‘Photography as we know it originated about 175 years ago, in approximately 1835, when Frenchman Louis Daguerre figured out that by exposing polished silver plates to various fumes such as iodine and bromine, then to light, then to mercury vapour (unhealthy!) then fixing it with a hot salt solution, he could create a pin-sharp, what we now call a high resolution, image, that would not fade. He waited until 1839 to reveal the daguerreotype as he first wanted to secure a French government pension for himself.’ That was the science of the permanent image in a moment in time. It is the ingenuity and artistry of the photographer capturing a combination of light, angles and composition that determines how a photograph is perceived. Thereafter, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’

As an amateur photographer it is safe to say that the iconic black-and-white photographs of Ansel Adams, 1902-1984, of the landscapes of the American West first exposed me to the artistic world of photography beyond the colourful “Kodak Moment.” Every image I photographed of the American West, whilst living in the United States circa 1983-1987, I tried to recreate Ansel Adams masterpieces, albeit in colour. To that end, the results were beyond a dismal failure! One soon appreciates that the top of the range camera with a bag full of lenses produces rubbish photographs, if the photographer has no clue.

A decade and a half later, in South Africa, (1987-2002), I had completely lost the desire to photograph artistically, basically due to a litany of poor results. Sadly, I did not understand why at that time. As such I was satisfied photographing minor events on the odd occasion. In hindsight those fifteen years were a waste of productive time that might have been better spent depressing the shutter more regularly, sowing the seeds of later artistic photographic ambitions.

Herewith follows a photograph monograph exposed worldwide over the dozen years, 2003 to 2015. They comprise an interest I have cultivated in landscapes, portraits, structures, natural history, still life and to a lesser extent, sports. However, the photographs themselves always show and tell an unseen penumbra of how one progresses from ‘taking mere snaps’, to higher forms of photographic artistry.

Share this Story