Part B - get invlolved in the arts world.
As I was taking photography as one of my A-Level choices, it was making me be involved with lots of different things in the art world. For me to have a good idea on what is out there, I needed to talk to people who knew their stuff. I was looking around for people who might help give me an insight to what is availiable for photographers. This is when I found Jake Wiksher.
Jake Wiksher is a aspiring photographer. He is currently working in a Photography Camera store, and working part time in a school helping to teach students about photography.
I was interested to find out why Jake started liking photography, and was so interested in it. So I asked him about his inspirations; who he was influenced by in his own work,
Jake mentioned a few names, like Andy Warhol and Kirsty Mitchell but the main one he said was 'Gilbert and George'. This says a lot about Michael's character, and with their style of work they are very expressive people.
I asked Jake how he was finding photography, and finding his own style was. He said that he still really enjoys going out and taking photographs of anything he feels like on the day. He said that he still enjoys looking at other people's work and admiring it. He said finding his own style wasn't too tricky for him because he knew what he liked, and what images he wanted to create from the start.
I asked Jake if he has had any recognition from people as of yet. He told me that he gets a lot of feedback from his photos on an online gallery called 'Flickr'. A lot of the comments he gets are encouraging and sometimes he even gets suggestions on how to improve his work. Which, all helps him improve as a photographer. He also told me that he had recently had one of his photos been published in a photography magazine. Which he was overjoyed about. Although he would have like to have been paid for it, however the sheer thrill of his work being published was enough to raise his confidence by a mile.
I told Jake that I was interested in photography, and that I wanted to try some photos for myself. I asked for his advice on what I should do, and where I should start. The first thing he suggested for me to do was get myself a good camera. This was not hard to do because I was able to borrow a good camera off of the photography teacher at my school. These camera as Nikon D3000, which has a lot of setting on to it to help get the right photo for the surroundings you are in. This is what the camera I borrowed looks like.
As I said, there are a number of settings. Some of them are; Portraits, Landscapes, Macro, Aperture and Shutter Speed. Now, as I have been studying photography, I have learned what each of these settings do, and how to use them correctly.
The next thing Jake told me to do was to find a certain type of photography, and pick an artist from that group who's work I find really interesting.
So, I had chosen Narrative Photography.
And when I was searching through artists, I found Gregory Crewdson.
The third thing Jake told me to do, was try and think like the photographer who I had chosen. To try and imagine why they created the images they created, and try and see if I could think in the way they do, for myself.
For this, I needed to study Crewdson's photos and become familiar with them. Imagining if that I was the creator and director of this photos, that I had the original idea and made it happen.
The fourth piece of information Jake told me was to not ty and recreate their photos. Not to copy them exact. To try and change them, and by doing that, I would be finding my own path, and my own style of photography. He told me to experiment as much as I can, and it doesn't matter that things don't turn out the way that I had hoped for, because that is the whole process.
I took everything that Jake said on board, and I left being a lot happier about finding my own feet in photography. I felt that I had a direction that I was able to walk towards.
After I had got given the advice off of some one who is just starting out in the photography world, I wanted to speak to someone who was more involved and had been 'in the business' for a while. I found a local self employed photographer called Ian Narin. He has sold a number of photographic pieces online and in local auctions. His work usually fetches him within the region of £200, although there have been some being sold for considerably less and slightly more too. Being a photographer is Ian's job, this is all he ever does, and it is al he ever wants to do. When I was speaking to him, I could clearly see that he is very passionate about his work. He explained to me that at first it was a struggle for him to sell anything and make a living, but now it is slightly easier because local people know is him and now that he has joined the local paper he knows now that people are valuing him and his work more.
As Ian Narin also works for the local press; this means that he has had many of his work in the paper. He knows what looks good, and what people like to see. This interested me and I started thinking about getting a professional to look at my work. So I approached Ian Narin and he said that he would help me with my exhibition of my work. I wanted him to be there and watch what I was doing and then for him to tell me what, if there is anything, that I was doing right or wrong.
Talking to these people who have already joined the arts work, it makes me want to join it too.
I have considered working my way into photography, but by a teaching side. I thought about this for some time, and the fact that I want to have a teaching career when I am older makes me think that this could be a good choice. However, I am not too sure whether I could just specialise in teaching photography, I fear that I may lose interest in it after a while.
I was considering volunteering, and helping out during some photography lessons, but I changed my mind before I was able to do this. I had the opportunity to go into some primary schools and join in with their varied lessons, and I feel like I would enjoy myself more being in this environment rather than a photography based one. That is why I don't think I could carry a career in being a photographer, or working in the photography world, even though I enjoy it.
