|
I'm a child of the seventies, but since taking up photography, wish it had been earlier. I am fanatical about the classic look from the 50's and 60's and try to bring that into my own work. In just a few short years I have been fortunate enough to use this vision to capture a wide variety of subject matter and give it that timeless twist. Initally I aimed at the drag racing and hot rod scene that simply fitted that look, but more recently I have been shooting portraits and commercial work with equally pleasing results and a breath of fresh air from the high-key over saturated high street affairs. I consider the camera as simply a tool for the job and use a wide range of equipment. My Canon DSLR is the most obvious choice when a quick turn around is needed, though my use of old film cameras influences my lens choice, with the quality and depth of field control that a fast prime lens allows me taking presidence over the convenience of a zoom. If I need to be closer, I just move. I undertook a City & Guilds Photography course in 2006 to learn the basics of darkroom skills and have never looked back. I am now able to develop and print my own in a makeshift darkroom and in fact these skills and feel flow over to my digital work also, getting it right in camera rather than relying on software to get me out of trouble. I have recently stopped using 35mm film, as the quality and tones available from medium format won me over. Nothing even comes close to an old lens, wide open on classic Tri-X or Portra NC film. A flatbed scanner can quickly bring them into the digital age, plus I love the odd looks I get from the pros when my trusty Mamiya TLR sits alongside their £10,000 digital monsters. By using film as much as I can, I discovered that I was slowing down in my digital work too, learning to evaluate not just what I was shooting, but why and taking less but keeping more and spending less and less time infront of a PC screen. I'm lazy like that. 8-) Influences? David Perry, Peter Vincent and Elliott Erwitt, purely for their unorthadox style and their quirky look at their subjects. But the further back in photography I looked, the more I learnt to appreciate the skill involved and began to learn little snippets of their technique and adapt them to my own style. The Future? Continue to develop my own style, explore new avenues and concentrate on gaining more exhibition space to allow a wider audience to see my work. Lastly, a big thanks to my muse, Sarah, for all her support and inspiration she gives me. All images remain the copyright of Retro Photo unless mutually agreed in advance. |
