A great question to ask yourself, or indeed, for someone to ask you.
Quite simply, it's an insatiable hunger. A desire to document the world around me, especially the environment and the people I meet. I have restless feet and an inquiring mind that's thirsty for the images that result from exploring different places, people, cultures, diversity, from natural and urban spaces.
I constantly observe, experiment and record with my camera. The compulsion to make photographs is my constant companion together with a relentless need to be creative, to observe, to experiment, to feed each experience into my collective awareness of the power that is photography, and to enhance my understanding of the world. Talking and associating with stimulating people, has worked to shape part of my photography, helping me form ideas, that in turn, I have applied to my more mainstream photography. It is a continuous process of learning and exploration, commitment and frustration, practice, and patience.
Where does this powerful impulse come from? I am not a professional, but I am an amateur in the original sense of the word, from “amare” – to love. An amateur loves’ what they do and that reward is enough rather than the financial rewards that may come from professional practice. My passion for photographic images and storytelling comes from a constant impulse to record what I experience. However, while I may react impulsively, my mind is fixed and clear on the final image I will eventually create. Photography is about making not just taking (which I will explore in a later blog). So, I’m not an artist or professional, I consider myself an amateur – this way I find I can go on enjoying photography, without the stress associated with being called professional.
I do my best to convey in my images, emotion, feelings (mine, as well as the people and places I photograph) and storytelling. I try to make them meaningful and powerful. As of now, I know very few people are aware of my work, I’m not shooting for an audience, I’m shooting for my own enjoyment and satisfaction – a need to shoot. However, that being said, I do shoot with an “imaginary audience” ever present - with this presence, I strive to improve the quality of work I produce.
People are the central focus of my photography and the part that I enjoy the most. From the time I was in school, shooting on film, I have been photographing people – it just seemed instinctive to me, it was quite a while before I realized it is the strongest and most fulfilling part of my photography. I studied art and enjoyed life drawing and painting people the most – perhaps photography was a very natural extension to that process for me.
I am most content when I’m out and about with my camera and I grow restless when I’m not able to shoot. Take me to a different country or location and I’m like a small child, full of wonder, excitement and curiosity. Being an adult, I know I must calm myself before shooting, take stock of my environment and remember to “see”. Photography is all about understanding light, composition, the passage of time – learning to “see”, respecting people and their environment and being totally aware of what’s around me. Yes, and it requires patience, practice, practice, practice…and so much more. I calm myself, I breathe deeply, I walk slowly, I open my eyes and…I shoot!