Beginnings

Those of you looking for some of the usual stunning Maeatae images may be confused. This is more of a personal journey, where I take a stroll through some of my favourite images and exploring my style and the influences, conscious and maybe some less obvious, upon it. It is as much an adventure for me as I hope it will be interesting, inspirational and informative to yourself.

I bought my first camera in 1988, having been fascinated by the little black/brown Kodak in the canvas bag that belonged to my older brother. It sat in the cupboard and was ignored. I never used it until as a student I bought an Olympus Trip of my own and became a bit more confident. I look back to the grainy black and white photos I took with this ancient Kodak and still have more pride in them than most of the crystal clear digital images I take now. Technology does not always mean improvement. A technophobe in pixeland; heresy!

As I said the old Kodak took took wonderfully grainy pictures and looking back at the Olympus Trip it produced an eerie soft focus effect as well as a slightly oily texture to many shots that suits my Turneresque land/seascape style.

The shots taken with the Olympus Trip have suffered a little due to the nature of the film but after scanning and a little judicial spothealing they give me a greater sense of place and nostalgia than with my Sony: perhaps that will change over time, I await the rose-tinted spectacles that did not come as standard in the orange and black box.