I remember becoming the family photographer at a young age just by my ability to get the subject in focus; and not cut the top of their head out of the photo! Studying photography at high school I fell in love with the dark room, developing my own pictures and watching the images appear before my eyes was magic. I've always had an interest in travel, and at eighteen I spent a summer on the Camp America program and taught photography and B&W developing to American children. All was going well for me with travel & photography, but then, just as I was getting into film, it seemed the rest of the world was giving it up for digital.
I scoffed at those first digital images with their blocky pixels, thinking it a passing fad. As digital increased in quality and popularity however, I saw the film and the developing equipment and solutions that I loved to use become rarer and rarer and slip completely beyond the price range of a young twenty something starting out in life. Living in an impoverished town with only seasonal work available, every penny was saved for travel. That left none for a good camera, let alone a fully kitted out dark room. For four years I backpacked the winter and worked the summer until finally landing a permanent position with a company, buying a house, and settling down. Just like that the dream was shelved, until a decade later when the credit crunch happened, and the company I worked for went bust.
Suddenly I was unemployed at 34 with no qualifications, but I was free for the first time in a long time to travel once again. I even had money in the bank to buy my first digital camera (I've come around in my way of thinking as the quality has improved, the screen is great for instant feedback). It was time to realise a lifelong ambition of mine and visit Japan; a three week whistle-stop tour of all the major sights. After a decade of dull retail work, with my new camera and freedom, maybe I could realise my dream of being a travel photographer after all?
The results were... mixed. Of the thousands of photographs I took, there are only a few I think are good. I put a lot of it down to being too rushed, trying to cram too much into one trip. 10am to 4pm opening times at the temples prevented sunrise & sunset photography at the main sites, a lack of discipline and preparedness did the rest; exactly the kind of things I would hope to learn from Jason. I learned many valuable lessons on this trip, but I also came away with just as many new questions.
Now I stand at the threshold of a new adventure. Still unemployed, I'm packing up my belongings and renting out my home to go backpacking once more. This time there will be no deadlines to rush me from place to place, With my bike, my tent and my camera I will have all the time in the world to wander this Earth. The opportunity to study with a professional photographer like Jason just before beginning this journey, would be a gift beyond value.
