Is confidence a requirement to making art?

I believe very much, that when we create art, we do it for ourselves and everything else comes as secondary to that purpose. To do it for other reasons, is to lose one's way and soon, we are floating on a sea of uncertainty.

I had an interesting discussion with my good friend Niall today in which he felt that for some, creating art requires a sense of confidence in order to do it. I've often heard many workshop participants tell me they don't know if what they're doing is right or not, and some have also brought up the idea that confidence is lacking in what they do.

I can understand a degree of uncertainty at times. I think this is natural and when we're new to any new hobby or passion, we don't often know which way to go. What equipment should we buy? What is good light? Am I being ridiculous trying this out? This is simply a case of going outside of our comfort zone. But maybe for some, maybe for you - the act of creating anything at all is a new thing in life? If so - I would love to hear if you feel that creating something requires confidence?

I've always thought of creating art as an expression of freedom. It is a place where our minds are allowed to roam, unconstrained from timescales, pressures or limits. By placing the concept of confidence on our work, I believe it to be another form of writers-block - in other words, a barrier we have put up, to prevent us from taking chances. Because when we take chances, we are opening ourselves to the possibility of failure.

There should be no constrictions places upon creating things. No boundaries or rules. There are no rights or wrongs. There is just the act of doing what we feel we want to do next. And enjoying that freedom. Creating art should be a freeing thing to do, not something that we get tangled up in and frozen into a state of inertia.

I'd love to ask you if you feel your photography is bounded by your own confidence in what you do?

My friend and I continued our discussion, and he being from a scientific background, suggested that most of his life has not entertained too much creativity, and so for him to go out there with a camera and make images, he sometimes feels as if he is a 'fraud' in what he does. I can relate to this very much if I look at my sports experience while at School: I was terrible. Always the last person to be chosen for a team because I had two left feet and I would only hold a sports team back. Since then, I've always felt a lack of real confidence to get involved in most sporting activities. It doesn't sit well with me. On the other side of the coin, if I look back to my childhood, I was always drawing and painting. I was an arty kid. So I guess through being creative since an early age, I have never experienced the  'lack of confidence' that my friend is talking about, because I've always been creating things from my very earliest of memories. Creating art feels natural. Perhaps to some, it doesn't?

Back to my first paragraph: I believe very much, that when we create art, we do it for ourselves and everything else comes as secondary to that purpose. To do it for other reasons, is to lose one's way and soon, we are floating on a sea of uncertainty.

That uncertainty is what kills our creativity. Doubt is introduced, and when doubt comes along, we lose everything.

I'm very aware of this myself, because with my own photography business, I could get sidetracked into creating work that I think will interest you as a reader to my blog. I haven't felt any pressure to do so, nor have I ever pandered to the idea that my work is for the consumption of others: I do what I do, for me, and because I am driven to do it.

I think it's a shame if the 'confidence' required to create art is because one feels they do not measure up to another's work, or whether we feel we must prove our validity to others. I think this is why I've never really been interested in competitions as such. Art is not a competitive thing for me, but I can understand and appreciate that competitions give some a sense of validity and encouragement to what they do (heck, I'm sure I'd be delighted if I won a competition!) But really, I think we have to please ourselves first and foremost.

We do art because it's what we saw and what we felt. If we do it for those reasons alone, we can't go wrong. I would love to hear your thoughts on confidence when creating art.

Fast-Track to Photoshop CS e-Book

When I first decided to run photographic workshops, I sat around for a few months wondering just what a workshop should entail. As my good friend Kathy said to me - 'don't copy anybody, do what you think a workshop should be all about' - this has been extremely good advice, and since then, I've taken it very much to heart in everything I've done regarding my own photography career.

So when I set up my workshops, I decided there should be some kind of structure to what I wanted to convey. One of the things I felt was a 'must', was to include a tutorial on Photoshop CS* (not elements), something that my participants could take home and walk through under their own pace. So I put together a nice tutorial that walks the reader through an entire edit of one of my images, from start to finish. The tutorial comes prepared with the TIFF image I use throughout the edit, and also a final Photoshop version for reference purposes.

I've had many participants tell me that by walking through my tutorial a few times, they were up and running using Photoshop CS! That's pretty encouraging news to hear, because Photoshop CS is not an easy application to start with, but it is, in my opinion still the best application for photo editing because the degree of control you have is very precise.

So, with this rather long pre-amble done. I wish to tell you that I've decided to offer in the form of an e-Book, my fast-track to Photoshop CS tutorial that I give all my workshop participants. It comes along with the two files I mentioned - the raw TIFF file, and also the completed Photoshop file, so you can look at the edits.

So if you're in the market for learning Photoshop CS, but you're a bit overwhelmed by the application (Photoshop CS is not intuitive), and you can't face months of reading massive books which aim to tell you everything about Photoshop CS, then this eBook is for you.

Mytutorial is condensed and tells you the core of what you need to know.

If you wish to buy it, you can buy it here.

*Please note: this e-book is for Photoshop CS. It is not suitable for Photoshop Elements.

Iceland March 2013

The life of a 'pro' photographer (if that's what you wish to call me) is not always so plain sailing, and for the past year or so, I've not really had a whole lot of time to make any new images of the places I am in, either while on workshops or on my tours. I'm not bemoaning this.... it's just a fact of life, that these days, I get as much time to make new images as I did, when I was working in IT all those years ago. It's often just nice to enjoy where I am and who I'm with. I get a real buzz out of being somewhere really beautiful and I also enjoy what I do because I've met a lot of really great people on my workshops (hi!).

(Please click on the above image to see it much larger).

I've got a little stock pile of images that I've created over the last year sitting in my home studio. The films have been sitting there unprocessed for months, and this week has been the first chance I've had in ages to sit down and work on what's come back from the lab. I thought I would start with Iceland.

A place that I'd completely forgotten about, but had visited many years ago is Stokksnes. I had the good fortune to bump into Daniel Bergmann (icelandic photographer) on my tour in March and he suggested my group take a visit to this great location. If I hadn't told you it was Iceland, I would easily forgive you for thinking it is part of the Lofoten islands in Norway, but perhaps the black volcanic sand beach gives a clue as to its true origins. Still, I found symmetry and balance here in the shape of a sweeping snow curve that leads my eye into the frame.

Venturing back to the beach at Jökulsárlón lagoon, it had been snowing one morning, and I made great effort to point out how the snow was helping define the shape of the ice bergs lying here. This one reminded me of a Conch at the time of the shoot. It has such a beautiful set of grooves going throughout its form, and the snow helped pick them out for me. This is the first time I've witnessed snow here, and it was pleasing to see the black volcanic sand create new patterns and textures as it mixed white with black.

 As my good friend Lynne kept calling this place - Durdle Door, while she accompanied me on my shoot here in 2011 for my Iceland book, I'd never had a chance to shoot the arch at Dyrhólaey until this March. We got a rather wet and moody morning for this one. This kind of weather is perhaps my favourite times to make images.

But I think this one - of a little Kimodo dragon (perhaps?) is my favourite. Stephen who was on the trip with me found him first so I would really love to see his image of this little 'beastie' as we say here in Scotland.

What can I make of my most recent work?

It was interesting for me to go back to shooting rectangles after almost 2 years shooting square. I think the aspect ratio we choose to shoot with makes a huge impact on what compositions we select, how we see, and how the final image will end up. Cropping later is not the same as composing for the aspect ratio of your choice while on location. Although there is nothing wrong in each approach, I do prefer to compose in-camera. So it was interesting for me to go back to 5:4 aspect ratio - it came very naturally to me and I was surprised at how quickly I got back into using my trusty old Mamiya 7II film camera. I deliberately left the Hasselblads at home, because I don't think it's so good to mix formats while I'm on location. I like to settle into one-way of thinking for my shooting time.

I think the light was particularly muted for the whole time we were in Iceland. I don't recall us experiencing any warm light at any stage of the trip and I think the reduced colour palette shows this. Despite me using Velvia for the shoot.

So if there's a lesson here, it's simply that you can't bring out what what isn't there, so instead, you have to work with what is. :-)

Copyrighting Culture

I read a really interesting article on the BBC news website this morning about copyrighting cultures. In the article, the Maasai people - a semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania are considering seeking copyright for their image. They have set up an organisation to take care of this called the Maasai Intellectual Property Initiative.

I think this is most intriguing, because in a world where imagery and branding are extremely valuable and highly protected (think of Microsoft and CocaCola for instance), it's surprising to think that people and cultures have not set about this sooner.

"We all know that we have been exploited by people who just come around, take our pictures and benefit from it," - Isaac ole Tialolo, Massai leader and elder.

I do think there is a lot of exploitation and theft of other people's cultural heritage and one way this is done is through the act of making pictures where the tribes or peoples do not benefit as well as they could. It could be argued that whenever a professional or amateur photographer captures any images with cultural reference that they are aiding tourism to the place. I know for sure that all of the places I have visited myself were fuelled by seeing images by others which captured my imagination. I do however think there should be some form of protection for cultures and peoples. A kind of cultural copyright whereby we all pay towards the protection and acknowledgement of the 'brand' in some way.

I met a photographer in Lalibela, Ethiopia, a few years back. He had raised around £2,000 for an NGO based in Addis Ababa, before he came out to do his photography. I remember him explaining that he felt he could now make his own images, because he had contributed towards the people of Ethiopia. It was a really great thing for him to do.

I do think we need to be mindful and respectful to others on our travels. Treat others as we would wish to be treated. I do think however, that when there is no price put upon something, it is valued less for what it is than it should be. Simply turning up to make images and feeling that you are contributing to the local people through your own tourism is perhaps not enough.

But there has to be a way forward for tribes of people to gain something of value back for their heritage, while at the same time allow photographers to work unconstrained by hefty fees, or heavy restrictions. And this will be difficult to do, because I've been thinking that in the past decade since I started making images, what used to be a relatively minor activity has now turned into a major one: everyone has a camera, and everyone is looking for that special photo. This perhaps leads this posting into other territories that I do not wish to discuss - namely that of photography etiquette, or the lack of, shown by many who are tourists first and foremost and photographers by the very nature that they are there as tourists. The world of photography is growing as everybody has a camera, but with it too, social graces are being challenged: there are more people pushing cameras into someone's face just because they are on holiday.

But I do not wish for photography to become policed in any way. Surely though - it is inevitable that it will? Surely as photography becomes more and more widespread and commonplace, that laws will be created to protect peoples rights to privacy? Whether this happens is one point, but in the case of the Massai people, protecting their cultural image and ensuring they benefit from what is rightfully theirs is just as vital.

I think copyrighting a cultural image, or imagery associated with it is a really good way forward because it generates an income for many peoples and tribes. What they have is of value, and that value should be acknowledged. By copyrighting it, we not only give it protection, but we also ensure that it is sustained. And maybe, just maybe,  the erosion of any culture with this protection will be stopped as a result.

But one thing is clear: give a culture it's own copyright, and you give them a more recognised value in a global sense.

Cultural heritage is a rare and precious thing and should be respected and valued accordingly.

New Ragnar Axelsson book.....

When I was in Iceland this March, I read an article in one of the homespun magazines there about a new book by RAX (He prefers to be called this, rather than Ragnar).

I've been looking around for it, but still no sign, but RAX has now put images up on his site for the new book, so if you'd like to see what's coming, then please click here.

I think the book is called Round Up, and it's about the farmers on Iceland. I include one of the images from the forthcoming book. Something to look forward to!

The art of Photographing Geisha

A lot of people know my landscape photography as 'simplified' and some even go as far as to say it's 'elegant'. All very complimentary to me, and it makes me happy because this is exactly what I aim to achieve with my landscape images. But what of my portraiture work? I personally see no difference between landscape images, and people images. To me, one is the landscape of a place, while the other is the landscape of a human soul. The same compositional rules apply - shape, tone and form are all required and of course the emotional engagement must be there too. So I've always been intrigued with people who like landscapes, but don't like photos of people, or the other way round.

When I make pictures of people, it's because I find them very engaging. Either it's their posture, the colour of their clothing, or there is a spirit about them that I find appealing, but ultimately, the composition has to be there too.

So while thinking about the kinds of portraiture work I would like to do as a new project, I've been thinking about how it would be nice if the work was simple and has some beauty or elegance to it. I know myself well, to know where I am with my own aesthetics and abilities as a landscape photographer: so I'm aiming to match my current level of ability and aesthetic with a new subject. For a long time now, I've believed that certain subjects work well for us, only when we have reached the right state of readiness. In other words, we do our best work when we encounter the right subject at the right time in our own artistic development. When both these worlds merge, the work can often bring on a new awareness of our style and future direction.

For some reason, the Geisha of Japan sprang to mind. I've been speaking a good friend of mine who told me about Kusakabe Kimbei's work, and I reproduce a hand coloured image here. I think there is indeed something elegant and beautiful about the work, and it shows me that there is great potential to this subject.

I bring all this up because I'm simply trying to explain how I can become inspired by certain subjects, or how the creative process can begin for me. I still have no idea whether a trip to Japan is actually on the cards as yet, or how realistic it may be to make images of Geisha, but the wheels have started to turn, and I've started to research the possibilities.

One of the things I love to do about anything I get really into, is to buy books on the subject. Today I received a copy of John Foster's book 'Geisha & Maiko of Kyoto' (you can also view his work on Geisha at his website too). I'll start by saying that it's a great book. It tells me a lot about the Geisha and Maiko but also, from a photographer's perspective, he tells me about the issues in working with his subjects over a seven year period.

John is a passionate photographer who has very similar attitudes to making portraits as I have: his first rule is that he is there to make friends, not offend anyone. So making images is secondary to the experience of meeting someone and finding out about them. He cares a lot for his subjects and has the utmost respect for them. I feel this is key to any engagement with a possible subject for portraiture photography  and it's something I've always kept in mind while making images in Cambodia, Cuba, India and Nepal. People are people, no matter wherever you go, and they have feelings.

John's book has given me a lot of insights into the possibilities of engaging Geisha and the chances there are of making any photographs of them. From what I've learned: it's not going to be easy.... But I've been so inspired by his images because they show me the 'elegance' and 'simplicity' that I'm seeking.

Of course, John's book is not the only one I've bought on the subject of Geisha. I also found Jodi Cobb's (National Geographic photographer) excellent book, which has a more 'reportage' aspect to it. Her website has an excellent 'street photography' section on the Geisha.

All of this, is helping me gain better insight, and also helping me build my enthusiasm for a possible project. Whether I actually make it out to Japan is another story all together. But right now, I feel I've found something that is inspiring me to find out more, and this is key to any possible project one is considering undertaking.

For anything to begin, a flame has to ignite first.

Linked-In - an apology

Dear all, A few weeks ago, we had an internet advisor come to visit our office. She was terrific, and gave me and my colleagues so much valuable information with regards to social media and marketing on the internet.

Unfortunately, one of the bits of advice I was given was to join Linked-In. I was told that Linked-In has changed a lot over the past few years and has become more like a facebook experience for professionals. So without giving it much though about the implications, I signed up.

I really wish I hadn't.

Within a matter of minutes, my mailbox was being inundated with suggestions and notifications about people who have corresponded with me over the years, and I know for a fact - that my signing up to Linked-In, caused a lot of pain for many of you, due to the incessant emails to tell you to sign up to Linked-In.

I'm an IT guy from a previous life, so I did some research, found out that many folks hit their heads against the wall because Linked-In is so invasive. I researched how to switch off all the notifications. I even switched everything I could find - off. And yet the emails still kept coming. Hundreds of notifications per day.

I can only apologise for this. If I'd know how murky the waters are with Linked-In - I sincerely would not have bothered.

I have now deleted all my contacts from it, and removed all 'invitations', because they just keep on going out until you accept.

It's a crap piece of software. I mean that in the kindest way. No honestly, it's crap. It doesn't do what you want it to. It takes over your contact, your inbox, and despite you telling it otherwise, it keeps emailing you. I have now created a google mail filter to delete anything that comes in that is associated to Linked in.

It seems that Linked-In have a world-domination policy. Or maybe it's just poor programming. I suspect it's both.

I just wish to say big apologies to you all, and I hope that you are no longer receiving their crap. I'm not responsible. I trusted Linked-In, but they let me down.

Perhaps the ultimate portrait camera?

In 2009, my good friend Adrian suggested I buy a Contax 645 outfit, for my pending trip to India and Nepal. He said it has some of the most amazing bokeh of any camera system he's used. I have to confess I took a bit of persuading at the time, as I thought most medium format outfits were perhaps too bulky and heavy to take on any extended journey.

Well, after a visit to a local second hand camera store, where they had plenty of the systems for around £950, I bought one. It was impossible to say no - once I'd raised the system up to my eye and peered into that gorgeous large viewfinder. Like an EOS camera on steroids, I had auto-focus, metering and it showed me the aperture and shutter speed in the viewfinder.

And because the standard lens has a focal length of 80mm, it behaves like any 80mm lens does - it has shallow depth of field! But with a field of view like a 40mm lens in 35mm land. Going medium format means you get a lot less depth of field for the same angle of view you get with 35mm. And shooting at f2 or f4 at 80mm results in some very shallow depth of field indeed.

I'm in the process of working towards making some new portraits, so I figured I needed to get round to getting a spare system. I never used to travel with any backup cameras, but over the last year or two, I've had a Mamiya 7 bite the dust in Patagonia (because I dropped it on its head) and a Hasselblad 503CX lock up on me in my travels to Iceland and Norway.

So tonight, after gazing at the second hand prices for the Contax 645 outfit spiralling to dizzy heights of around £1,700 for a decent system with standard lens, I've taken the plunge and bought my backup outfit. I feel relieved, because these babies have turned into gold dust of late. I'm amazed.... what exactly has happened in the intervening years since I first bought mine for £950 in 2009? It seems the power of the internet and one particular wedding photographer (just look up google for contax 645 and you'll find him) has spurred loads of photographers to buy this system. And for good reason.

The Contax system has amazing lens quality, and the bokeh that the lenses produce - particularly the standard lens of 80mm at f2, is just stunning. I found that this was the lens I used for 99% of my portrait images. I prefer to get in really close to my subjects you see.

I also have the 45mm, 140mm and the 210mm lens. I have used the 140mm lens once, for the indian girl on the tightrope that you see here. But most times, it's the 80mm I use, and I tend to be around two feet away from my subjects when I do.

I think it's time I made some new portraits. It's another side to my photography, which I feel I've been neglecting. It's been a concentrated few years running a workshop business.

If you like portraiture, and you're in the market for a medium format film system (the Contax 645 can be used with digital backs too), then I would look no further than this system. But you'd better act now, as the prices have really gone up of late and I don't see them coming down.

I'm a portrait photographer

It's been long overdue. I'm a portrait / street photographer as well as a landscape photographer. And it's been a good few years since I made any portrait shots. My trusty Contax 645 film camera has been gathering dust, and in this time, I've been focussing very hard on building a photographic workshop business.

Everything needs balance. Too much landscape work, has left me hankering to go out there and make some new portraits. Only thing is.... I'm not exactly sure where to go. I have the whole of July free, and also December. Ladakh has been on my list for a long time, but I feel a sense of inertia in booking flights there for this July. This makes me feel as if there may be another story waiting to appear and take my attention. Bhutan is also somewhere I would love to go, but I've not had much free time of late to research it. The climate is a vitally important ingredient in making portraits. Rainy season works best for people shots as the light is soft and diffused. Summer harsh light is the least attractive.

I guess right now, I'm looking for inspiration. I seldom have time these days to wander through other peoples portfolios: running a business, and working on your own photography is very intensive, sometimes too much so. I love it, but I think I'm needing to take a break, look around, see what's out there, and forge a new direction. Got any suggestions?

Moonlight as inspiration

I've been buying a load of photography books of late. And one of them that I've just placed an order for is Darren Almond's Nocturne. Darren seems to be obsessed with making images during the full moon phase.

It's no secret that I'm much more interested in images that convey an otherworldly feel. But it's not simply because I think they have a different aesthetic to images that were made during the more normal social limits of our human existence, but more because I feel images shot outside these boundaries touch upon the unknown.

Darkness has always been a mystery to man. It's a place where perception and reality become distorted and dreams or imaginings occur. And for photographers who deal in the nocturne, there is a fascination with capturing what we cannot see with the naked eye, but feel within our souls.

What has been hidden is of great fascination to me. Cameras can peer into the darkness for minutes or hours and render the most invisible things visible. I think that's why I love these images by Almond: they touch upon what we feel when we're outside on a moonlit night.

A moon-bow seems to be such a beautiful thing, that I would love to witness one. I'm sure that moon-bows happen a lot, and yet, I've never seen one. Rather than hunting down the spectacular - such as the aurora borealis, I'm sure we could become just as inspired by making images of places that have been touched by moonlight alone. Surely this is just as fascinating an area to work in?

I like Darren's work very much. It has a naturalness to it that I can believe in, while at the same time, it takes me to another place in my mind. I hope his book lives up to the anticipation that I have for it.

Through my own sense of inquisitiveness, I'm much more interested in the unseen and what might be lurking therein.  It seems that a moonlit landscape has that aspect to it, and for this and many other reasons - is a wonderful thing.