Where is the inspiration?

The composition, the feel, the light and shadow … what is it about a portrait or a landscape that speaks to you; that grabs your attention? Great question.

For me: I can be out trekking and find myself suddenly and unexpectedly at a location that stops me in my tracks; or I hear about a location through someone else speaking out about it; or I sometimes look at a collection of features and entertain myself on Google Earth wonder how to locate myself to view a specific alignment, of these features.

Ok so that gives me loose description of what is happening, to place me in a location. This process is going on all the time in my head; mostly because I have a memory of a general area that sticks with me. But what then? Well, in my case (with landscapes) I will be thinking about: alignment; the sun’s travel over the scene - therefore shadow and light; time of year - season; logistics. Then: focal length; depth.

When you are at a location, you can feel the impact in your gut. Then there is a period in which the place climbs into your heart and just takes over the process. For me I often feel transported out of myself, and a deep emotional catharsis occurs and a release implants the location inside me. Seeing what I have written here, gets my embarrassed affirmation. This is what I go through, along with the shedding of tears. This connection drives my need to invest my time energy and skill into reproducing what I see as faithfully as I can.

For a portrait I want to involve the subject in their world and incorporate that into the images. To tell their story, in short, and lead the viewer into finding the essence of this person and wonder what must their life have included. To people who know that person, that wonder is joined with understanding. They see that person in life. To me this also triggers my passion and my hunger to know them, so that I can portray them.

All of this is and more, is why I am so passionate about my photography. And passionate about getting my images out into the world. The beauty in Buddha Nature of every aspect of life, that I see - needs to be shared, it must be shared - to lift ourselves beyond our suffering. And so I am an advocate of beauty.

Terrence McKenna - “… be led by beauty”