Discovering the Value of Everyday Photography

During the past year I discovered an interest in photographing what I call the ‘everyday landscape’. For me, this involves getting out with my camera as often as possible and looking for potential subjects wherever I happen to be. There is no particular theme to this photography, I just stop at something that catches my eye and take a picture.

Sometimes I will plan on taking a certain route close to my home to see what subjects reveal themselves to me, at other times I will go out without a plan and see where my walk takes me.

My routes include rural areas in my neighbourhood, other locations within easy travelling distance, and rural locations that I visit regularly to see family. It also included travel photography when I visited Vila Real de Santo Antonio in Portugal, where I enjoyed morning photography walks in the local environment, away from the tourist centre.

This emphasis on photographing in the everyday environment has provided numerous benefits to my photography.

It has helped me to become more observant and to notice small details or interesting subjects that I might otherwise have overlooked.

It has broadened my range of subjects and encouraged me to move away from 'traditional' subjects.

It has provided me with ample opportunities to work on skills such as composition, exposure and choosing the right aperture or shutter speed.

It has helped me to make use of the lenses I have and realise that I have all that I need.

It has helped me to develop my photographic eye and to become more confident in identifying subjects and scenes that appeal to me.

It has encouraged me to experiment and to take lots of photographs without making judgements about them.

It has given me the confidence to take a risk and show images that are flawed but part of a ‘work in progress’.

This development in my photography has led to a series of posts called,

Photos from My Photography Walk

in which I hope to regularly present a set of photos taken on one walk, with a short comment.

You can find the first of these posts here.