Something Of A Surprise

In a flurry of photographic activity, some time last year, I went out there to try and discover what opportunities lay hidden for keen photographers like myself. Ok, I'd taken some pictures but was that it? Do I leave them on my hard drive, to do nothing except remind me that I could do better? I could foresee an ever decreasing circle of self-criticism looming in front of me.

I decided I needed to snap out of it (no pun intended); find a way to invite some other perspective on my work whilst remaining relatively anonymous. That way, if it came to nothing (or it was apparent I was nowhere near good enough to be sharing my work) it wouldn't matter one bit. I could develop my skills and knowledge in the 'dark-room' of anonymity. And so my foray into the dizzying realm of sharing began.

I started with Viewbug which, Dear Reader, you may already be familiar with. I'm aware it's not for everyone but from the confines of my laptop I could share my stuff with like-minded people and, more importantly, get some perspective of where I was at. There is some work on there, the level of which I aspire to, but reassuringly there is also some (shall we say) less accomplished work. It really does give you the confidence to say, 'I'm doing ok... but I could do better'. No bad thing.

There then followed other interests such as ImageBrief et al gathering feedback as I went until I felt able to create my own Facebook Photography page. To say 'this is me and my photography' with nowhere to hide. It's been lovely and enlightening to receive such positive feedback from those kind enough to follow me. Somewhere along the way I decided to branch out a bit further and see what photography competitions there are out there, online only, to preserve the idea that it doesn't matter how it goes. I stumbled upon the Sony World Photography Organisation competition.

The WPO competition is a massive one, with entries from all over the world. I saw this as an opportunity to learn the process of entering something like this, safe in the knowledge that I would be swept up and go unnoticed in a whirlwind of outstanding creativity, never to hear from them again.

And then it came. An email from WPO (junk no doubt). I took a look anyway, to see if there were any interesting nuggets of information on the latest in the world on photography. It was addressed to me personally but they all were so no big deal but then... what's that?... 'congratulations', 'Commended', 'incredible achievement'. There were a lot of words seeming to fire at me from all angles and it took me some to time to put them together. In short, out of 170,000+ entries from 171 countries my offering had been shortlisted to the 50 best in my category, Smile and it would appear at Somerset House in London. I believed it to be a scam. Somewhere in my feeble understanding of this, it still is!

I have one abiding thought; is this a validation of my work and what I hope to achieve as a photographer or did I just get lucky? Perhaps the judges were drunk!

What now? I'll keep on taking photographs and loving every minute of everything about it but if this is validation then I still have a lot to learn about what it means to be a photographer and to that end I will continue to turn to my mentors at Welshot Photographic Academy to see where my photography takes me. You can be anonymous but you won't get far on your own.

To finish, I'd say get out there with your photography and have a go. Get started, keep going and keep on loving what you do.

Until next time...

Taking the next step

It was a crisp and beautifully lit October afternoon when we arrived at the stables; the bright blue sky interrupted by the occasional stand-out cloud and the pencil sketch of leafless trees. The seasonal shrubbery was alight with crimson berries and peppered with a burst of golden leaves. What more could a photographer want. Perfect. 

But I was nervous. 

Earlier in the year I had attended an equine photography event with Welshot. It was a real step out of my comfort zone. Apart from being terrified of horses for a life time, I was embarking on the kind of subject matter that is a challenge at the best of times. Horses move, for a start and they're not models. They won't hold a pose like a human model. I quickly realised that you have to work with what you've got; grab a visual opportunity when you can. It's an absorbing experience that leaves you wanting more. Since then there had been talk of taking that experience further and taking some shots of a friend's horse, friend included. That brings us to this post. 

Why was I nervous? I'd done this before and, in the short time I've been at this, I've taken hundreds of images of all genres. Here's why. It was just me and my camera. No Welshotters, no anonymity, no taking some pics in the knowledge that if they were a load of rubbish it didn't really matter to anyone. Ordinarily I could make something of them or learn and move on. It didn't really matter. Don't get me wrong, my friend is one of the loveliest people you could hope to meet and this was for fun. There was no pressure except that which I put on myself. However, her horse is important to her as my photography is to me. I wanted to produce something to make us both proud, something that she could cherish. It wasn't just about me this time, not as I saw it. 

So, it was with a big deep breath that I ventured into the arena, camera in hand with some idea of what we wanted to achieve and it involved three lenses. I kind of new what each lens would do and that was a huge step forward for me. 

That's what taking the next step is; no-one to ask questions of, just remembering what you've learned from brilliant people and amazing experiences and giving it a go. Here's a little something from that afternoon. 

    

How it all began...

So, there I was on a Saturday morning, lying on the rocky beach at Penmon Point with only a back pack between me and the stoney cold of the pebbles beneath. Once again, I found myself somewhere new and doing something different because that’s where my photography is taking me and, once again, it was in the company of the Welshot gang.

I fell in love with photography over twenty years ago, when I was let loose in the dark room at school, studying ‘A’ Level Art. The framing of a shot, the mechanics of the camera and the excitement at waiting for the result to develop stayed with me ever since but it is only this year that I struck out and took the leap to grasp that excitement again in the digital age. 

I joined Welshot for support, inspiration and coaching and I get it in bucket loads. I took my brother’s old digital camera to my first event but now I have my own and since that event I’ve hardly put my camera down. Between Welshot events and getting out and about on my own I am developing a portfolio that shows me how far I’ve come but how much more there is out there to capture and to learn.

My latest adventure was last weekend with Welshot. Frocks on Rocks was the order of the day and the reason I found myself lying on the aforesaid beach and straddling rock pools, to get creative, collaborate and get the shot. Take some amazingly hard working models, a bunch of inspirational team leaders, a creative director, and a group of photographers helping each other out and what have you got? Take a look.

                                                                           

It didn't end there. Weather beaten and hungry but feeling great, it was time for a quick bite to eat on the go before heading to Newborough for some forest fun and a beautiful sunset beach. I could tell you more about what we did but I’ll let the images speak for themselves. 

The light was falling fast as we reluctantly called it a day and it was dark as I drove away from a fantastic, like minded bunch of people. Once more, that excitement at getting those images on the laptop and poring over them was foremost in my mind. I arrived home after 11pm, tired, sandy and with forest twigs stuck to my pants. I should have gone to bed really. Well, I did. At about 2am.After a bit of post-processing! It’s not easy to wind down after such an explosively creative experience and when you’ve been bitten by the photography bug the fever will keep you up at night. And if you’re not taking photographs, you’re processing them and if you’re not processing them, you’re writing about them, evidently! I mean, just look at the time… J