FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER

As my camera skills improved, I started to enjoy the challenge of capturing wildlife in my lens. I sat mesmerised by the arctic terns on the Farne Islands as they danced across the sky. on my return, however, I was disappointed to see so many other photographs almost identical to mine. I felt I had failed to capture the ‘essence’ of these beautiful birds. ‘Artful Tern’ is my attempt to reproduce that ephemeral, fleeting ballet-like movement that had so sparked my imagination. It was created by layering a few textures I shot specifically for this photograph.

Having completed a number of these composite images, I grew tired of sitting at the PC for hours and I began to re-focus my attention on improving my skills with a camera. over the years, I have enjoyed the wonderful paintings of ophelia by artists such as Everett Millais and Edward Burne-Jones and I wanted to create a similar image, using my camera.

A few remaining members of our portrait group gathered expectantly at the end of the day. A bright blue paddling pool was filled with tepid water and our model gingerly positioned herself under the water. A range of different flowers and scoops of pond weed were distributed around her and over her dress. The flowers became waterlogged very quickly, so I began making separate photographs of them to blend in, during post processing. Whilst I did spend some time in Photoshop layering the flowers, I began to realise it was much easier and far more satisfying to create the image in my head by setting up a scene, rather than trying to create one with many separate photographs and painstaking cutting and pasting.

It was at this point I became stuck. I couldn’t see how I could bridge the gap between art and photography in a more unique way. I was keen to create a more ‘painterly’ feel to my photographs and was growing tired of the regular insistence that every photograph needed to be sharp.

It was at this time that I came across an article about the ‘Pep Ventosa’ or ‘in the round’ technique. ‘Autumn Red’ was the result of shooting approximately fifty images from different positions around the tree. I processed each separately