Women photographers, camaraderie and trying new things

 Sometimes it is good to try new things. It helps to shake up the senses and break one out of creative dead ends.

I have lost my enthusiasm for making work about litter, thinking about litter, and picking up litter. My book 'What If ?' was not very well received when I showed a draft to an assessor at the Royal Photographic Society with a view to submitting it for the FRPS . The assessor preferred my previous books such as 'findings', Land of my Father', and 'forest'. All black and white. No wacky colours or manipulation. 

Draft cover for 'What If?' book.

I was disappointed with the response.  Disheartened even.

​I later shared the same draft book with my artist colleagues at Rye Creative Centre. Unlike the assessor they were incredibly positive. They encouraged me to get it finished.

Who to believe? What to do?

I thought about this for a while, and then decided that the book should go ahead regardless of the assessment process. I need to get it out of my system, once and for all. 

I asked myself why achieving the FRPS matters. I think it boils down to a sense of pride.
It shouldn't matter. Either people like my work or they don't. Their feelings about it should not be affected by the letters after my name.

​For most of my life I have been gathering letters after my name. At some point I should realise that they don't make my life richer. I should stop competing with the world, and just be myself..........sometimes colourful. and sometimes dark and moody.

It is the learning and the richness that studying brings that matters, not the letters that follow.

cityscape

So for now, I will get the book finished, and stop thinking about making work about litter. I will, of course, continue to pick litter up as I go on my daily travels, as I always do. 

I wish to get back to beauty and the landscape.

​Which brings me on to women photographers and camaraderie.

bust from the National Portrait gallery

Two weekends ago, in a bid to break out of my rut, I signed up to a photo walk with the RPS Women in Photography group. A London photowalk, starting at the National Portrait Gallery. I didn't know any of the participants, but what a really warm and welcoming group they turned out to be. We spent most of the day together, stopping for foody treats along the way. The pastel del nata ( Portugese custard tarts) were particularly special. I had two.

​We walked together initially, looking for images as we strolled. Slow was the order. Relaxed was the pace. We chatted and explored Covent Garden and Somerset House.

I found myself drawn to a topic that has been in the back of my mind for a long time, ever since I took a selfie in a field of sunflowers some years ago in Trelex, Switzerland.

​Hair. 

The image above was an accidental capture whilst bending low in a field of sunflowers. To my eye it represents a freedom of spirit, and a lightness of being. I keep a copy of this photograph pinned up on the wall of my studio.

As a landscape photographer the topic of hair felt like a big side step. I rarely take portraits of strangers as I never feel that I will use them in any constructive way. 
But this was a day to be different, and the urge that I was barely aware of surfaced as we walked through the crowds.
 
So many beautiful women. So much well tended hair.

​In the low March sunshine it glowed and shone. I started following people from behind, capturing them when they stopped for a moment. Almost no faces, so no loss of privacy on their part.

I saw the hair as a landscape. Rivers and gardens. Colours and shapes. No litter. A therapeutic refresh.

I remembered capturing Japanese girls dressed in traditional costume for the autumn leaf celebrations.

Such attention to detail. My hair never gets that much attention.

The more I walked, the more I enjoyed the moments of capture.

I might even go back for some more.

I don't care that this isn't abstract landscape photography, or what poeple think about these images.

What I care about is the fact that I enjoyed making the images, and what they might mean going forward.

I would like to give a massive thanks to Gabrielle Motola for leading us so gently into the street, and to all the women from the RPS Women in Photography group for their company and camaraderie.