Where it started, where I am now, and where I want to be

This is my first blog and oh boy did it take a while to get something out, eventually I just thought I’ve got to start somewhere. So that was it, where did it all start ……………

Photography from the Greek language means drawing with light.  I was introduced to the photographic image when I was age ten through a cycling club when on winter meeting nights older members would put on a slide show, this usually documented a cycling tour they had undertaken in the summer months.  These ranged from touring in the UK where I was familiar to further flung places such as France, Italy, and even the Sahara Desert.  They documented their journey, people they met, the environment, and the culture.  I was fascinated with the images from photojournalism of the 80’s including the war in Beirut and Lebanon, the miners’ strike, Northern Ireland, and the social ills of Glasgow at the time.

The magic of the photographic process was offered to me at a community centre in Maryhill, Glasgow as a young teenager.  Here I learned to use a “proper” camera with an Olympus OM10 loaned to me as we couldn’t afford this as a family, it was out of financial reach.  Not only did I benefit from the experience of looking at my surroundings through the lens of a camera, I learned the developing process.  I remember the first film I processed and the when the image came alive on a blank 8x10 piece of paper in the developing tray under the red light of the dark room and nostrils full of chemical fumes.  I was hooked and started attending events in the centre with my camera to capture images that froze moments and tried to tell the story through what, where and who.  I am sad to say none of my early work survived and I drifted away from photography in the main other than the usual family snaps.  This all changed with the digital age but again with no consistency until recently.

I continue to have a love of the black and white image, stripping away the distraction of colour and capturing the emotion of people or the mood of the environment.  Colour does have a place and I therefore consider this prior to taking the image having visualised what I want to say and the place of colour in that.  I enjoy the experience of heading out on the streets to observe human interaction and behaviour or shooting urban surroundings and industry in the landscape. I find photography these days a form of relaxation and use it for myself, I produce images that I like and if others find something be it joy or another emotion then that makes me happy.  However, I am keen to find my photographic voice and that will no doubt change over time as I develop skills and knowledge.  I want to develop the ability to tell a story through my images of people and issues, currently I have a couple of projects on my page, and these are a start of what I hope to develop.  

I am an amateur photographer; I prefer the French definition of this for my photography which is ‘the love of’ and I’m looking forward to seeing how I develop my style and voice through the medium of photography.