Photography Inspirations
A lot of my photographic work is based around light drawings and light trails, I first discovered the technique while studying photography in secondary school for one of my GCSE’s. We were experimenting with the technique in the dark room we had, drawing our names, and outlining other classmates with the light.
Exploring the topic deeper, one of my inspiring photographers who uses light drawings is Eric Staller, much of his earlier work was using light drawings where he created pieces such as the Light Tunnel and Light Domes. In 1977, Eric’s work was “taking the forms of fantasy architecture of light. Enchanted by the city at night.” He used the empty and eerie streets of New York city at night to outline everything from streets, automobiles, parks, monuments, and bridges throughout the city. Staller loved to challenge himself to take each image further both intellectually and artistically, this is something I try to do so that I can improve on my own work.
Another technique I like to use is steel wool photography, it is a type of light painting, which is like light drawings and light trails. It uses burning steel wool that is spun around on a cord or string, embers fly and create streaks of light when shot using a slow shutter speed. A photographer who has inspired me using this technique is Olaf Kerber who has many images on Flickr using the technique.
A final technique I like is architectural photography. Andrew Prokos is a well-known photographer that explores the architectural photography topic, his photos focus on abstract buildings that he photographs, they often look like they are not real, but it is an optical illusion his photos play on the viewer. Andrew also likes to show the best architecture on buildings that a lot of other people may never have noticed. I have explored the technique a little bit and I like to have my photos in black and white because I feel like it shows an unfamiliar perspective of the world/buildings.