Reaching for the Stars
I do not fully understand the process by which I choose the images I capture. At the magnifications I use the naked eye is of little help in selecting what to take. The images that appear in the viewfinder are therefore ‘unexpected’; and most of them are of little interest. When an image appears that seems to be interesting I capture it immediately (as near to ‘without thinking’ as possible). So the question is ‘what counts as an interesting image?’. Looking back over my work it appears that I am drawn to metaphor; metaphors of new beginnings; struggle; triumph over adversity; endeavour; adventure; warnings of catastrophe; . . . The sea, the mountains, and outer space made frequent appearances.
I appreciate that viewers may see the metaphorical message of any of my images in an entirely different way from me; for which I am glad.
As my choices are being made instantaneously I assume that my immediate reactions are that my ’compositions’ are satisfactory. (I think that if you take too long over composition you tend to end up with ‘safe’ compositions). So I have to hope that viewers will find my images ‘balanced’; I expect that this will be more true in the dynamic than in the static sense.
The metaphor of the image presented here lies in the title. I hope it doesn’t explain too much.