If there was a set of ingredients that we could use to make our photographs interesting and appealing to others, we would all be creating amazing images all the time. Unfortunately, there is no such set of ingredients. There are suggestions, guidelines, ideas and pointers that we can follow, but how to put these together in the frame, and end up with an image that will be interesting to those who look at it, is not an easy task. Despite studying the work of great photographers, taking photography classes and spending many hours in the field making images, we often find it difficult to end up with anything that will be appealing to a viewer. So, how do make our images more interesting and engaging for others? What is it that makes an image powerful? What will make our images stand out from the crowd? If you think of some images that produce an emotional reaction in you, what has the photographer done to produce this reaction? Finding the answer to that question might help you to do the same in your own images. Is it down to subject, light, viewpoint, composition, relationship between elements in the frame or a combination of these? Subject is undoubtedly an important element in every image, so, as a photographer, it is important to consider why you are drawn to the subject you have chosen. If you are serious about your photography you will avoid shooting randomly without giving much thought to what you are shooting. Instead, you will begin to feel drawn to certain subjects and these will become important elements in your work. Maybe you like capturing beautiful things, or you might prefer finding beauty in the ordinary and revealing this to the viewer. You might be drawn to natural elements such as rocks, sea or mountains, or maybe you like to include a human element in your images. You might be drawn to capturing trees, but not just any trees. Maybe you like trees that grow in a certain way or that relate to the trees around them through the shape they create. Strong patterns, shapes, colours and tones might feature prominently in your photography. Whatever your preference is, it is your preference and it is so for a reason, so it is worth being aware of that preference when making your images. I don't know why, but I love including stones in my images. Composition refers to how you arrange all the elements in the scene to make a pleasing image. Learning how to properly compose your photos will help you to drawn attention to your subject. This will involve careful use of well-established composition techniques and strategies rather than simply looking and quickly capturing what you see. With practice you will begin to develop an eye for good composition, which will in turn strengthen your images. Natural framing and using leading lines are two effective composition techniques. Including a human subject, or subjects, can elevate the image to more than just an empty landscape and help to tell a story. Mood refers to the feeling you want to convey in your image. Do you want a bright sunny image or a dark brooding one? Do you want to capture and reflect the external conditions on the day so that the viewer will get a sense of what you experienced? Do you want your image to reflect how you were feeling when you took the photograph? Do you want to capture how the subject made you feel? The mood of the image will be determined by how you make use of light in the image, the perspective you choose, how you use the weather conditions to sum up the mood you wish to convey and by the location you are in. By creating mood and atmosphere you can draw the viewer in and help them to connect with your image. Identifying with the mood of the image may evoke feelings in the viewer such as awe, joy, sadness or loneliness or bring back forgotten memories. When you create connection between viewer and photograph you can consider that your image is successful. This connection between viewer and image is not easy to achieve. Before you can even attempt to achieve it, I believe that you must feel for yourself that connection with your subject. There is another important ingredient which plays a part in achieving a worthwhile image. That is the emotional impact of the image. Emotional reaction is when external conditions have an internal impact. Sometimes this might be a simple reaction such as liking the earthy colours in a winter scene or responding emotionally to beauty in a landscape. It might be a deeper reaction such as evoking a childhood memory. Sometimes, the subject might provoke a strong emotional reaction, which can be either positive or negative. Often this reaction may be at an unconscious or gut level rather than a conscious level. However these feeling arise when we are photographing a subject, if we can harness them, work them into our composition and reflect them in our final image, we have a good chance of creating a more powerful image, an image that speaks to others and makes them want to stop and ponder what they are seeing. In my next post I will outline one approach to photography that can help us to harness this emotional reaction, achieve a connection with our subject and make our images stand out from the crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKTZo1vvjcA When I watched this latest video from Thomas Heaton - How I Handle a Terrible Day of Photography in the Field - it immediately resonated with me. Thomas Heaton is a professional landscape photographer based in the UK who has a very successful YouTube photography channel. He is inspirational, supportive and encouraging of photographers at every level and his videos are always entertaining. From his latest video I felt encouraged to make the most of photography in poor weather conditions, even on days when, as Heaton says, photography should have been a write off! With the exception of two weeks in December, when we had crisp, frosty days making for beautiful photography conditions, the weather in this part of the world has been wet, windy and grey for most of the winter so far. Skies are dull, the light is flat and there are no beautiful sunrises or sunsets. In these conditions it can be difficult to make any decent images, or even to enjoy photography, but in this video Thomas Heaton gives some tips on how to do just that. I kept this video in mind as I made a two hour journey to visit my daughter. I often stop on the way at a lake or woodland area to capture some images but as I started out there was heavy rain and wind so I doubted if I would make any photography stops. However, as Heaton urges in his video, I did keep a lookout for potential images and for places that might prove to be good stopping places on another occasion. As I neared my destination there was a break in the cloud so I decided to stop close to an old church to see if there might be a photo to save the day. Although the light was poor I did see a composition or two that I liked and I made these images. I did'nt try to brighten the images as I felt that the dull colours reflect the cold winter conditions. * The next day we took advantage of a dry spell to take a walk along a local canal bank. Although the light was poor I did see some nice reflections in the water and they have prompted me to return in more favourable conditions. * I had a similar challenge a few weeks ago when I took a short walk with my camera and I made a detour through a small park that I had not previously visited. While I was there, I had a look around for some photo opportunities. The day was dull and the location didn't offer many good compositions so I started off by shooting in black and white and then, as the sun began to make an appearance, I captured some shadows. Later I tried out some compositions using leading lines to see if I could turn a relatively dull scene into some worthwhile images. Although none of these images were taken in ideal photography conditions, I did have some memorable moments, and although I didn't come back with any winning images, I enjoyed being out with my camera and taking on the winter challenge. I hope you will enjoy watching the video from Thomas Heaton as he urges us not to rely on great weather or epic locations but just to get out with our camera, get creative and grow as photographers through overcoming less than ideal consitions. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKTZo1vvjcA

In landscape photography we try to communicate our vision through the images we create. Using the changing seasons is a popular means of visual storytelling, but telling a story through our photography is not simply reflecting what we see. Storytelling is an attempt to communicate our connection to the elements of the landscape. It is personal; an emotional response to what we see. In most seasons we create our story by the locations we go to, the scenes we choose to photograph and the way in which we compose our images. We can choose to go out in early morning or late evening and we usually have weather conditions conducive to creating worthy images. At the very least, our photography is usually not hampered by weather. In winter it can be different. Weather conditions are very unpredictable, and consequently so also is travel. Many days can be bitterly cold or very wet, which don’t entice us to get out with our cameras, especially if they are not weather sealed. And the shorter days give us less time to wait for a change in conditions. Yet the many variations of this season can bring its own joy for photographers, as I think winter is the season that creates it’s own story and it is up to us, as photographers, to get out, witness that story being told and bring it to others. The winter story is a tale of many variations Crisp mornings Amazing sunsets Frost Snowy days Ice Still, frosty air Frozen ponds Beautiful afternoon sun streaming through the trees Cold, moonlit nights Bare trees Dramatic skies These are some of the variations in weather that winter creates. There are also short, dark days where photography seems impossible, yet they too tell their story. The winter story is all around us. All we have to do is tell it.

It has now been four years since I started my blog site and I believe that 2022 has been my most successful year so far. Why do I say this? There has been an increase in readership this year, but it is only a marginal increase and there is still a lot of room for improvement so this is not the main reason that I feel the blog has been successful. During this year I made some links with organisations that reached out to me because of a certain post. This helped me increase my reach and encouraged me to believe that the algorithm is working away in the background. However, these types of ‘successes' will fluctuate so I don’t want to build the future of my blog on things that are outside my control. Also, to pin my success on getting contacts from random companies, most of whom are looking to promote themselves, would not fit with my aim for my blog, which is essentially to chart my own progress and share my learning and insights with my readers. The real success of the blog for me has been down to the fact that I am enjoying it more than ever; it has become a real outlet for sharing my photography journey as well as my images, and it has given me an opportunity to explore different photography related topics which might be of interest to others. I have identified 3 main reasons why 2022 has been my most successful blogging year to date. 1. Consistency For the first few years of my blog, I posted quite randomly. I tried to publish more than one post a week but ended up posting on different days of the week and there was no pattern to my timing of posts. As a result, I put myself under pressure to get posts published on time, yet I was working to a schedule that was entirely in my head. Since the beginning of this year, I have been posting once a week and always on the same day. Regular posting works for me because I can plan ahead and have a degree of discipline in my week. I don’t feel stressed as I always have a post ready to upload and a few saved in drafts so that I know what I am doing for the next few weeks. Posting weekly has been very motivating for me; it has helped me to stay on task, to honour my own commitment, and the pace feels just right. I initially chose my blogging time by checking google analytics to find out when most of my readers were reading but this can vary so I will stick with my original time of Sunday morning for now. I think that consistency of posting might be more relevant than the day or time, but I’m open to change if that becomes necessary. 2. Continuity By continuity I mean that I have stayed with my original purpose for my blog – sharing my journey as a photographer in training – and I have not branched off into other unrelated topics. Having said that, my journey has taken me in many different directions, but these are part of the (sometimes steep) photography learning curve. In all my posts I hope I have come across as a learner, not an expert, and that I have stuck with my original basic theme, that of sharing my journey, my progress, my learning and insights, and my personal development along the way. 3. Variety The fact that I have continued with my original purpose for my blog does not mean that I have continually covered the same ground. Learning photography is a multi-faceted, lifelong process and one field of learning regularly leads to another. I have followed photography teachers online who have introduced me to aspects of photography that I knew nothing about, as well as those who reinforce my attitude and outlook on life in general as they find meaning and purpose for themselves through creating with a camera. I have come across photographers who have been controversial, photographers who have posed interesting questions that I have tried to answer for myself and photographers whose philosophy of life simply resonates with me, and I love to follow their journey. These virtual trips via internet have given me food for thought, prompted me to respond and have also provided encouragement, challenge, growth and inspiration for my own journey. It is in responding in my own way to information provided by others, as well as forming my own insights through constantly getting out with my camera and putting my learning into practice, that I receive inspiration for my posts, and I believe that this is an ever-evolving process which can continue for as long as I want it to. In this way there'll be no end to variety in terms of blogging topics. ☆☆☆ Consistency, Continuity and Variety are the key aspects of my workflow that I have identified as contributing to the success of my blog this year. For several months after I started writing online, I actively tried to promote my blog in an effort to increase readership. I participated in a blogging start up course with Problogger and learned a lot about blogging that has been a great help to me. But, essentially, I discovered that it is not the art of blogging that is important to me, rather it is the content that I produce, and the honesty with which I share my journey, that means the most. I don’t obsess over the best titles to use or engage in ‘click bait’; I try to write what comes naturally. I try to write from the heart and allow my readership to grow organically. This way of working sits well with me. It gives me freedom to progress at my own pace, to write what I want to write and to enjoy what I am doing rather than feeling pressurised by the perceived expectations of others. Having come to terms with my own way of working, and by producing content that is true to my aims, varied in theme and posted regularly, I have had a successful blogging year and I hope to build on these successes in the coming year. Thank you to all my readers who have supported my site during the year. Whether you have read some of my posts, shared my link or reached out to me by email, I really appreciate each one of you and hope you will continue to visit my site and share my photography journey into the future. HAPPY NEW YEAR

The final element, the final challenge. Having tackled 'Water', 'Earth' and 'Fire' we are left with 'Air' in Kim Grant's Elements Photography Challenge. Air does not immediately offer as many possibilities as the other three elements did. There is the possibility of capturing some birds in flight, an action which obviously needs air. Otherwise it is a case of doing some creative thinking. The 'rules' of these challenges are simple. The images should be as creative as possible while in some way incorporating the theme. Firstly, some brainstorming was called for. There were a few possibilities for capturing images of birds: I could use an interesting foreground or background and wait for a bird to fly into the scene. I could watch for a dramatic sky and capture some birds in flight. I could shoot at sunrise or sunset and capture bird silhouettes. I could try a minimalist image. There are also other options for depicting air in photography. As well as photographing flight, there's: Stillness Gentle breeze Frosty air (since it's winter) The next step was to think about getting creative. In this challenge there didn't seem to be many opportunities to get creative in-camera so I thought about creative processing of my rather ordinary images. Here are some of the final images. The images submitted to this challenge are not judged on their merit as photographs but rather they are chosen for display on Kim Grant's channel based on how the theme is interpreted. If you have a favourite from this set of images I'd love to hear about it. Please let me know in the comments. Why not join in the Air Photography Challenge which will be running until Sunday January 8th. This challenge will give you a reason to get out with your camera and get you thinking creatively. You really will begin to see the world in a new way and you may discover, as I did, a whole new appreciation for the air that we breathe!

A big thank you to all who have taken the time to read my blog and view my images during the past year. Your support is really appreciated. Thanks also to those who have reached out to me with supportive comments. Your feedback is very valuable to me and helps me improve my content. If you have any thoughts for future blogging topics, that might help you in your own photography journey, please let me know in the comments below. I wish all my readers a very productive and creative 2023.

It can be difficult to motivate ourselves to do photography during the winter months. Dull, drab days are often not conducive to good photography, and even on bright days it can be cold and uninviting outside. Despite this, it might seem strange to say that I have had some of my most enjoyable days of photography on crisp winter mornings and for me it is important to keep getting out and making the most of all that nature has to offer in winter. Last year I wrote a post about making the most of winter photo opportunities when the weather is dull and drab, with no dramatic conditions such as frost, fog or snow to add interest to our photographs. In that post I shared some photos that I took of beautiful winter sunsets and also photos of winter trees which I think make great subjects, and I suggested that we can get out and make the most of what winter has to offer, despite the lack of ideal winter conditions. But there is a limit to what we can do in photography when the light is poor and the sky is a boring grey. This year has brought some more interesting winter conditions so I felt it was important to make the most of any photo opportunities that presented themselves. Below are some images that I captured on a recent cold frosty day in and around my local park. I hope you like them. Days like this don't come often and conditions can change very quickly. Making these images on this beautiful winter day was both enjoyable and memorable and that is why I think it is important to make the most of all that winter has to offer to photographers. I hope this winter brings you lots of opportunities to make great photographs. I am looking forward to more exciting winter photo opportunities before the season ends. Happy Holidays.

I recently heard this question asked on a photography channel and realised that asking photographers if they shoot for the sale or for the soul does not refer to making money from photography but asks: Do you shoot for other people’s approval, for social media likes, or to gain followers? Do you post your photos into photography groups and ask for opinions on them, or seek the judgement of others on which of two styles of edit looks best? Or do you shoot for yourself, take the photographs you like, experiment and explore to discover your tastes and preferences, take chances even when you have no guarantees of success, broaden your horizons because it is good for you, and for your development as a photographer? I would like to think that I shoot for the soul. I want my photography to be enjoyable and meaningful and I don’t want to experience the feelings of frustration and failure that can become a reality when we rely on others for affirmation. There is nothing like capturing an epic shot, but these are not easy to achieve, and it can be time consuming and frustrating to get the exact shot we are looking for. It can also lead to perfectionism as we continually aim to achieve that elusive shot. For me, this is not the most rewarding aspect of photography. I get the most from my photography when I am exploring, when I am discovering new places and new things to shoot. Sometimes this will simply mean going out with a camera and an idea in mind, and just enjoying the shoot and the images I create. On this occasion I went out to photograph shape and lines in the built environment. I thoroughly enjoyed this topic which I had not explored before, and it was the experience, rather than the resulting images, that meant the most to me. On this photography outing I just took random images of things that interested me. Photography is something that gives me great joy, a fact that I have referred to in other posts. However, on my photography journey I have often fallen into the trap of wondering if my images will be liked by others and by asking this, I am inviting feelings of not being good enough. I am beginning to realise that I must do photography for myself – I must shoot for the soul rather than shoot for the sale.

My first camera was a point and shoot film camera, and that’s exactly what I did. I pointed the camera at my subject and took the shot. My images were not always successful! I often had images with a branch sticking out of someone’s head or limbs cut off. I had images where all the interest was concentrated on one side, images with wonky horizons or images that were over or under exposed. After receiving many disappointing images back from the photo lab, I began to realise that I needed to be more careful with my compositions. And because making these types of mistakes was expensive, my first photography lessons were to learn some basic composition techniques. When I progressed from a basic camera to my first SLR camera I tried to get to grips with all the wheels and dials and to understand ISO, aperture and shutter speed, but this was a steep learning curve at the time, and I didn’t have a lot of success. Fast forward to four years ago when I started re-learning photography with a DSLR camera and I began to realise that there is so much to learn, so much improvement to be made all the time, that it really does take a serious commitment of time and interest. Thankfully, with digital photography we don’t have the expense of having film developed but there are still considerable costs in starting photography as a hobby. Apart from the camera and lenses there are extras such as camera bag, lens filters, tripod, possibly a subscription to an editing programme. The costs mount up. But there is one way that you can learn photography without these costs and that is by learning with your phone camera. Firstly, it is a camera that you always have with you. Secondly, it is much more capable than the old point and shoot cameras. There is a view that the top range mobile phone cameras can even equal cheaper DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Thirdly, there are no extras to buy such as camera bag, tripod and lenses, unless you want these to enhance your experience. I am not talking here about investing in the ‘latest and greatest’ phone camera. In fact, having the latest phone camera might prove to be a disadvantage as you may find it difficult to move to a real camera, and in my view, we don’t gain a real photography experience by just using a phone. What I am talking about is using a phone to learn about photography rather than worrying about quality of images. So, any phone with a camera will do the job. Here are 7 ways in which you can learn photography without buying expensive camera equipment. 1. Composition – learning the fundamentals In my view, getting the composition right is one of the most important skills in photography. We can know all the technical jargon but if we fail to nail the composition, we fail to capture a good image. Our mobile phone is invaluable for learning composition. A simple first step is to turn on the grid which will help keep horizons straight and encourage use of one of the most popular composition strategies – the rule of thirds. Good composition involves getting different perspectives, using a variety of angles from which to shoot, constantly moving to get the best vantage point, and working with the best available light. Having a small, handheld device makes this easy to do and encourages us to constantly experiment with composition. Nothing beats learning by doing and by having lots of opportunities to practise, we naturally teach ourselves better composition skills. I am always on the lookout for interesting leading lines which lead the viewer into the frame. Having my phone camera on hand helps me find these when least expected. 2. Subject – learning about focus and exposure Finding an interesting subject is key to having a good composition. Photographer James Popsys claims that the best photographs are those that are about something rather than of something. A beautiful scene will not always translate into a beautiful image but when we focus on a subject, on an interesting aspect of the scene, we can elevate the image into something more. Focus is easy with our phone cameras. We just tap on the screen where we want our focus to be, and the camera does the rest. We can lock focus to ensure that we are still focused on our subject even if we move, and from our focal point we can slide our finger up or down to control exposure. This quickly becomes highly intuitive. 3. Working with lenses – learning about lens choice and how focal lengths work One of the important lessons in photography is learning about focal length and the effect that changing focal length has on an image. To do this properly with a camera we would need to have a range of different lenses or at least a standard telephoto lens with a good focal range, and both these options can be expensive. Working with a mobile phone camera gives us easy access to a choice of several lenses, all within the one device. Mobile phone cameras vary considerably regarding lenses. Entry level phones will at least have a wide-angle and an ultra-wide-angle lens, while many recent phones have a triple lens setup consisting of a wide-angle lens, an ultra-wide-angle and a telephoto lens. Phone camera lenses are developing all the time and some now have the addition of a macro lens for close-up photography. Having this range of lenses at our disposal, without having to physically change lenses, means we can easily experiment with the effect of changing focal length, with choosing which focal length is best in each situation and with being creative with focal length. The images below give some examples of using three different mobile camera lenses. 2x lens 1x lens 0.5 lens 4. Editing – learning about improving our images Most images, even those captured on an expensive camera, need at least some editing. This is another aspect of photography that can be mastered using a mobile phone. Most online photo storage spaces have their own editing suites. Social media sites used for displaying photographs also have editing capabilities as well as a range of filters. Additionally, there are many editing apps such as Lightroom Mobile or Snapseed which can give excellent results. One of the main advantages of these editing options is that we can do our editing on the go. We instantly upload our images, edit as required, and easily save the edited images to our phone storage. The results may not equal those of a full editing programme, but they do give a taste of how to edit and help us refine our editing style. 5. Get Creative - make more of your photography Light trails, macro, abstract, ICM, use of creative filters and editing techniques, blurring background with Live Focus and use of third-party apps are all options available to us on our phone cameras and give us the opportunity to get creative with our photography. 6. Apps – learning advanced skills While some modern phones have a manual option which can be accessed through the camera settings, for those that don’t there are many third-party apps available to download onto any smartphone which will enhance the camera capabilities of our phone and give us some aspects of a more professional camera. Slow Shutter Cam allows us to easily change shutter speed for creative effect, such as creating ICM images. Editing apps such as Snapseed allow us to make creative choices, as well as regular editing Apps such as Lightroom Mobile, ProCam and Reeflex allow us to shoot in manual mode with the option of adjusting ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Having this capability on our phone encourages us to experiment with these professional settings, and helps us understand the terms, what they mean and what they do. 7. Continuity – life-long learning Photography is one of those subjects where there is always more to learn and where you never reach perfection. The phone camera can be our constant learning companion in that we can use it at any time and for any purpose. It can help us perfect a skill or try out a technique when the right opportunity arises. Phones themselves will continue to advance and develop and give us continuous opportunities to upskill and keep abreast of new technologies. With our phone camera by our side, we can be life-long learners in the art of photography. Conclusion Learning photography is challenging and rewarding. It has given me endless hours of pleasure; it has kept my mind active and fed my soul. And learning photography doesn’t have to be expensive. We have an effective learning tool with us all the time – our phone camera. With our phone camera we can: · Learn the basics of composition and editing without investing in expensive cameras, lenses, filters, tripod and camera bag. Our phone camera travels light. · Get creative with our photography Learning to be creative with our camera is where the real joy of photography lies. Once we have mastered the basic skills our photography journey becomes a journey of discovery. · Develop more advanced skills and continue our learning Whatever we need to learn to improve our photography skills, our phone camera, by being an increasingly capable and ever-present device, will support and accelerate the learning process. Why not unlock the learning potential of your mobile phone camera?

It is early morning in the second week of November. The light is flat and there is no sign of any early morning sunshine appearing in the woodland. I am out for a walk with an hour to spare. I have come to an area that I passed through a few days earlier when I didn’t have my camera with me. On that occasion I had seen a possible woodland composition and I took a quick shot with my phone, promising myself that I would come back with my camera. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity. I used an 18-200mm telephoto lens and a 50mm lens and took a set of images at different focal lengths. When I had taken what I needed I took some more images in the immediate area, and some more on my walk back to my car. These are some of the images I captured: If you have a short time to spare and want to make the most of your photo shoot I recommend going to a location and staying within a short radius of your starting point. You will often be surprised that you will find images that you might have missed by moving on too soon. I sometimes make this very mistake. I keep walking, thinking I should cover as much ground as possible to find the best compositions. Today I discovered that the best images were indeed right beside me and I came away feeling that I had made the best use of the short photography shoot. You might like to read Part 1 of this post.

In photography we often answer the questions what and how rather than why. We think about what we will photograph and how to best achieve the capture, but we don’t often ask ourselves why we are taking photographs in the first place. That question might not seem as important to our photography as the other two, but in my view, giving time to considering why we take photos can go a long way to improving our practice. It gives us an increased awareness of our inner motivation, and this is what can keep us going in times when getting out and taking photographs is proving difficult. Sometimes, to really find the answer to why we photograph we can go back to when we first got interested in photography and discover what it was about this pursuit that fired our imagination and kept us coming back to it, even if we have abandoned it for a while. When I look back to where my photography journey started, I think about one photograph in particular, a photograph that stands out in my memory. My first camera was a relatively inexpensive film camera, and most of my first photographs were black and white photos of people posing for the camera. The photograph below was different. It was a spontaneous capture, a moment, a look between two people that was caught on camera, and It was the first time that I felt I had done something slightly more creative with my camera. That photograph marked a turning point for me; it was the beginning of branching away from staged family portraits and trying to use my camera in a more creative way. Connected to this change in my perspective was a visit to the studio of a local photographer. I remember entering an Aladdin’s cave of interesting smells and a visual feast of amazing landscape images of local locations. Seeing what was possible in photography gave me the inspiration to upgrade my camera and begin to capture my own visual interpretations in local places. I believe that my early photography experiences moulded my love for making images and for creative photography in particular. When I reflect on the why of my photography, I understand the drive to make photographs that I have today, and this knowledge continues to motivate and inspire me. I particularly love to experiment and try out different techniques. I am often surprised by the results. Today I can still ask myself the question, why do I take photographs? What is it that motivates me to go out, often early in the morning or in inclement weather, to capture a sunrise? What is it that inspires me to wait around when I see the possibility that the sun will come out and light up the scene in front of me? What is it that encourages me to take a camera in my hand and go out in search of a pleasing composition even though I may be the only one who sees the final image? I do this because: Taking a photo makes me feel something, something I can’t explain, something deep inside me. When I take a camera in my hand and go out to make an image, I feel alive, connected, engaged with the world around me. There is an empathy with nature that comes with being out among the natural elements - discovering what lies among woodland trees, strolling on deserted beaches, hiking across hills and valleys or exploring country lanes and byways - an empathy that brings an immense sense of oneness and connectedness that encourages me to want to share my passion with others. Photography is a way of expressing myself. Through my photography I can convey my ideas, thoughts and feelings in a creative, visual way. It is a visual language which helps me to express emotions that I find hard to put into words. Photography challenges me. The drive to get better at photography is a strong motivating factor. I might shoot 100 photos and among them discover one that I really like, one that has turned out exactly as I wanted it to. It is that photo that keeps me going out, trying something new, building on what I like. Photography motivates me to experience more in life. When I capture the beauty and wonder of the world around me, I immerse myself in the richness of that beauty. Photography helps me to slow down, to see more, to feel more and to appreciate more. Spending time with my camera, intentionally choosing a subject and composing an image, brings a feeling of joy and contentment that is hard to rival. Conclusion In photography, what we photograph and how we photograph are important considerations, but asking ourselves why we photograph is also a valid question, one that can have an important influence on our craft. How would you answer the question, Why Do I Take Photographs? Further reading You might like to read these related posts. 10 Proven Ways That Photography Can Enrich Your Life Why Photography Is Good For Your Wellbeing Why I Think Photography Is a Great Hobby or check out this video outlining reasons why it’s good to reflect on why we take photographs in the first place https://youtu.be/1ibEx4iHigw

It can be difficult to maintain focus in street photography. By its very nature it is a random pursuit, and not easy to plan for. The resulting images can be less than satisfactory as they may not seem connected or part of a whole, other than that they were taken in roughly the same place. This might work well when we are exploring a new location, particularly one that is in sharp contrast to where we live, but if we constantly photograph the same locations, we will be expecting interesting moments to elevate our images, and these moments don’t come along very often. Having a project in mind before going out into the street gives us some advantages: (a) We can have at least a rough idea of what we want to capture. (b) Our focus for our photography shoot will be improved. (c) Our images will have a purpose, a cohesion, a connection that might not otherwise be achieved. I happened to be in a small seaside village in Co. Sligo, Ireland, when the annual triathlon was taking place. I decide to go out with a focus on telling the story of the day through some images. What did I learn from this mini project? · By taking photographs I became part of the action rather than merely an onlooker, which increased my interest in the event. · I witnessed many interactions and conversations which were a great example of community action and support. · I felt that my images gave a flavour of the day and gave me a reason to be out taking photographs in an area which is more remarkable for its scenery than its street images. ☆ I really enjoyed my mini project and I see how it can inspire and give more direction to a street photography outing. FOR FURTHER LEARNING You might like to watch this video from well-known street photographer Brian Duckett - STREET PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTS - And How They Can Help Improve Your Skills As A Street Photographer