I suspect I was a little ADD as I never concentrated on one subject, i.e., landscape. Rather, if a subject grabbed my attention, I shot it. This is unfortunate, as portfolio reviewers wanted to see a concentration in one area. My philosophy, however, was and still is…shoot the scene if it strikes a chord inside of you. The plus side of ADD is that I acquired knowledge and experience from shooting a wide range of subjects such as ballet, ice hockey, birds, and landscape.
Photography took a backseat during my work and family years but then came retirement. More and more I went back to my first love…photography. Over the last 15-20 years I have honed my visual concept and photographic skills.
To me documentary photography means looking at historic events or social themes and bringing them to the social consensus. However, in a different sense I am a documentary photographer. Hopefully, my photos will inspire people to travel and see the great world we live in. I have been fortunate and lived in or visited 30-35 countries, and I still have a bucket list a mile long which will never be completed. In some cases, travel photography is to document cultures before they disappear. For instance, the Pushkar Camel Market in Rajasthan, India is changing. In years past a visitor could see 30-40,000 camels. Today, you might be luck to see 5000 camels as mechanization is modernizing rural Rajasthan.
Certainly, I am no Ansel Adams. My final image is not anything close to using a Zone system. I am not capturing that second in time in the way he did. Yes, I compose and expose my image but with the intent of creating the image I see in my mind. This is accomplished in the digital darkroom somewhat akin to the wet darkroom days but with a greater array of tools. It is not just adjusting sliders for exposure and so forth; it is bringing out the colors that are already there, but our brains cannot necessarily process.
Photography has always played a big part in my life…just ask my family and they will tell you that a camera is an abnormal growth on my hands. It did not change my vision of the world, rather it brought world problems into focus. Through photography I can try to convey the beauty, good, the bad, and the extreme wrongs in the world.
Do not be satisfied feeling you know everything. You must continue your education by attempting different photo genres and experimenting…i.e., converting selected images to paintings or posters. And, although good images can be taken from roadside, take a walk. You will be surprised what you can find within 50-100 yards of the road.