My Inspiration
Out of all the questions I am asked, the most frequent one is what inspires me. Life. Life is most inspirational. Having previously existed through a drought of inspiration, the pain of losing that spark and the dumbing down of senses but coming out from that heavy burden has created a thirst for seeking.
My inspiration comes from many things, it began when my son was born and I saw the world very differently from that very moment. His eye alight when he saw the moon for the first time, not upstanding it but knowing it was different. Inspiration is something that differs, sometimes it can be the smell of the morning air or the way the fabric in my sneakers creases. Inspiration is very much a momentary spike of senses, a stir of a memory that tumbles into emotion landing in your mind and bursting to be free.
My photographic inspiration really stems from capturing details that may be missed. In day to day living we all seem to be so transfixed on the bigger picture and what is coming next, it’s hard to just slow down and see what is around us. Whether it’s the morning dew on a tiny cobweb or the sunset colours of rusting metal, these are the things that I fine inspirational everyday. I am very serious. There is a hedgerow on the way to school, at the end of summer it is laden with berries which are snacked on by passersby, I walk passed this four sometimes six times a day and every time it sparks a little joy. Not enough joy so that I want to pick the fruits to make a jam or pie, but enough that their glistening tiny orbs of colour are not taken for granted.
There are many things that excite me as a photographer and they aren’t all visual. The smell as autumn draws near, the cool crisp smell of nature getting ready to sleep for the winter, it always makes me smile as does spring. This is when my ideas are most prominent, I am not sure if it is the change in atmosphere or colours that bring this. The waft of coconut that brings back memories of childhood summer holidays or the first taste of a the desiccated flakes coating your grandmothers homemade treats, the feeling of warmth and contentment, the adjustment to your outlook that brings.
Visually, I find abandoned places incredibly inspirational, the layers of dirt and paint, the things that were once important becoming forgotten. I like to research the history of the places I visit and sometimes they are tragic or romantic, other times I get so lost in reading that I am consumed. In urban environments, I have a preference for lines and shapes, it is often how I see a street. A mixture of shapes and lines, a variation of many years of progression and regression, an evolution.
My biggest inspiration is my family, having an abundance of happiness is inspirational also. This brings a different energy, to be inspired to constantly be better, to be kinder, to be braver.
