I often lament the fact that as a working photographer I rarely get the chance (or make the time) to “play” with my photographs. Sort of like the painter who never finds time to paint his own house I guess.
Processing pictures from one assignment quickly leads to getting ready for the next and by the time the parcel of images is away, I am too, thinking one day I’ll come back and spend a bit of time working on those raw files.
It would be safe to say that most on my clients have an urgent need for the photographs I capture once the assignment’s completed and that few of them are prepared to pay for me to spend additional time bringing the very best out of the pictures we capture. This is not to say the images supplied are not delivered to a high professional standard but it is to recognise that there is a point at which it becomes impractical for me in a business sense to spend any more time playing with a photograph unless someone’s prepared to pay for it. And completion is a subjective call. I often return to a picture some months later thinking maybe I could have taken a different route in the post production process or worked on it to produce a fine art photograph as well as a promotional image.
So, over the Christmas break (and while floodwaters swirled around Brisbane, he adds), I took the time to work on a couple of personal favourites from last year which I thought I’d post (below). They are a long way from the original image and all have been layered with some creative element which appealed to me at the time.
Anyway, with that, it’s time to get back to work. Six destinations booked already and a To Do List a mile long. It’s shaping up to be a busy year.
