As photographers we often walk in the footprints of photographers who have gone before , knowingly and sometimes subconsciously …
We are all products of our cumulative life experiences , books , music , education etc. . I think its fair to say that our better photographs frequently give away insights of who we are , whether we like it or not …
Tony Ray Jones influenced my personal photography and many other togs of my generation but I never really knew how deep this “Influence” ran until I shot the picture below , this picture is almost a composite of a few TRJ photographs , I was both shocked and delighted when I checked the screen on the back of my camera for the first time following this capture, I was on holiday in Majorca at the time and I felt a bit “exposed” as I had not engaged with the TRJ work for years , this pic was spontaneous and created within my subconscious but I can not deny where or when the foundations of this picture were made , this picture revealed more about me than I intended …
I had never taken my personal photography seriously until I made this capture , I had always thought of commercial commissioned photography as serious and my personal photography as play , looking back I got this wrong , the opposite is probably true …
This picture represents a photographic crossroads for me , this was the day I saw the light …
This is the picture that inspired my Another Day Off series , the series is no more than a informal personal enquiry into the TRJ effect on me & my work , these pictures were made for me , I always wanted to find out how my pics would look if I was free of client demands and commercial influences , I had lived in the front line of photography for money for most of my life , I needed to discover myself photographically !
If you are unfamiliar with the work of Tony Ray Jones a treat awaits you , I envy you seeing his work for the first time …
In my view no one else has managed to pull off the TRJ mix of empathy , wit and surrealism within their pictures , I see some “Street” photographers rolling with a agenda of visual sarcasm and deprecation , this mean spirited approach does not cut it with me , it betrays the TRJ legacy of visual wit , compassion and warmth …
Our personal photographs really do reflect who we are , you might want to remember that …
Study the work of Tony Ray Jones and discover what photography can be , he never took the piss out of anyone , you have to be a decent person before you can become good photographer …
Another Day Off , No 1 , 2012 . This picture inspired me to shoot personal work exclusively , I became poorer and richer simultaneously ?
This series of blogs is based around pictures from my archive , I hope the words that accompany the featured pictures offer a level of context , insight and inspiration to readers .
“The Foto What I Took” blog title , is a comedy reference “borrowed" / inspired” by the Morcambe and Wise “The Play What I Wrote“ sketch …
MORE…
If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series , The Testing Times pictures or the “In Progress” , “Living” In Limbo… , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…
Many more The Foto What I Took Blogs are available too