Amateur Photographer Magazine
Last week I was interviewed by Amateur Photographer magazine, for a 4 page spread / interview on Torness for their April issue.
Torness is an incredible landscape. Man made, fractious in appearance, it’s pretty much the opposite of what I tend to shoot. But surely there is more to landscape photography than wilderness? Not that I’m slighting the wilderness. It’s beautiful, but sometimes I feel I should be pushing the envelope in my own work and trying something different.
Well Torness was just that, and I’d felt I’d come up with some compelling images. So I submitted them to Outdoor Photography magazine here in the UK. Not because I feel that OP would be appropriate, but because there’s very little choice in who I can submit it to. I wasn’t surprised when OP rejected my article about Torness and the photos. The editor was keen on the pictures, but in their words they ‘couldn’t get anybody to pick it up’. I’ve always felt since that rejection that my images did not fit the narrow guidelines of the magazine.
So it was with surprise that Amateur Photographer magazine got in touch. They weren’t interested in any of my other images, just the Torness ones for the exact reason I felt they were worth publishing – the were ‘a little bit different from the usual early morning landscape work’. Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t feel that the Torness images are highly original. If I were honest, I’d say that I was let loose with a new 5D digital camera and fell quickly into making images that were influenced by Michael Kenna’s work, albeit in colour.
Anyway, the article should be out in April at some point. I haven’t seen any of the text for the interview, so I will be interested to see how I’ve been represented. The girl in question who interviewed me did a great job with her review of my site, so i’m hopeful for a good outcome.
Hi Bruce,
I really love your work, but this kind of stuff is gorgeous! The minimalist image. It’s fun to hear from you that the photos have some kind of inspiration in Michael Kenna – another photographer I admire, because the other day I’ve made a “sketch self-assignment” about “snow shapes” with Kenna in mind. All in all, it’s a set of images which I found to be inspirational to my future work. With all respect, I invite you to see the slideshow here – http://bit.ly/a4DbeK.
Keep with your vision, keep with your imagination. Maybe I’ll meet you in September’s Isle of Eigg Workshop.
Comment by pulseandvision — 2 March, 2010 @ 1:57 pm
Wow-I love the Torness one- very dramatic.
I prefer the strong, unworldy colours in this. really compelling. Looking forward to reading the article.
Comment by pinkpig — 2 March, 2010 @ 10:27 pm
Well done Bruce. The cream always rises to the surface as they say…. although it can take a little bit of time. Very well done on the recognition. I’m sure there is more to come.
Both these images are very striking. I’m particularly taken by the second very minimalist image. My own photography can be busy and dramatic and I’m attempting to try and see the world more calmly. As a result I find this second image very inspiring for me currently.
Comment by Steve Coleman — 3 March, 2010 @ 10:09 am
Hi All,
Very interesting mix of replies here – but all positive – so thank you!
Steve – as always – your encouragement is amazing and always welcome!
Pinkpig – me too – I like the drama of the ‘watch light’, It’s almost sinister and the light itself doesn’t appear to be a light, but a long being with two big eyes.
Pulseandvisision – yes Michael Kenna has been an inspiration for me for a long time. Just the fact that he’s happy to depart from the verbatim and record something otherworldly. I love that.
The Torness collection of images was really a project – a test to see if I could do something with a man made environment. I certainly felt I’d made images from this collection that were different (for me) and have found that it has had a direct impact on my recent work – which has all gotten more simplistic. So I guess – one thing always leads to another, and it’s interesting to think of where the journey will take us.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 3 March, 2010 @ 10:30 am