Followers Do Not Lead to Real Change

Do You Follow ?

Photography has basically become Instagram to me!

It's all I really think to publish my images to and I definitely try and aim my edits towards what 'fits' the trending styles of the day. Don't get me wrong you need to see what other people are creating from time to time, but to immerse yourself into that same world, day after day after day can't lead to new creativity can it ? Aim to fit in and please the masses will surely lead to conformity to single styles and a feeling that your own vision can't be worthwhile if it doesn't match the trends.

You need to Zig while everyone else is Zagging don't you to make anything really worth sharing ?

Time to ask more of the Why than the What.

Why am I taking this photograph, because it's showing something spectacular or because it might work on Instagram. I never used to take photos of roads and paths, sure it's common discussion that photographs need to have a leading line in the foreground but that used to be a challenge to find something naturally in the landscape.  Now it's just like Wham Bam stick a road down the middle of a square crop photo and it draws you in much like.... well standing and looking down the middle of a road. Is that wrong or is that the whole point of photography ? To play with visual elements that you know will lead a persons eye is surely the whole craft particularly with landscape photography.

I've always said that photography is secondary to the landscape itself for me, if I didn't love being outdoors on hills, mountains and new places then I probably wouldn't need a camera. Yet more and more it feels like I need to go out to these places to build up photos to share on Instagram, that can be viewed as a brilliant motivation the wrong motivation.

When I created the photograph above (in the editing stage, see the before RAW image below) I wasn't trying to fit into any style, arena, platform. I just started with an image which I took with the wrong lens and wanted to get the sunset colour and light. I focused on the part which stood out best to me and always has from this location which is the rolling hills of the Peak District and then probably accidentally I ended up with something a long way from the starting point. A light black and white image with little detail and lots of negative space.  This feels much more like creativity in photography and it's why I won't deny that I enjoy the time spent editing the images as much as the time sent taking them.

Surveyance (3:2) No preset could turn this RAW image into the final image I wanted to share!

Lights Out

Dan