What kind of Photographer are you?

Why do we take pictures? What drives us and why does it matter?

Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.

A landscape transformed - undulating lines of frost covered plastic.

This week I have been thinking about the reasons I love landscape photography and why, after many years as a professional, I am still motivated to keep going out and taking pictures.

We all have different reasons for taking photographs. These might include getting out in nature, documenting the world, entering competitions or just improving our skills. Whatever the reason I think it is important to understand what drives our creativity.

Our motivation to take pictures may not always stay the same. We are constantly evolving as photographers and as we grow we find different things that inspire us and our reasons for taking images change.

When I got my first camera as a child I was encouraged to document the world around me, to capture new places and make sense of all the new things I encountered. In later life photography became a means of escape and a more mindful practice. It was something to get me out of the house and to take my attention away from the everyday chaos of my life at the time. Now I don’t need that release as much and I take pictures for different reasons. I make my living from photography these days and it is the beauty I see in the natural world that motivates me. I want to share all the amazing things I experience, through my images and through running workshops. Today photography has become a way I can express my love for the natural world.

The beauty of the natural world - sunrise on the River Alde.

Sometimes, though, I question this simplistic view and wonder if my images are a true representation of what I am seeing. The world is beautiful, but it is also in crisis and I often ask myself if I should be taking a more balanced view and sharing images with more targeted messages?

There is no doubt that the landscape I was born into has changed massively in the half century I have been alive. The bare winter fields that I looked out on as a youngster, full of large flocks of lapwings, are now covered in seasonal plastic mulches which promote early crop growth but are almost devoid of wildlife.

A lone oak tree surrounded by rows of plastic covered crops

Farming techniques change, the old ways get left behind, modern practices take over and wildlife is the biggest loser. I am aware of the changes I see around me, but I am not saying anything about them with my images and I am beginning to wonder if this is a mistake?

Hoof prints from deer pierce the plastic sheeting as they try to cross this field.

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I bought a new photo book this week - Extraction / Abstraction by Edward Burtynsky. If you aren’t familiar with his work I would recommend that you take a look. His aerial images are visually attractive with a softness of tone that is quite alluring, but the subject matter is much less beautiful. Burtynsky has spent his life showcasing the impact of human activity on planet earth. This book has been released to coincide with a new exhibition of his life’s work which is currently showing at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

The book begins with the huge question ‘Can art save the world?’

Whilst there are clearly numerous facets to this question, I do feel (in a very generalised way) that all photographers have a power to influence and our work can definitely help raise awareness of issues that we feel strongly about.

Burtynsky has spent his working life trying to showcase the impact of human resource extraction upon the earth. He describes his mission as wanting to ‘produce photographs that have a kind of future forward built into them…pictures that mean they can’t be swept under the rug or ignored.’

His work is both beautiful and shocking, but more than this it is a learning experience which brings with it hope for the future.

Hope is not optimism, which is the belief that everything will be fine no matter what we do, which is just the flip side of pessimism, the belief that everything’s going to hell and there’s no reason to bother. For me hope lies in uncertainty. We don’t know what will happen, and we may be able to participate in shaping what will happen.

Rebecca Solnit

This quote starts the final chapter of Burtynsky’s book and for me sums up the importance of his photography. As a viewer we learn from his images. They evoke emotions in us which we can act upon - we can change how we behave and what we consume as a response. We may not be in control of what politicians or big corporations do but we can control our own activities and maybe this all gives us some hope for the future.

Photography as a learning process

So looking back at our own photography on a more local level and the question I asked at the start of this blog - what kind of photographer are you?

Many of us go out with the camera for pleasure and we are not looking to say anything profound with our images and that is absolutely fine. But I believe we can all learn something from the things that drive us to pick up our camera in the first place.

For example if you take pictures to get out in nature, then the very act of observing the world around you will lead to increased knowledge. You might photograph a flower, and then identify it so you can name your image. You might visit a new location, with new habitats or new geological features that you can research and learn about. Mindful photography will help you connect more with the world around you in alternate ways. You may become more attuned to the sounds and smells of the landscape and discover something you hadn’t encountered before. Even if you are a competition photographer, honing your skills and taking images for a brief, the process of thinking creatively about a task will provide learning experiences.

When we learn, we grow. Learning about the natural world helps us to care more because we become more connected. This is a part of photography I love, taking an image which leads to new learning and new knowledge.

My morning out in the landscape photographing the fields of agricultural plastic prompted me to do some research when I got home. I found that 135,500 tonnes of farm plastic waste is produced every year in the UK, but only some of this is recycled and used again. Some is illegally burnt, releasing toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  And some isn’t stored properly (a legal requirement), eventually making its way into the soil, rivers and seas or littering the countryside, wind blown high into trees and hedges.

Piles of plastic waste waiting to be reused, recycled or disposed

By taking a photo and doing some research I am now better informed about an activity that affects the landscape that surrounds me. And that is not just the negative impacts but also the reasons the plastic is used in the first place. What I choose to do with this knowledge comes down to the stories I wish to tell with my work.

For me photography is all about the experience in the landscape, the research that this may promote, the knowledge that I gain and then how I choose to share this. At the moment my work focus on the beauty of the natural world but maybe I am ready to tell more detailed and important stories about the landscapes around me?

Whatever your motivation for getting out with the camera, be it relaxation, connection or contemplation there is always something to learn and something to share with others.

Understanding why you take photographs will definitely help you grow as a photographer (I have written another blog post about it here), but the thing that will elevate your work more than anything else is passion.

So whether you are looking to capture your next portfolio image, tell an important environmental story or win the next photography competition you enter, remember that if you do something with passion you can achieve anything.

Thank you very much for reading and until next week enjoy your photography.

Gill

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As well as Burtynsky’s work I would also encourage you to listen to a podcast with Swedish photographer Anders Spetz. I found his story inspiring.

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What kind of photographer are you? What are the reasons you take pictures and have they changed over time? I would love to hear your stories so please add a comment below.

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