Studying HE Access L3 Photography.

My reasons for studying photography:

Photography has been of interest to me from a young age. I remember being really quite young and playing around with disposable film cameras, the concept of being able to capture images fascinated me. As I was growing up skateboarding was my true passion, it consumed all of my conscious attention. I guess when I look back it was the sense of freedom it gave me.  It was through Skateboarding that my interest in photography developed. I frequently bought skateboarding magazines and the photographs within those magazines inspired me. I began to take out a camera wherever I went so that I could document my friends and I in action. I was around eleven years old when my mum got me my first digital camera and by that point I was completely hooked. I continued to skate and take photographs  until I was around sixteen then unfortunately due to social pressure and by being surrounded by a different circle of friends, my passions began to dwindle. Eventually I stopped altogether. I studied Television and Film production at college but never really showed much interest in it and did not manage to complete the course. I ended up going into full time work and during my time spent working long, uneventful, twelve hour shifts at the Brewery I realized I wanted to work in a job that stimulated me creatively. I began to redevelop my interest in photography with a real enthusiasm and utilized my wages as well as my spare time to fund and develop a portfolio of work. After rekindling my passion I decided the next step  was to get back into education and study photography. 

Influences: 
There are quite a few photographers in many areas of photography that I admire and draw influence from, some of these being: 
Adam Kola
Matt Alberys
Lee Jeffries
William Klien


Self evaluation:
All the knowledge I had about photography prior to starting this course was self taught. I feel as though I have learnt a great deal of new skills in my short time studying and I am excited to progress and develop further in Photography. I'm especially excited to move away from digital photography and get to grips with more traditional photographic practices.   

Future Projects: 

I spend a lot of time in the city center when I'm shooting photography, as I have mentioned in previous posts, as it really helps me to take a step back and observe my surroundings in great detail. Homelessness is always a topic that stands out to me. It is a great shame that it seems to be that homeless people are quite often look down upon like second class citizens and dehumanized by the majority of people in the city center. I want to work with the homeless and be there to show them love and compassion as well as help them in any way I possibly can. I really feel as though shooting powerful emotive portraits with story's behind them could have the potential to make people perceive homelessness in a new and more empathetic light. I recently met a new friend that volunteers a couple of days a week in a homeless shelter and think that doing such work myself would be an excellent way of starting up this project.