A Feast for the Soul

michaelcook-altaiworldphoto — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 03:21:30 GMT

I am a self-taught wannabe who just jumped off a cliff. Having devoted all of my non-working hours to mastering the technical aspects of photography for the last six years, I finally took the plunge, quit my job and departed on a year-long trip overland from Singapore to London. I have been using this journey to test myself and discover what kind of photographer I can become.

My initial photographic inspiration came from war photography and its amazing potential to effect real change in people’s lives. But after eleven months on the road I have also seen another way: documenting the positive and universal sides of life. By honing in on the stories that transcend race, religion and politics, I believe photography has the power to help humanity avoid situations where conflict photographers are needed in the first place.

I now want to learn how to create photographs that tell the bigger picture. This is what I see as the defining factor in Jason Edwards’ work: the ability to not just take striking photos, but images that resonate out like ripples to convey a greater story. Under his guidance and direction, I feel I could learn how to better capture these moments as microcosms.