About David enjoying a coffee on his honeymoon in the south of France Once upon a time. . .When I was a kid the family myth was that I could write and my sister was the visual artist. There was some truth to this – I wasn’t much good at drawing and could definitely write – but it made me think I was visually illiterate for way too long. And this despite loving photography in college, and spending lots of time first with my Dad’s old Practica and then an early Canon autofocus SLR. It wasn’t all bad. I spent the early part of my working life as a words person, writing books and articles, and designing websites. Five and a half years ago our daughter was born and I picked up a real camera again (after years with a point-and-shoot). I immediately felt at home, and now photography is an important part of my life and my living. So don’t listen to the family myths. What I shootAs befits someone whose daughter got him taking photographs again, I enjoy children’s and baby’s portrait photograhy immensely, shooting in the kid’s surroundings with natural light to capture something of the child’s real character – not posing them awkwardly in front of a cheesy backdrop. Clients and RecognitionThe clients I most like working for are parents and grandparents who want some great images of their little ones. The images might not have as wide a reach as published photos, but they mean much more to the people that commissioned them. It makes me happy to think of my work becoming treasured possessions in people’s houses, the way my photos of my daughter have become for us. That said, my photographs have been used by the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, the Santa Fe Reporter, the Lensic Performing Arts Center, Outside In Productions, Riskin Associates Architecture, and JPG Magazine (print edition). I was a finalist in the KBAC/O’Keeffe Museum ‘Black and White Landscape Photography of New Mexico’ Competition in 2009. My first solo show was at Java Joe’s North in Santa Fe in February 2009. I’m also an Apple Certified Pro in Aperture, helping professional and amateur photographers develop effective digital workflows and get the most out of the processing options available in Aperture. In a wide-ranging creative career, I’ve published a book of travel literature, written articles for national newspapers, taught a graduate level university course and designed websites for architects, fellow photographers, non-profits and government agencies. Originally from England by way of a dozen years in Ireland I bring this diverse range of experiences to bear on my photography (see my blog on what being a writer taught me about photography). Follow me on:Twitter: http://twitter.com/santafephoto Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/wycombiensian |
