Why do we take photographs?

Whether we know it or not, most people are visually aware of what happens around us. Some are trained to see and retain those images better than others, and most have a good understanding of what they enjoy seeing. But our receptiveness to visual stimulation also leaves us open to the activities of advertising and the saturation that inflicts. This makes it more difficult for us to select, distinguish and appreciate what we see. Photography is one way of focussing our view on something – though I don’t think it as good in this respect as the concentration required for drawing or painting.

I enjoy looking around me and take photos both to record what I see – in a sense, a diary – as well as that which relates to my professional training and interests. The photograph above is one of a series I’ve made of the Canary Wharf development and Millennium Dome from the Thames Barrier at Greenwich. It’s not a fantastic photo, but is has an appeal to me. The other reason it was selected was its tones and colours related to those of the page…

The photographs here were taken on Nikon SLR bodies and lenses or Nikon and Canon digital cameras. However, the camera is not the essential part of taking photographs; the eye and selection are more important.

Some of the photographs taken on the SLR were originally transparencies, printed as Cibachromes and then, years later, have been scanned and small digital images produced. Generally I have preferred to take transparencies rather than prints for the quality of the stock. The rest of the photos were taken on the digital cameras.

The photographs were selected from those taken over a period of many years. The oldest ones were taken over thirty years ago. They are generally representative of the photographs I take, though I take more architectural photographs than are represented here, and I don't take enough photographs of people.

The other photos on these pages are arranged by the country they were taken in rather than by subject.

If you really want to see the kinds of photographs which most people are taking, go to Flickr and see how much and what drops in there. Then look at the work of some of the photobloggers as there are some wonderful sites out there.

Finally, here’s a link to my own page on Flickr, and another to a photographer whose work I enjoy. The fact that we’re related has nothing to do with it…