Hi: My name is Trev and I'm a Photographer...
If this sounds like the greeting one associates with an addict in group therapy, it is because I am addicted - to the acts and rewards of photography - and in these challenging times of social limitations, I embrace that need to capture images.
We are all, to some extent, constrained by the necessary needs to isolate to varying degrees (especially those of us enduring our 13th week of lockdown and isolation in Auckland, NZ). I have sensed a degree of lethargy and weariness has set in. I wonder if that reflects the impact of enduring constraints to our ability to engage socially and with the environment...
One thing I have personally found is that the simple act of going out and taking photos is, in itself, a therapeutic experience. I think it is because when one goes and actively observes our surroundings, we are taken out of our isolation for a brief time, and find a connection to something other than our normal self: in some ways we turn a liability into a benefit, as we have time to just be with a world of potential subjects - if we look for them
The images themselves don't have to be monuments to art or creativity: they can simply be observations of the places that form our world - let's face it, that is in line with several genres of photography from way back.
I am normally a wildlife and scenic photographer: which, for me, means taking shots of creatures and places that are not within my normal domestic space; but in these mobility-challenging times, one needs to step away from our comfort zone and normal expectations or aspirations, and seek inspiration where one can, and occasionally that rewards us with the gifts of insight into what we might otherwise overlook as the mundane.
Photography, to me, offers several gifts that I hope you will recognize and hopefully enjoy yourself:
It makes us Actively Observe:
The act of taking a camera and seeking inspiration and subjects. As the renowned photographer Dorothea Lange said: "A camera is a tool for learning to see without a camera". That intensity of observation and awareness is, in itself, a great gift for us to engage with our space and time. Each day, each minute is something we will never have again, so giving them due attention is important.
It engages both technical and artistic skills:
Or, to put it another way, it uses both left and right brain functions, which is a benefit to our own intellectual balance and mental health. With modern technologies one can engage without the much deeper technical knowledge and skills demanded of the early pioneers, like Daguerre, Fox-Talbot, Herschel etc. Yet, it does demand some ability to understand how light, optics and time work together to impact our images.
For many of us who cannot, or choose not to create in other media, photography provides a great reward when we can capture or create an image that makes our eyes smile. It is also a great medium to share our own experiences and perceptions of the world.
It makes us Move:
One cannot get images while sitting on the couch, so going out to find those images propels us to get up and go somewhere. That exercise is good for our physical and mental health. I still enjoy shooting with heavy lenses and cameras, and I can take several such kits when I go out to shoot. I also shoot, as a rule, hand-held - so I have to train to be able to hold and control cameras that might weigh 2-3kg for extended periods.
Some folks have suggested that, at 69, I should reduce to much lighter gear, but I embrace the need to do the work to handle the gear. It keeps me younger. I do Pump classes, STEP, aerobics and cycle in order to keep myself fit enough to do the kinds of photography I want. But, I also know it will contribute to making me live longer and with more functionality - and that is, in itself, a gift...
So, I shall continue to make the effort to fire up my cameras, get out and shoot obvious, mundane and already-captured-to-death images because, in the end, it is not simply the image that is the reward, it is the physical, sensual and intellectual journey TO the image that takes us out of ourselves, and may outlast the photo itself.
