Leave a Fingerprint
I was always bewitched by the concept of creativity. I flew through drawing, 3D animation, even building a room-sized Lego city – my childhood was a series of sequential obsessions getting out of my mind. When I settled on words and photos, it was pulling back the curtain for a stage set to the rest of my life. Writing was simply instinctual. I never worried beyond scrawling and typing my thoughts, and finding my voice was just time and practice. But the fascination in photography was the machine between me and an image, the rules presented to an early learner, and which I'd choose to break.
Endless possibility was a hindrance to my perspective. Sculptors and painters leave a fingerprint with their handiwork and brushstrokes, but what comes from a camera could be from anyone. So I decided to do less – a lot less. I didn't want to be limited by subject matter, but rather, recognized at a glance. So I chose one camera and one lens to be my companions for life. The first camera that clicked was the Canon 5d Mk II, for its lovely relationship with colour and light, and full-frame sensor fully utilizing the lens. I went with 50mm, because it's the distance your eye sees at. No wide angle or telephoto, a natural vision true as eyesight.
But my final limitation has caused fellow photographers some consternation. I locked my lens permanently wide-open to f1.4 – the maximum aperture. If you're unfamiliar with photography, that's comparable to an eye fully dilated in darkness, letting in all possible light. The obvious side-effect in bright conditions is that photos get blindingly overexposed without using your fastest shutter speeds. It also produces a narrow depth of field and gentle glow to every image. Fortunately, I'm deeply in love with those qualities. They've all helped to form the fingerprint of my photography. For you as a viewer, and for me, like the children I'll never have.
As a visual artist or musician, what have you chosen to do the "wrong way"? I want to hear how you've learned, or unlearned your process in creating your particular brand of art.
February 11, 2025
Delaps Cove, Nova Scotia
Year 18, Day 6302 of my daily journal.
bluesky | etsy | facebook | instagram
substack | threads | tumblr | youtube
You can support my work
get things in the mail
and see everything
first on Patreon
Leave a Fingerprint
I was always bewitched by the concept of creativity. I flew through drawing, 3D animation, even building a room-sized Lego city – my childhood was a series of sequential obsessions getting out of my mind. When I settled on words and photos, it was pulling back the curtain for a stage set to the rest of my life. Writing was simply instinctual. I never worried beyond scrawling and typing my thoughts, and finding my voice was just time and practice. But the fascination in photography was the machine between me and an image, the rules presented to an early learner, and which I'd choose to break.
Endless possibility was a hindrance to my perspective. Sculptors and painters leave a fingerprint with their handiwork and brushstrokes, but what comes from a camera could be from anyone. So I decided to do less – a lot less. I didn't want to be limited by subject matter, but rather, recognized at a glance. So I chose one camera and one lens to be my companions for life. The first camera that clicked was the Canon 5d Mk II, for its lovely relationship with colour and light, and full-frame sensor fully utilizing the lens. I went with 50mm, because it's the distance your eye sees at. No wide angle or telephoto, a natural vision true as eyesight.
But my final limitation has caused fellow photographers some consternation. I locked my lens permanently wide-open to f1.4 – the maximum aperture. If you're unfamiliar with photography, that's comparable to an eye fully dilated in darkness, letting in all possible light. The obvious side-effect in bright conditions is that photos get blindingly overexposed without using your fastest shutter speeds. It also produces a narrow depth of field and gentle glow to every image. Fortunately, I'm deeply in love with those qualities. They've all helped to form the fingerprint of my photography. For you as a viewer, and for me, like the children I'll never have.
As a visual artist or musician, what have you chosen to do the "wrong way"? I want to hear how you've learned, or unlearned your process in creating your particular brand of art.
February 11, 2025
Delaps Cove, Nova Scotia
Year 18, Day 6302 of my daily journal.
bluesky | etsy | facebook | instagram
substack | threads | tumblr | youtube
You can support my work
get things in the mail
and see everything
first on Patreon