Spoiling a Walk

“Golf is a good walk spoiled”

This is a well-known quote and could be applied to photography as well; it certainly would be an interesting conversation piece with Hamish Fulton. Carrying equipment and continually stopping to assess a view can spoil the rhythm of a walk, as well as annoying accompanying partners. Having always used photography as part of outdoor activities and would have normally carried a small camera but now it becomes all too easy just to reach for a phone. Exploring new locations is always interesting but sometimes the motivation is lacking to actually record these adventures. Photography has now never been easier, working with what is in front of you; it is still about where you stand and when you release the shutter. A drift away from using a camera seems to have coincided with the move to digital capture. The computer is a rather inert object, although it can be useful, especially for those who wish to produce books and work that involves text. However, it seems to lack a soul and sitting behind it is not a satisfying experience. During the Covid pandemic we found ourselves restricted in our movements but it did make us explore our own locality in a way we may not have done before. I did pick up the camera during this period but as restrictions were lifted, it was returned to the confines of a bag. But there was a realisation that I hadn’t actually lost interest in photography and kept buying books, including new publications by Daniel Meadows and Mark Power, which involved revisiting previously produced work, as well new material by Paul Hart, who photographs the landscape of The Fens in East Anglia and still uses film, making his own prints in the darkroom. It is interesting to see that the use of film is currently seeing resurgence and it seems that quality film cameras are holding their value.

During last year I travelled to Northumberland and although the camera wasn’t a companion while walking the coastline, I did make a couple of early morning explorations with it. A visit further south to the Yorkshire coast may initiate a debate about the truth surrounding the effects of global warming but the coastal erosion you see here certainly cannot be denied. A lack of interest in photography could actually be our inability to find a subject that is a source of inspiration and motivation. To be a photographer you need to have an interest and that cannot be photography. The photographer can work as a collector and photography can be like a treasure hunt. We set off with a map and plan, only to be distracted and surprised by what is eventually found. There is the physical challenge, an early morning rise and then an extended walk, while carrying a bag of equipment. This is part of the photographic process and perhaps the part I have come to enjoy the most. Hoping for a suitable photograph to come home with is a bonus. Travelling to different locations, are we acting as a dog marking its territory and just lifting a leg onto our visual lamppost? Recent repeated visits to the Yorkshire coast and numerous walks along the coastline here in Lancashire, reinforced the view that you must become familiar with your subject matter. This led me to repeat some of the local explorations I had made during the pandemic, but this time with a camera. To return looking at the community and landscape where I live, something which I’d stopped doing. Perhaps feeling there was nothing new to see but now realising how wrong I was.

The painter, LS Lowry was never materially rich through his work as an artist but made his living as a rent collector. But this enabled him to gain an understanding of the subjects he would later paint. He always carried a sketchbook to record the daily views and experiences he encountered while working amongst the streets of Salford. He then was in a position to understand his subject and would have personal experiences that could be responded to. He was therefore not working in isolation. Going out without the camera may be our greatest learning tool. We have much to learn from other artists who may not use the camera to show the world around us but who do provide us with an insight we had not previously considered.

Despite the introduction of AI to generate an image through digital construction, the work of a photographer has not changed, although the challenge of authenticity has heightened. The decisions about where to stand and when to release the shutter still remain with us. It may be a simple process but I have learnt it is also a slow process. It has also reminded me that there is no need to parachute into a distant land but an importance of photographing something we know and understand; to provide an insight others may not see. It is quite likely that most of our best work is produced within walking distance of our own home. It is certainly an approach worth exploring.