Thursday 13 January 2011

Marmite

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Don't worry, this is not going to be a posting about the most hated traditional British food....

For some time now I have been finding my self drawn to take images which some years ago, in fact in some cases only months ago I would have never considered taking and to be honest if I had seen them as examples of other photographers work, I would have had very strong opinions against them.

I seem to be on a more artistic path and at first was very concerned that people would not like these new images. I think as photographers we all worry people wont like our images, and as a professional photographer it could lead to a disaster.

Why I have started to head down this path I have no idea, I seem to be looking at more and more images from other photographers. Photographic books have been like a magnet to me since I was a teenager, but more and more I seem to be looking at diverse types of images.

My love of the outdoors and the natural world and the way I combine this with my passion for photography seems to be fueling this artistic quest. Looking for new ways to capture the landscape in a way that inspires me is giving me a lot of pleasure at the moment.

For many years as a photographer I have worked to tight deadlines and in some ways been forced to take pictures that had little appeal for me. Maybe I have always had this desire to satisfy my own personal vision, maybe I have just reached a point in my life were I need to look at things in a different way.

The sheer joy of standing behind the tripod and simply waiting for the right light has become a massive part of my life and I find myself constantly looking for ways to slow down the photographic process. Many of the images I see in print and on the web seem to reflect the desire to get a picture quickly at all costs, maybe going back to film is the way for me to go, possibly, only time will tell.

The lure of going back to my photographic roots is very strong, but in the end I still need to make a living as a photographer, so digital imaging seems to be the only viable direction. Choices Choices.... The taking of pictures seems to have become so important for so many people, it seems a shame so few of these images ever get printed, maybe the speed and ease of image capture removes the connection with the image we enjoyed as film photographers.

Long gone is the joy of waiting for the Velvia to arrive back from the lab and the sheer joy of viewing those 5x4 images on the light box.

Many possible directions to consider both on a technical and an artistic level. So why the title Marmite..... Very simple I have come to accept that in the quest to satisfy my own artistic interests, I will take pictures I love and others hate or simply don't get!!

What is important to me is that the viewer has an opinion. You either love it or hate it but we all have an opinion on Marmite..... I now have a complete section in our stock library called MARMITE, in it goes all the stuff I am not sure about, one day it may form a book or produce good print sales, or it may just get deleted. Who knows, what I do know is I am loving the quest to find out just who I am artistically speaking.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and please feel free to chip in anytime you like.

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