About

Ever since I can remember, and before that time as well, the camera has always been a part of the family – especially on my late Mothers’ side. Wonderful images of a life gone by in another millenium, another culture, another country.

25th May 1949 saw our family first setting foot on Australian soil. Previous years of conflict and tumult were behind us, as we joined the thousands of post-war immigrants coming to start a new life in a strange new country, which opened its arms and made us all welcome. Then, I was but a lad of 3 and had completed my first and most significant journey.

It wasn’t long before Mum bought a Box Brownie camera and began documenting our life. Albums full of old sepia and black & white images. Pictures that will never decorate the walls of art galleries, but which more importantly for me, hold many precious memories. This is an aspect which has carried over into my own photographic work – I like to record where I’ve been and what I’ve done and seen.

Through my Mother, I developed an appreciation of the beauty of all to do with Nature. Flowers – they surrounded whatever house we lived in and always had a place inside. Trees had similar importance. The play of light and shade on a landscape. The fantastic formations of clouds. The brilliance or subtlety of a unique sunrise or sunset. The boundless beauty of Creation.

One could say that my pictures are more emotional than clinical. Not technically or artistically correct in every respect. There is, however, thought and planning in their composition. This has been gained through a modicum of formal learning – plus personal study – and even more years trial and error.

The old cliche of “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is very true. Whenever I see something which captivates me, my first reaction is to want to show it to someone else. “Look at that! Isn’t it beautiful! Isn’t this unusual! Isn’t this simply breathtaking!”

Reactions vary. A complete dismissal of me as being a bit of a pillock is not unusual. Looking over my shoulder and agreeing that “Yes, it’s nice” is more common. The same degree of involvement and appreciation is a rarity, especially if someone can point to an aspect that I’ve missed in my initial burst of excitement.

So it is that I’ve learned to slow down a bit, look at the broadest picture, then look at components of that picture. Here, digital editing is a great boon, enabling pictures to emerge from other pictures. Details, especially in flowers, which tell me that they – and we – did not evolve from some primordial slop in a swamp.

My advice to anyone wishing to take up the gentle art of photography:

Focus on what you Love.

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All images are for sale.

Please go to my gallery at: http://www.redbubble.com/people/georgep