Fay Godwin
I love many aspects of the photography world : landscapes such as Ansel Adams, Paul Wakefield and of course Michael Kenna, but I also like images which have no immediate asthetic appeal to them. Reportage images tell a story yet they are seldom beautiful to look at in an obvious way.
© copyright Fay Godwin
And then there are photographers that I cannot define so easily. One such person is Fay Godwin. Her images have a sense of reportage about them, yet at the same time, they don’t appear to have any particular message to give anyone. They just are.
But the reason why I bring up Fay, is that tonight I’ve been reading Elmet – a book she made in the 1970’s, and decided to look up the internet, only to find an interview with her with a line I feel I must share with you all.
Fay is asked the following question: What would be your advice to a beginner in photography?
And her reply is : Look at lots of exhibitions and books, and don’t get hung up on cameras and technical things. Photography is about images.
I couldn’t agree more
Photography is about the way the image makes you feel and the stronger emotional impact the better….your work is very emotive and it’s refreshing to see somebody who uses strong composition with an exemplary use of colour…..
Wow man what great work!
Comment by jason theaker — 9 December, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
Fay Godwin is great. The book she did with John Fowles, “Islands”, was one of the first photo books I ever bought. And still a favourite.
Comment by David Mantripp — 18 December, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
>> Your camera doesn’t matter …
I am so glad that somebody finally said that. 90% of blogs, forums etc out there are about “what my camera can do that yours can not”. My God, there are even blogs in which you only have photographs of cameras. Some guys buy $3,000 worth camera to make photos of their cat, but they can spell the features of their acquisition backwards.
I set my camera to auto and throw the manuals away. Photography is about capturing the moment, bringing back that feeling that formed in a scenery or people forward in time. If you make a standard exposure, you can always tweak it afterward in the photo-laboratory or in Photoshop. Technical side is completely marginal.
Comment by Trevro Jackobson — 18 July, 2009 @ 10:50 am