Pacific Wonder
My best photographs are made when I am in a “zone,” so to speak. I am oblivious to the many distractions around me and am in tune with my subject matter. In the landscape, I am in touch with nature. I can feel the crisp air, smell the scents of nature, hear every sound from the rushing water to the birds chirping. It is an experience. The images created are a reflection of the experience. Hopefully they create a visual and emotional experience for the viewer.
Technique plays a very important part in creating the visual experience, however it is not something that I am constantly thinking about. It has become a part of me. It just happens. Otherwise it would possibly get in the way of the creative experience. In the formative years of my photographic career I spent many hours honing technique. I studied. I photographed. I printed in the darkroom. I photographed more. I read more. I studied more. I worked harder. I made mistakes. I tried to learn from my mistakes. Photography slowly became a part of me.
I continue to read and study. I love working with other photographers. But when I photograph, I photograph. The technique just happens. I don’t question what I do. I just do it. I often am amazed at the results. When I listen to my inner self, good things happen. My own feelings are evident in the images created in this manner. It is as though I am opening up my innermost feelings and passions to the entire world, yet there is enough room for personal interpretation that the viewer may see something completely different. I can see myself in my images while others may not. I like it that way. For that reason I will rarely discuss the “meaning” of my images. I prefer the engaged viewer to determine meaning. I feel better that way. And that to me is what photography is all about. Feeling.
Recent Comments