The best moments in time deserved to be frozen in a photograph.
Hi, I’m Paul !
Isn’t it funny that when you sit back and think about your childhood there’s certain constant in each memory that shape who you are today. Go on give it ago, make yourself a drink, relax and really think about it. For me, there were two constants.
The first one being the outdoors in one shape or another. Either exploring the countryside, wandering along the coast on Holidays or climbing and exploring in the Peak District.
The second one, although I didn’t realise it until later in life was cameras. It started with my dad carrying a film SLR around with him. I must have been 3 or 4 at the time, I can still hear the click of the shutter now, although I wasn’t allowed to go near it. I remember getting my first camera for a birthday when i must have been 5 or 6 (Probably to keep me away from my dads). it was a bright green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle film camera. Even though it put a little picture in the bottom right hand corner of a Ninja Turtle giving a thumbs up I loved that camera. I wish i could remember what happened to it…..
The trip that saw the end of my trusty Nikon D60, what a trip it was though.
My teenage years were spent photographing anything I could with as many disposal cameras as i could. Holidays, friends, parties, you name it i photographed it.
I went on to study graphic design and 3D animation at college and university ,this is where my first DSLR came in. It was a Nikon D60 and was my pride and joy for years. It opened my eyes to what was possible and introduced me to aperture, shutter speed and ISO. A total contrast my disposable point and shoots and a bit of head scratcher at first. Unfortunately after a trip to the Peak District during a blizzard the camera developed a few issues and stopped working….. Back to the disposable cameras it is then.
You can’t beat being in the middle of nowhere, watching the world pass by.
Years passed by with a combination of disposable cameras and mobile phone cameras before I got my hands on another DSLR, the Canon 700D. This is when everything changed…
The nerd in me started delving into everything from lighting and filters to modified cameras. I absorbed as much knowledge as i could about everything i could. I upgraded my equipment and practiced with everything as often as i could (thank you to my amazing wife). Eventually developing an obsession with light. That might be lighting on a Landscape photograph, portrait or Astrophotography (Although that’s slightly different kind of “Light”), they all have the same thing in common. add in some interesting light and amazing things happen.
Alarms were set for times in morning they really shouldn’t have been to catch the best light on a landscape. I started experimenting with flashes, strobes and lighting modifiers to create different lighting in portraits. I even started to get an unhealthy fascination with photographing the night sky…. As if lack of sleep from trying to catch as many sunrises as i could wasn’t bad enough….
the inquisitiveness of childhood, finding wonder in everything.
Looking back through your life makes you realise how the world is full of wonder and amazing things. Memories and life experiences are so important, not just the past but the future too. Hence the header at the top of the page. The best moments in time deserve to be frozen in a photograph. That’s my aim with every image i take, not just to take a “nice” photograph but to capture a memory. A memory that you can look back on in years to come and be instantly transported back to that exact moment.