There was a particular episode of the BBC show “Our World” then fronted by David Attenborough when I was a kid that really got me thinking. He’d managed to capture, in slow motion, this cheetah turning at full speed to try and ankle tap the Gazelle it was chasing. I remember him saying that “in slow motion we can see into the moment of the kill or the moment of escape”.
Life or death for this poor creature was decided in the fraction of a second, and without the slow motion footage we could never have seen what he was talking about. I think this is where it really began for me and film.
I remember wanting to see a little more into the nuances of life. I wanted to squeeze a little more understanding from it.
I still find myself staring at a still image far longer than most people do. I’m looking with my emotions as much as I can. Oftentimes I discover in a single frame the subtlest of things, and it’s often far more than whole hours will teach me. Perhaps I’m just slow.
Still images are so tense and yet so free. They force you to paint with the world, and remind me of poetry in the sense that they are restricted by form, and only the great can make the still come to life. The photographical process forces you to understand life in a new way. Beyond all else this is my greatest joy in photography, a new perspective on life.
As a commercial photographer my interests and clients vary greatly, but the main focus has slowly evolved into three loose genre’s – “Music”, “Documentary” and “Event”
My background into photography was through my Canon EOS 50 film camera. I think I burned at least 100 rolls of film before I got anything I really liked. I also realized that at 21 years old at the time, I couldn’t afford to develop all the film, and that being self taught was a messy but ultimately rewarding process. So, eventually after many years of travelling the globe I settled down again in New Zealand and decided digital SLR’s had come of age. Now 33, I have Nikon gear and a slightly less whimsical taste in, well everything I think. I take more time taking my time.
As you can tell I approach my photography in a philosophical way. And the more I do, the more I try and eek out the soul of the moment, the more I find myself in the right place to take the shot. It may not always be the shot I was after, or had planned, but there in front of me is a moment worth capturing. So, armed with a camera I can make sure this moments story is not lost to the steady march of time.
Long may I have a camera close by.
Great profile Nick. Love the beach scene. Fantastic photography.
Nice work, the wedding shots were great.