Posts Tagged Interesting and Useful
Evolution of my photography – Part Four
Posted by Damian in Contemplative, Nature on April 26th, 2009
Part Four – Where I am
The images that follow were all taken on Sable Island, Nova Scotia. This is a 52km long wind-swept sand bar in the Atlantic Ocean, about 300km east-south-east of Halifax. The island is fascinating in that it has a long history including numerous ship wrecks and is home to a wild population of horses as well as other wildflife. I work on the island as a seal biologist and have been visiting annually since 1997.
The images here were all taken before I discovered Miksang, so prior to April 2006. Next week (4th May) I will post images from Sable Island after I took training in Miksang and hopefully you will notice a difference in my style.
Sable Island horses
Trunk in sand
After strong wind, various stuff is exposed from beneath the sand. This photograph is very simple and yet very appealing to my eye.
Old man and the sea
When I came across this male grey seal, there was a strong connection happening between it and the sea; a connection of home.
Sand, sea, sky
A sunset on South Beach. The colour of the sea, reflections on the wet sand and the break in the clouds inspired this photograph.
Sable Island mare
This mare stood still for several minutes while I photographer her.
Sanderlings and surf
This was taken at the end of a strong storm when the surf on South Beach was very impressive. The curvature of the sanderlings flying reminds me of a wave crashing on the beach.
Horses and seals, North Beach
This photograph sums up Sable Island. Seals on the beach, wild horses, dunes in the background and big surf. I was sitting on the beach photographing a pair of male grey seals fighting in the surf when this group of horses strolled down the beach toward me.
Sunset on South Beach
I have seen many sunrises and sunsets on Sable so one has to be very striking for me to photograph it. This one was because the colours in the wet sand were hues of brown rather than typical sunset colours of blue and reds.
Next week will be the end of this series when I will continue posting images but from the period after my Miksang training.
Evolution of my photography – Part Two
Posted by Damian in Contemplative, General on April 13th, 2009
Part Two – Where I went
From the early 1990s to the 2005 I enjoyed photography but often became frustrated because the images I saw often were not on the prints I developed. During the early 2000’s I was not that productive in photography. In 2005, my father died rather suddenly from pancreatic cancer. I found this event very dramatic and it shook my life as though it was a milk shake.
After my Dad’s death I returned to Halifax, Canada. However, after several months of struggle I returned to England and stayed with my mother. During this period I was unable to do any work and found that the only thing I could do was my photography. At this point I had moved over to digital and had a simple point and shoot camera.
Strangely my photography changed dramatically. Rather than shoot nature and landscapes I found myself attracted to very simple images such as this brick wall with its bright and dull bricks.
Some images were not particularly attractive but were still attractive to me, such as the rust coloured concrete above.
Often the images were simple and something that one sees in every day life, such as these pebbles on Brighton beach.
The images often had a strong sense of form.
and strong colour.
Another example of strong colour and form
Simple, every day objects
While in Egland I mostly stayed with my mother. At her home, she had a forecourt full of pots and plants. I remember spending many hours in this small area shooting pictures of the different coloured and shaped pots and their plants.
Again these images were not terribly attractive or interesting to anyone else, but to me they were quite powerful.
Another example of a strong splash of colour
Next week, 27th April – Part Three – What I found
Passionate about Food
These images were taken while shooting a series of images for my brother’s Hotel business in England. We visited five places; a fish market on the Grimsby docks, a small cheese farm, a coffee roasting house, a butchers and a free-range turkey farm. By brother wanted images of him interacting with the retailers and their product.
Typically a photographer would arrive with a camera (or two), a couple of lenses, flash and maybe a tripod. To me, this is an expression of control: requiring certain images and using the mind and equipment to ensure that those images are captured. Thus, the photographer arrives with ideas in the head of what he/she wants.
I arrived on the fish docks at 630am in the morning with a camera and a 50mm lens. I was excited about shooting for the day. All I had to do was sit back and observe and I was confident that the required images would appear. And they did. The reason being that my mind was free of expectation, rules of shooting, anticipation; I just needed to observe and wait for moments to arrive. As long as I was open those moments of perception would appear.
Here are a few of those images.
Cow and milking shed
This image just appeared in front of me. When one first starts taking photographs of images that occur in a moment, in a flash of perception, one needs to study the image to really understand what components of it
really saw. Only after you have connected and studied the perception can you raise the camera and shoot. After a while this process occurs quickly so that images like this that are there for a split second can be captured.
Coffee
I was inside a very old coffee roasting house and saw this image. The old window and the old coffee sign seen through it captured the moment.
Passionate about cheese
One hand on the cheese, the other expressing its love for it.
Hand on fish
I can’t say much about this shot. I just love it.
