Reach for the skies
Photo of the week 07.12.24
Sat here thinking of a name for the image and thinking about the edits I’ve done this week. I thought I’d share what keeps me editing, engaged and wanting to make unique photography, after all these years.
So many questions can be asked, why do you bother? The Why… and the reason.
REACH FOR THE SKIES
On this day, there really wasn’t much of a sky to talk about, but something was drawing me to this tree, I knew in the edit exactly what I was going to do, a simple composition, the tree in the middle and slightly expose to the right. I wanted soft, I wanted mute and layered flatness, stripes of texture. I’ve found this way of seeing has become a go to, why? because I just love to be lost in that romance, a dream. Reaching for the skies.
What is my WHY?
This is a question my good friend has asked many people in his time making podcasts, he even has an ebook , WHY: A SKETCHBOOK OF LIFE a must download.
To answer the question Why do I love photography and the hours and hours of editing involved in what I do. It’s quite simple really, to put it in one sentence, I become me, the real me, a mind clear and full of excitement for life, creativity and to create something new in the world.
I could certainly go on to try and come up with something intellectual and sophisticated, but honestly, it boils down to a very simple realisation: I must stop being what others want me to be or doing what others want me to do. Instead, I need to become fully focused on what I love, what I see, and what I genuinely want to create. When I contemplate the question of what keeps me immersed in editing, the answer lies in my ultimate goal as a photographer — to bring something entirely new into this world.
Every single time I open Lightroom, I feel a rush of excitement that sparks a memory of the very first time I felt that same thrill. It was back in 1990, during my first year at art college. That memory remains so vividly etched in my mind; I was led into the photography room, which was quite small and intimate, where a few of us gathered to have our very first day photographs taken. There, I met a young man named Mike Parker, who is sadly no longer with us, as well as a teacher named Anna Carvel. We had our profile pictures snapped and then lined up with eager anticipation to receive our Praktica cameras! WOW! I still recall the thrill of getting a roll of black and white Ilford film and wielding that hefty camera with its rather stiff 50mm lens, instructed to venture out and capture images around the college and town. I really must search for those long-lost contact strips; they contained the nascent moments of some of the worst photography ever captured, and that is no exaggeration! Yet, this didn’t concern me in the slightest! I was utterly captivated by the day and the time spent with a Patterson tank, as well as working with the enlarger. I remember not wanting to leave, and I went through a huge amount of photographic paper without a care. Mike never once suggested that I shouldn’t waste it or that I should pay for it! I think he could see that a spark of obsession was born that day. This is precisely why I continue to find joy in editing and always will.
Something profoundly special happened on that day, and I sometimes kick myself for not pursuing it further when I had the chance at such a young age. It's my only regret in life, so I suppose that’s not too catastrophic, but I also believe it’s never too late to follow your dreams and turn what you love into a part of your everyday.
