1. What advice do you have for those starting out?
Find your niche and keep at it. It's important to find what it is in photography that floats your boat, that gets you excited to get behind the lens and to press the shutter button. It's different things to different people, so the first step is to work out what it is that gets you going as a photographer. Forget about what other people are doing, or what the "market" is when it comes to photography.
You do you. And when you know what this is, then stick with it. Make others aware that you're doing this and it's unique and it's you, and start sharing your work (your vision) as widely as you can. Do it online. Do it in exhibitions (self or groups). Do books. Do magazines. Do whatever it takes to "publish" your work and to make the community aware of it. Talk/write/vlog about it with the same passion that drives you to create these images. You'll find like-minded people who adore your work, love your outlook and want to get to more into your work. These will become your customers, your followers. Be good to them and it will breed loyalty. Find ways to turn them into a community of
sorts. Ask yourself, "what is it that binds all these people who like my work?" And this becomes the glue that brings that community together.
Be an active part of the community: create new work, share and talk about it, engage with the people who love your work and tell them more about what you're doing. Give them something in return -- acknowledgments and tokens of your gratitude for their support.
But the most important thing of all is BE STICKY. Stick with it, even when it seems that you've lost your mojo. We all have "off-days" and they come and go quickly. Find ways to keep your interest in your work and in photography fresh, and you'll find fewer "off-days" and more "exciting days".
2. What has been one of the most memorable moments in your career so far?
It's funny because part of me wants to say that it was when I won documentary photographer of the year award at WAPPA some years ago, but in reality, it's when I received a hand-written letter from a customer to say how my introducing photography to her through my workshops and retreats has changed her life and given her the opportunity to not only find a new creative outlet but to connect with many like-minded photographers.
Without going into too much detail, I think before she took up photography and did my workshops, she was a little at a loss in terms of finding something she was passionate enough to pursue in life. And in her letter, she said that I had brought her into a world that was fulfilling and which has led her to make many new friendships. Today, I consider her a friend, and we have traveled
around quite a bit since.
So, what I think I find most fulfilling and memorable in photography is the way photography allows us to connect, build friendships, change lives and discover new passions.
3. Are personal projects a part of your journey and if so where do you find the inspiration?
I'm probably different from most photographers in that I don't actively do personal projects. Because I don't work in commissioned photography most times, I find that the work I produce tends to sit in two broad categories:
- images produced in order to promote my classes or tours (I think they call these "aspirational images" ie. images that have a commercial/marketing purpose to them), and
- images produced because I felt like making them.
You could say that working in the area of workshops/tours allows me to just shoot a lot of personal work, not necessarily structured as a project. Unfortunately, I have allowed the business side of things to take over (happens when you're in the biz) and I realised that about 90% of the work I was doing were "aspirational images" to inspire people to join me on classes on tours, instead of personal work.
I've probably also given in to the drive of social media, and produced work which I know would grab attention on social media and get engagements from followers. But this awareness has been useful, because it prompts me to start shooting for myself again, and to look for opportunities where I can get creative in my photography.
Sometimes, it happens when an aspiring talent contacts me and wants to shoot. Sometimes it happens when I'm away in my own space and just looking at the light and the setting. Sometimes, it happens when I am running a retreat or tour, and I get excited and start babbling to my guests/customers about the light, mood etc., and they look at me and wonder what I'm going on about. :-) It's these moments that I feel are very important as being able to share what you see (and what gets you excited) allows others to also think outside of their current mental framework and consider other ways of seeing.
What inspires me is when I see something that has an emotional or narrative beat, that triggers a narrator's voice in my head and starts my imagination going wild. I read a lot and am into a lot of pop culture and tabletop roleplaying games, so I'm very familiar with many tropes and archetypes, and sometimes reality taps into those archetypes and tropes, which have a kind of primal emotive energy to them, and that's what gets me inspired and excited to make images.
4. What do you feel has been your biggest achievement so far?
I accidentally started running photography tours by helping a friend of mine out who was running his own tours many years ago. I found that I really enjoyed being able to bring photographers to amazing places and to help them find inspiration to capture their vision of the place, to engage with the local community and to feel as if they're connecting with the vibe of a place.
Running tours was something that had crossed my mind well before this but it has always seemed to be a mammoth task. But I discovered that it wasn't difficult to organise and run these tours, and the rewards are truly great!
I would consider running photography tours my greatest achievement to date:
- I learned a lot about myself in running these tours.
- I've learned a lot about what makes other photographers (and travellers) tick and
- how to manage their expectations and,
- more importantly, to encourage them to be creative, find inspiration and to travel beyond the well-worn paths of photography that 99.9% of travellers take.
5. What is your guilty pleasure?
I watch emotional films and enjoy letting the tears run free. Please do not judge me! :-) Also... errr... cats! (I'm a bit of a cat dad).
6. What makes a good photograph?
A good photograph, for me, is one which encapsulates a story with the power to move the spirit. It needs to be more than just a subject. It has to take us into the world of the photograph, to send shivers down our spine when we view it, to engage us on a deeply emotional level or to make us laugh.
It's really about engagement beyond just a superficial, visual level. Even if it offends us, it's making an impact, and I would consider it a good photograph.
From a photographer's point of view, you know the moment you hit the shutter button that you have created a good photograph, because your heart is in the scene and you feel the energy in it when you create the exposure.
7. Tell us what you've got going on with your photography and/or business right now?
I have been hitting the business trail pretty hard since I started in 2008. After 15 years, it feels like I have been doing this for ages (yes, I know this makes me sound like a millennial, but I am actually Gen X :-) ), and after a couple of years of personal challenges (family and health), I've decided that I need to spend time focusing on what sustains me as me, and not just as a businessperson. So this year, I am shifting focus from the technical to the creative. I've put my technical-based classes on hiatus, and focusing on the more creative aspects of photography.
Running more tours and looking at locations for future tours. I'm also taking time to breathe, to attend to my own well being and health (physical and emotional/mental) and to worry less about the state of the industry, and more about what I'd like to do to get my creative and spiritual juices flowing.
I guess this is the real personal project!! :-)
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