I felt when when I took the shot.
My images have been shot here, there and everywhere, mainly in cities across Europe from Kyiv to Seville and many in between. I also create images in my own surroundings here in the West of England around the World Heritage city of Bath.
More about me as a Q&A
WHAT CAMERA AND LENSES DO YOU USE?
I'm currently shooting on my favourite camera, the Sony a7R III, along with these lenses:
Sony 24-105mm f4
WHAT EDITING PROGRAMME DO YOU USE?
I use Adobe Lightroom as my starting point and then transfer to Adobe Photoshop. I also use a number of plug-ins in Photoshop. These include:
The TK9 Plugin from Tony Kuyper Photography
Zone System Express from Blake Rudis
Palette Effects from Blake Rudis
DO YOU HAVE AN ARTISTIC VISION WHEN YOU GO SHOOTING?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Quite often the artistic vision comes when I am processing. A couple of months ago, Bath Abbey was lit up in the colours of Ukraine. I wanted an image of this and had in mind when I was shooting what the colours would be like in the finished image. In this sense, my artistic vision was there at the start. Last autumn I was at Burnham on Sea where there is a wooden lighthouse. During the afternoon and into sunset, I must have taken over two hundred photos of a number of scenes there. It was only once I was behind my computer that the artistic vision started to come out. I have one in black and white from the afternoon and another from just after sunset that I feel bring out what I felt about the scene.
DO YOU PLAN WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO SHOOT?
I tend to shoot wherever I am. However, I do plan to some extent. As an example, when I returned to the UK in August 2021, I was in London for a month or so. Having purchased the Case filter set (highly recommended) I wanted to take a lot of long exposure images along the River Thames. So I planned out a number of days to go out early or late, to take a number of the iconic views and scenes along the Thames in central London. Some I have processed, but there are still others waiting to see the light of day.
On occasions though, I will go for a long walk and see what I can see and take images.
Planning is good, but spontaneity quite often leads to a better image. There is quite a good maxim when out shooting - always look behind you! You might be all set for taking what you think is an amazing scene, but in fact behind you or to the side there is something equally or more captivating.
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC WORKFLOW WITH PROCESSING?
If I think of how I processed images a couple of years ago compared to now, it is quite different. Two aspects stand out. The first is before starting to process I now have more of an idea of what I want the image to look like in the end. Before I would tend to process in slightly mechanical way - up with the shadows- down with the highlights etc. Also I would tend to be somewhat global and probably over saturated things. The second, relating back to the first is I now process in a more subtle way and build the image up slowly.
THOUGHTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
For photographers we seem to be at something of an impasse. If you had thousands of followers in the good times of Instagram, Facebook Fliker etc you are probably fine. If you have a few thousand like me you are probably suffering, unless you pay. The algorithms have changed so much that hardly anyone - even from your followers see what you post. This is disheartening as you feel you are getting better at photography, but your reach and presence diminishes. At the moment it seems like something you feel like you have to do, but the rewards are much less than used to be the case. Perhaps there needs to be some new thing for photographers…
DO YOU MAKE A LIVING FROM PHOTOGRAPHY?
The simple answer is no, but I’d like to.
OTHER LIKES?
Football: I am a life long Chelsea fan, since 1967 (yikes)! Favourite all-time player Gianfanco Zola. Best moment Didier Drogba’s penalty in the Champion League final 2012.
Favourite Voice - Stephen Fry - a national treasure.
Favourite bed time listening - Anything by Bill Bryson
Favourite film - North by Northwest
Favourite musician - Bruce Springsteen
Favourite current podcast - The Rest is Politics