Jamie Gibbons Life outside the womb is tough! I've been out here for 45 years. I've always struggled, and I've got the scars to prove it both on my body and in my inner-world. Just so you know, I've lived with life-long mental health and addiction problems. I have lived inside a pretty much perpetual envelope of distress and chaos. Creativity never really blossomed out of me until my 40s, really. I would describe most of my photographic life as fumbling around with technicalities, there wasn't really much creative output, nothing I was pleased with anyway. Now things are different!
The artist that has arisen in me is my Phoenix. What a wonderful creature!
Writing is built into me. It was built into me long before I ever became a writer. It's built into me in the same way that digging holes is built into a rabbit, or swimming is built into a fish. With photography it's different. Once upon a time, photography wasn't built into me. It is something I've had to really work at. I discovered photography circa 2005. I have now put countless hours of practice into photography. I am happy with how I have progressed. All these years later photography is now built into me, I have made it mine.
As someone who has lived with great difficulties, I feel blessed with the creative output that has grown like a beautiful flower from the smoking ruins of my life. Photography to me is a great soother, writing a great releaser. Much suffering has FORCED me to be creative. I am thankful for the creativity I am blessed with. It often feels to me that my creativity comes from an 'otherworldly place'. Thank you whatever you are.
Both writing and photography nurture me and nourish me from the inside out, I absorb them like a sponge.
My earliest fascination was macro photography. I was then, and still am fascinated with how the tiny can become big. Since then I have studied various types of photography. I love abstractions and surrealism. When looking at other photographers' work, I notice. I have practised many hours of camera work, reading and editing. RAW's are cool, but I love the JPEG output of my GR3 and X70. I am fine with either major alterations postclick, or zero alterations. Either way, as long as it's done classy.
Photography like writing is so deep. It makes me look at, and see the world differently. We are primarily visual creatures, and there is light all around us. After all these years I now see the world around me with different eyes; photographic eyes. is my life, photography and writing are rocks to me.
