Creative Expression

This is another of my analogue film series using the double exposure technique. I rarely mention the technical side of my images as it’s the story in the image that matters. But I’d like to stress that this is not a digital composite created behind a computer, I dislike this method, it’s not genuine to me and the person creating it has probably never even seen the animal. It’s not my thing.

My approach, is to do this manually on a film camera and 100% in the field, by shooting two frames on top of each other using my photography and field craft. There is no rear LCD to check what you’ve captured, exposures are manual and complicated and. For example, in this image, the two shots were taken a couple of hours apart. To maintain the first image in mind, then choose the second element which completes the composition adds layers of complexity to a single image. It’s almost the opposite of digital photography where you maintain so much control over an image in post processing.

Double exposures is a film technique often used ‘in the old days’ before digital but rarely seen now. I’m always driven to try new things, I believe only new approaches to wildlife photography can reap new results. How can you expect to break new ground if you are doing the same as everyone else. Hopefully through the weird and wacky approaches I take to my images, you see that I’m always looking to do something different.

It’s my personal challenge to how I take an image and is to some degree a motivation to picking up my camera and pushing my creativity. It has taken me many years to build the skills that allow me to branch out, it’s always based on experience I’ve learnt along the way. It keeps the fire in my belly burning strong and engaged and motivated to push on. Then after all this... you or others may think it’s a load of crap. But you know what, I’m ok with that, I’ll respect anyone’s opinion. I feel more an artist that a photographer simply documenting what I observe. Neither can I create to someone else’s taste, it has to come from within me.