All the way through my journey with photography I have been fortunate to have great photographers, editors and publishers stop and take some time to show me the craft. I recall one photographer early on in my career taking me under his wing to teach me about light. He knew all I wanted to do was photograph sports and wildlife at that stage, so it puzzled me that he wanted me to spend days photographing flowers – hardly an inspiring subject for an 18-year-old. He took the speed and action out of the equation and in doing so was able to show me the way light wrapped around an object and how that changed with the direction of the light, its intensity and its shape. I learnt a lot in those sessions and still use that knowledge today.
My latest focus has been on trying to capture the feeling of a moment. Not just recording what I see, but composing, editing and shooting to capture the "feeling" of being there. As my mentor describes it; "the sound of the crashing waves, the smell of the ocean and the intensity of a wall of water bearing down on you". Capturing that in a two-dimensional image is often a challenge, but one that I embrace. A big part of it is to break the rules of photography and edit the images with the technical dial last.
It's a style of shooting that I still have a lot to learn with, but thanks to our friends at Canon I have an opportunity to share my learnings.
You can join me and the Canon Collective for our Beach Culture Photography Workshop to be held on April 9 at Bethells Beach in Auckland. The workshop has limited numbers available so get in quick and join me for a day of fun shooting the beach, capturing the feeling of the moments and the chance to try some awesome Canon gear while you're there! More details here.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS You don't need to have a Canon camera to join us at Bethell's in April or be a DSLR wizard – if you love photography and you're just using an entry-level camera you're still welcome to come and play/learn. See you there!
Proudly supported by:
