On seeing the title of this article you might be asking yourself "what is an 'urban abstract'?". As a creative photographer who likes to keep my options open, I don't naturally incline towards fencing myself in with pedantic barriers so my definition is deliberately loose – any abstract, graphic image found in a town or city. For the type of image, I like … [Read more...]
Phase One A-Series – ALPA & IQ 250 – Camera Review
BACKGROUND I have been a Phase One user since 2007 when I bought my first digital back (a P20+) for a Hasselblad V series camera. I had initially been lent a P20 back for a trip to the Isles of Harris and Lewis off the West coast of Scotland and loved the experience of converting this old manual camera into a 21st century tool. But to be totally honest I had no … [Read more...]
Developing A Personal Style
Nearly every photographer I know has the aspiration to possess or develop their personal style - it's a desire I hear frequently expressed on the workshops that I lead. But there are no easy answers to meeting that need. Based on my own experience and talking to other keen photographers I have identified three distinct stages in most photographers developmental journey - I'll … [Read more...]
The Nature Of Creativity
Defining Creativity What is creativity? It's a term widely used in the photographic world but one that is open to a variety of interpretations & definitions. So before I can write an article on the topic I ought to clarify what I mean when I use the word. A simple dictionary definition gives us "characterised by originality of thought; having or showing imagination" … [Read more...]
Photographing From The Heart
"Photographs - at least good ones - are always about ideas; without ideas photographs are merely images. For an image to be idealess is as emasculating as a paragraph without a thought". (Brooks Jensen in 'Letting Go of the Camera') Two Seats – Saltburn, England (Zero Image Pinhole Camera) Whenever I’m running photographic workshops I’m constantly encouraging the … [Read more...]