This last week the weather has not been playing nice and we have been sitting in the Burnett River. No sailing adventures to share, so instead today we are posting about a photography project.
Many of you follow our blog because you like to sail with us vicariously, are curious about where we go, and enjoy the photography. I’ll tell you a little secret. Adventuring and photography are intimately linked and are what this blog is all about. OK, so it’s not a secret. But seriously though, these are our passions and we keep working on both. Wade gets us there, I photograph for posterity!
A while ago I took an online course focused on exploring style and voice in photography. The “Finding your creative voice” program of nine lessons, by Andrew S. Gibson, author of The Creative Photographer and Mastering Lightroom has been guiding me ever since. Andrew produces very useful newsletters and ebooks. Here are a few reflections from the course.
More than anything else the program made me think about what, why and how I photograph, what I want to communicate, how I develop my images and how individual these images are. We have quite a different lifestyle to most people, in the midst of a wondrous but challenging natural environment. I want to produce photographs that stand out from the crowd, that are original and move viewers. Photography for me is about crafting, not just snapping pics. It is an artistic endeavour but also a plea for nature conservation.
The course got me thinking about the challenging subjects of voice, style and intent with a view to developing my own unique way of seeing and communicating through photography.
My voice – what I try to communicate with my images and why – is relatively straight forward to define. I want to share the incredible beauty we see both above and under the surface, and inspire others to discover and protect our natural world.
My style is a harder one which is still evolving. I am working on developing a recognisable style of my own in my seascapes, underwater shots and aerial images. I would love my work to be distinctive in each environment. There is a lot more for me to do on this component! Style comes mainly from composition, lighting, and importantly through editing. It is about how I develop my photos to communicate mood and feelings – so think about the chosen perspective, the palette, the blend of colours that stamp my work as mine. And no, none of my photos are straight out of the camera. As I mentioned before I shoot in RAW, not JPEG, and develop in Adobe Lightroom. I work on all my shots to clean, crop, adjust, refine and enhance them so they are presented the way I choose.
And the big one: Intent. One of the very useful pieces of advice I received in the course was to focus on my intent when I shoot and when I edit. When I grab my camera to take a shot, it is because something has moved me: the light, an amazing creature, intriguing patterns… The subject matter might have wooed me, surprised me, or delighted me. A handy trick I was shown to ensure this is reflected in how I photograph and how I later develop the image was to pick three words that describe what I want to communicate and use them as my compass for editing.
Here is a range of images which capture the environment we were in, communicate how I felt at the time and which were developed with my intent firmly in mind. The title in bold tells you what I wanted to capture, and the three words guided the editing work. I’d love to hear what you think, how you react to these, what you see and feel. Do let me know!
Beautiful wild weather – 3 words: moody, threatening, contrast
Remote locations few people get to see – 3 words: alone, immensity, isolation
Endlessly fascinating textures – 3 words: abstract, intrigue, revelation
another couple, this time below the surface:
Views that takes your breath away – 3 words: awe, luck, striking
Serene moments – 3 words: calm, stillness, quietude
The course has motivated me to reflect on all this. I regularly revisit my notes and continue pushing the envelope. I want my photographs to be different, because the journey we enjoy and environment we are in set us apart. It is a life-long pursuit to keep improving, keep learning, keep creating engaging images.
I find it useful to explore the work of other photographers, to analyse what appeals and look at ways of incorporating new ideas into my own work. It is not about copying others but rather being inspired by others. I follow ocean, aerial and underwater photographers. Here are a few sites you might like to visit:
Ocean: https://www.tonyhewitt.com/ https://darrengentlephotography.com/
Aerials: https://www.miekeboynton.com/aerials https://www.tomhegen.com
Underwater: https://mattysmithphoto.com https:/underseaimagesinc.com
I hope you found this post interesting, even if different from our usual content. Let me know. We have a lot of followers who enjoy our posts ‘quietly’ and assume we know what they think and how they react. We really don’t unless you share your thoughts. Thanks for making the effort.
Sv-Anui 
Good morning and ‘thank you’ – have read this once before morning coffee and shall again. Entirely understand and appreciate. Way back when I probably began following the Anui not just for the excitement of the travel and the presence of Bengie but somehow feeling what you were ‘on about’! The journey – the development of an art form, the betterment you could enjoy and we would share. I for one am so very pleased to be along on the trip also learning. Hope you get out of the river in the next few days . . ,
Morning Eha, I was in two minds whether to put this post out, but we had nothing much else to talk about and when limited by the weather I tend to occupy myself with working on photos or reading about our fragile environment! We have got out of the river and back at the Reef with a ‘citizen science’ project. More on this next week!
Chris, your photography is what captured my interest in your website from the beginning, your work is far better than mine for sure! The places you guys go is always so beautiful and exotic compared to dusty Las Vegas! 😂 Great post, I enjoyed reading!
Glad you did, John. We are lucky we get to places less travelled. Thanks for the feedback.
You’re welcome. ☺️
great photos
Thank you.
I absolutely love your photography – whilst your “style” may be hard to define, your images are amazing – often breath taking and give me a WOW reaction ! It is such a pleasure to follow your journeys.
Thank you for sharing so many photos and the effort you go to in your posts is appreciated.
Happy sailing !
Thank you Jude for the lovely feedback and for taking the time to say hello.
Aw Chris, those pics might be the cream of the crop! I think when you capture the unusual, ie, not many of us have seen such creatures, plants etc and when you show us those stunning colours and shapes in your composition, you’d have to be blind Freddie not to be wowed! (No offence to Mr Gungle) . Then there’s how you use light, eg around the clouds, the rays around Wade and the turtle leave us all gasping for more!
No doubt you’ll never stop learning and searching for the next perfect composition?
Here’s hoping for some fair winds so you can get on with it!
Thank you so much Elgar. It matters to me that my images move the viewers. Sometimes I am lucky with timing or being in the right position and then it is just about highlighting the gifts of nature in post production!
Comment received from Lindy
Hi Chris
Great post, & interesting reading
As always your photos show a beautiful raw natural beauty & simplicity of just three words to describe these photos was very wise, more would be a distraction & your choice of words most definitely reflected how I feel when I looked at those photos. Well done
Good luck with weather windows & safe sailing ⛵️ 🥰
Thanks for the feedback Lindy. Glad you enjoy the photography. Hope to catch up soon.
“Intent” is such an important concept and frames our approach to writing, our behaviour with others, and even in our personal relationships. As we clarify it, so does our life outcomes.
Fabulous photos. Thank you
Thank you Bill, it is about doing things really consciously… with meaning.
Wow
😊