Mark L Edwards' photostream  

"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are"
- Anais Nin

“I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at - not copy it.”
- Georgia O´Keefe-

“Photography is not about replicating reality, its about evoking emotion.”
- Unknown -

My Photographic History
1971 - Given my first serious camera by my Father a Corfield Periflex
1973 - Father is told Corfield Periflex could now be valuable and takes back camera :-) replaces with "Zenit E" Russian very manual camera looks and feels like it was manufactured by a military tank manufacturer
1977 - I attend art college for one year general art course followed by three years studying Photography. Culminates in an Exhibition of my work called "People & Places" in a gallery in Southend-on-sea
1979 - Won the "International Salon of Photography" Student Award.
1980 - Freelance assistant photographer in London commercial advertising work
1981 - Worked at 10X8 Studio in Essex
1982 - Left photography disillusioned not picking up a camera for 25 years.
2007 - Bought my first DSLR camera a Canon 5D and range of lenses and start to study digital photography.
2007 - Joined Flickr amazed at the improvement in the general standard of photography due to the advent of digital photography. This I believe is also a result of the instant feedback digital photography provides and ability to share images and knowledge via the Internet.
2008 - Founder member of Great Notley Photography Club www.gnpc.co.uk
2009 - Published in Digifoto Pro Magazine as competition finalist

"Egg on a Plate"

2010 - Published in Oxford Medical School Gazette 2 images.
"Alzheimer's Tightening Grip" and

"No More Smiles".


Competition Winner: Canon "Battle of the Clubs" competed over nine months Great Notley Photography Club www.gnpc.co.uk Won Best Club and my Image of my Mother won Best Overall Image"

"In the Wake of Alzheimer's"

2010 (continued) - I was also featured as "Artist of the week" in Public Republic publication see www.public-republic.net/artist-of-the-week-%E2%80%93-mark...

Winner Of The Canon Battle Of The Clubs Competition

I am third from the right

2011 - I have a number of exciting photographic goals set for this year including continuing my work on the homeless and Alzheimer's as well as producing some fine art images and to improve my ability in sports action photography.

Article That was published in The Daily Mail and online

This image won the first round of the "Advanced Photographer" magazine club competition June 2011
"Wear Pattern"


www.advancedphotographer.co.uk/newsl/june11/camclubs-news...


Currently
I am a founder and active member of the Great Notley Photography Club see www.gnpc.co.uk. If you live in the area I would recommend that you come along to a meeting and give it a try as it may dispel some of the stereo type images you may have of such clubs. I remember once saying many years ago that I would never join a photographic club and I am now a committee member :-) GNPC is a lively and fun club that has a strong social core and a very wide range of members and activities. The club also has a very active online Flickr Group where members interact on a daily basis www.flickr.com/groups/gnpc/

I know that buying a DSLR does not make you a photographer just a camera owner and it takes work and perseverance to use the camera to create images that really communicate. The photograph can very artistic and a great means of communication if you can put behind you the technical, learn the visual language of the subconscious so that you can translate that language to convey the meaning and emotions that you have experienced in being there.

I am currently working on two photographic projects. The first is a series of images of my Mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's. The intention is to highlight this terrible disease and to also raise some money for The Alzheimer's Research Trust.
The second project is a series of black and white street images that I want to submit to The Royal Photographic Society for their ARPS qualification.

A Digital Beginning
I started taking Digital photographs towards the end of the summer (Aug 07) after a break from photography of 25 years. I felt almost compelled to take photographs at the time initially feeling that is was just about taking me back to something that I had enjoyed previously and wanted to recapture.

Now (16th September 2009) whilst updating my profile I realise looking back that it is more than that. The last two years have been a journey through photography. As I strive to improve my photographic skills I now realise that it also allows me to better understand myself. When I have a camera in my hand and I am fully focused on the scene around me, I feel totally at peace. It is a very calming experience, like a form of moving meditation. Happy relaxed and in the moment, focused on capturing what I am seeing, feeling and wanting to convey.

There are many disappointments and frustrations as I try to create images that I am proud. How I have handled those frustrations and disappointments has allowed me to understand more about myself.

When it is so easy to let your life slip by in a endless stream of busyness what a gift it is to be able to step out of that flow for a few hours and just STOP. Relax and stop the internal chatter of our minds that clutters our life. In those moments of calm when I feel centred without any worries or care just enjoying the moment, that is when we get the breakthroughs in self discovery and development. They may not appear at that precise moment but I think just giving your mind that holiday is when we allow our mind the space to figure out the really important questions. The questions that reach to the real essence of who we are and what makes us happy. The Dalai Lama once wrote a book all about the essence of life is to be happy. Clever chap I wonder if he takes photographs? :-)

Digital
Picking up a digital camera made such a difference to previously when I used film and chemicals. With digital photography you have instant feed back of the image seconds after clicking the shutter. This to me really makes a difference as it helps steepen the learning curve. Most of all I enjoy the process of taking photographs as I find when I have a camera in my hands, I put on the eyes of a child and really start to SEE things.

I tend to gravitate towards the bolder images with strong colours and clean composition. I am not afraid to pump up the saturation (within limits) as I like images that make you see things from a fresh perspective.

Slowing Down
One of the things that really works for me is to deliberately slow down or to get in the zone. I first get myself comfortable.

I then go through the process of checking all my camera settings. In the first few minutes I will often take a photograph just to get myself warmed up. I try to keep my mind relaxed and light, scanning the scene around me without any preconceptions, looking for what attracts my eye. Once I see the first shot I will take it fairly quickly and then slow down as I ask myself some questions.

1) What is the main subject / focal point? What caught my eye? Is it the colour the contrast, the shape. texture, something humorous?

2) I then decide upon my theme for the photograph. I may be taking a photograph of a jetty over a lake but the theme is tranquility and stillness.

3) What ever theme I have I will then work to try and enhance that theme in the image and consciously make that message stronger. In the above example I may use a polarising filter and a long exposure to get a still and clear reflection.

4) What other elements are attractive in this shot? In this example it may be the glow from the sunset. What can I do to ensure that the full colours are captured and the sunrise is not blown. In this example maybe I take a number of different exposures so that I can do some image blending or an HDR. I then go through the same process looking at any other elements within the shot perhaps this could involve reducing the depth of field or using a filter.

5) Have I found the best angle? I will then move around looking for other angles and heights. Can I create better separation between the main elements in the photograph with a different angle? Where does the horizon cut across the subject? Are the main elements overlapping? Would it be better if they were separated? Sometimes moving just a few inches makes a big difference. I find this important to enhance the main elements in your image.

5) Then I will look at the images that I have taken and see what is the best shot so far? Why is it the best? How can it be better?

6) It is at the stage that I become more critical about the composition and exposure. I will look at the shapes within the frame both the main subject and the negative spaces. How can I simplify the shot and make the shapes bolder, clearer. Have I clipped important shapes? Has the shot been framed correctly? Have I given the subject / shapes room to breath within the frame? Can I remove any distracting elements in the shot that don't add to the scene by tighter cropping (In camera)? Do I need to remove litter from the scene?

7) By placing my jacket over my head I will view the screen to get a close look at the image. I will zoom in to check the obvious like is it pin sharp. Is it correctly exposed? Is the DOF right for this shot? Then does it convey the atmosphere / message I want to deliver? How could I enhance that message? Perhaps it is the feeling of tranquillity that I get from the scene, how can I make this communicate that feeling better? What "in camera" changes can I make to improve that feeling or message?

I do stress that this is just my personal approach for landscape and still life photography. Obviously not possible in quite the same way for instance with fast action sports photography. It will change according to the type of photography I am doing and the circumstances at the time.

I start with the mindset that in EVERY location there is a great photograph waiting to be discovered and I just need to find it. Not always true but it works best for me.

Slowing Down is the Objective
I really don't want to be a dawn/dusk, blue sky, fluffy white clouds, wind in the east, R in the month type photographer. When all the elements have to be perfect before I take my lens cap off. All situations, weather and light conditions are a challenge I just need to be "up for it". For me it is all part of the fun of photography.

I have come to the conclusion that slowing down is THE goal, the images are a great by-product.

1. Split Personality, 2. Powering Home, 3. Need a Hand, 4. Reflective Opposites, 5. Thaxted Parish church of St John, 6. Armani Dreamer, 7. Homeless Army Pals Looking Out For Each Other, 8. Grey Rainy Day in London,

9. Quiet Pint at Christmas, 10. No Place To Go, 11. Welsh Sunset, 12. In The Wake Of Alzheimer's, 13. Alzheimer's: The Mirror That Never Answers Back v2, 14. Holly, 15. Alzheimer's When Happy Memories Drift Away, 16. Below the Level Of Consciousness,

17. Down And Nearly Out, 18. Clint Calhoun Grand Canyon shot in B&W, 19. Pad Work, 20. Two Seats and a World Apart, 21. Less is More: Heading home after the rain, 22. Peppers Sliced But Not Stirred, 23. Sun Burst Descending