Go Your Own Way

If you’ve arrived on this page because you were curious about my IG post, please bear with me while I briefly explain the background to the below to those who may have accidentally tripped over my doorstep and onto this page.

I have a series of images titled ‘When You Look At The World’ hanging in a local boutique cafe (details below).

The series was inspired by a number of things.

Noticing how we are distracted by the tech world, how our attention spans are being diminished by the 'short-form media' of scrolling, and exploring our connections with each other.

I won’t go on, because in my photographic work, I live by the philosophy of ‘never explain the whys or wherefores’ of the photograph, nor worry about what others may think of them.

Actually, I will correct that last paragraph. It should say I thought I had been living by that philosophy.

But I am now.

Confirmation came a little while ago while I was in the cafe. I noticed a lady looking at the photographs in detail. I introduced myself, and we had a very interesting discussion.

She was a retired professional photographer who had been very successful and had worked with some legendary names.

For some reason, I was expecting her to give me a critique.

But no, she was simply intrigued by the photographs, which she found engaging.

I found these comments both humbling and affirming, simply because they confirmed that I had cut loose the shackles of artistic doubt.

What do I mean by that?

Just as an artist lets the eye and heart move the hand and brush, working on instinct and what feels right, in this series I really felt I was working on instinct when looking through the viewfinder.

While previously I may have thought I was doing that, if I’m honest, there were always niggling thoughts in my mind about how they’d be critiqued.

Had I exposed the image correctly? Was it in focus? Was it compositionally ‘correct’?

These thoughts were the after-effects of a time when I presented images for judgment to a very competent cohort of photographers, all of whom held opinions on what worked to make a photograph 'perfect.'

They are really nice people, but for me, I found that environment too artistically restricting for my style of photography, as I wanted to photograph what felt right to me.

I wasn’t seeking the ‘perfect’ photo.

Those voices, while fading, were still there.

They hadn’t disappeared.

However, my latest photographer friend dismissed any concerns. The emotional vibe I intended had shone through; the photos carried an emotion that drew her in.

For me, her comments were worth any amount of Instagram likes, distinctions, or scores.

To share YOUR artistic eye with the world requires you to let go of any fear of how that work will be judged.

Now the only words I hear when I am looking through the view finder are of the legendary photographer Don McCullin and his oft used quote: “Photography for me is not looking, it's feeling. If you can't feel what you're looking at, then you're never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”

It is quite easy to produce ‘nice’ decorative pictures for a wall, But if you want to share your view of the world rather than your nice photographs of it, you need to ask yourself " are YOU feeling it" .

We don’t tend to dwell on or look deeper at anything that doesn’t engage us.

To engage, it must cause a reaction.

However, I’ll hold my hands up to being a little hypocritical here.

A few days ago, I was on Instagram and I dwelled on a sequence of photographs of a friend.

They caught my eye simply because my friend looked bored.

Nothing about the photos looked interesting. They were just my friend looking at the camera.

I wondered if I was missing something, as my friend is very good at projecting something into a photo with minimal direction.

To look disinterested, not present, whilst I haven't spoken to them yet, they couldn;t have been getting much 'feeling' from the photographer. I must ask.

So I looked harder. Nope.

I then looked at who took the photograph. The photographer holds a highly regarded photographic distinction.

The exposure was correct; the depth of field well chosen, the composition spot on.

Technically perfect.

But it was dull.

I suspect the photographer gave little to no thought to creating engagement with the viewer (or my friend!)

Had I not recognised the person, I’d have scrolled right on by.

I wondered why the photographer spent time setting this shoot only to present photographs like that.

The photographs spoke nothing of the personality or character, and seemingly made no attempt to tell a story with a someone whom I find great to work with.

I formed the view that they probably didn’t know what they wanted to convey.

Maybe they were photographing to try to create some meaning but couldn't quite grasp it and that absence was likely felt by my friend.

Meaning and honesty in my work is ultimately what this particular blog is about.

Which leads me nicely onto my first ever book review.

As I mentioned in my post, for full disclosure, Paul Sanders is a friend of mine, but these are my honest thoughts on his book.

It’s taken me sometime to think of the right words that can convey how beautiful and generous this book is.

Beauty in Pauls words, beauty in the work he has shared and beauty in the sheer quality of the book.

Generous in that Paul freely shares his photography processes. The ‘how to’s’

Paul’s work is simple. No bells and whistles or ‘look at what I can do’ bragging.

Each photograph he shares meant something to him when he ooked ,through the viewfinder which in turn will likely cause someone else to pause and engage with it.

He shares his methods not hoping you will copy him,  (that’s the easy part), but because he hopes they will inspire you to find meaning in your own work.

I’ve listened to and met Paul a lot over the years, though I’ve never been on any of his much-lauded workshops (sorry Paul!). He often faces creative blocks, he often faces challenges in finding meaning.

But he reminds himself and us, to return the simple things we can all find around us.

Still provides easy-to-follow pathways to connect with his philosophy and more than likley your natural creative self.

To shake off those chains of doubt when you want to share your view of the world through your art.

Still will help you sweep away those lingering thoughts that you are just making ‘pleasing for others’ photographs.

I highly recommend this book for those seeking meaning in their work. I promise I'm not on commission! I'm just happy to share the love in the hope we can explore and use our human imagination in our creative work.

Pauls book 'Still' can be ordered through his own website https://www.discoverstill.com

You can give him a follow too on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/discover_still/

So, ‘Go Your Own Way’ and don’t worry about ‘likes’ on Instagram. It’s just a computer program.

If you feel it’s right for you, and if you feel it connects to you, then it’s highly likely it will connect with someone in the real world.

And if the 'okey kokey' song is to be believed, then “that’s what it’s all about”... isn’t it?

Cheers!

'When You Look At The World' will be closing soon at Canela Cafe, 5 Creek Rd, East Molesey KT8 9BE (Wednesday to Sundays)