{"id":5277,"date":"2014-10-15T18:18:16","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T17:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5277"},"modified":"2022-01-31T14:20:10","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T14:20:10","slug":"questions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2","title":{"rendered":"A few questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was recently approached by Chris Whitington, a second year student at the University Of Cumbria studying Wildlife Media.\u00a0\u00a0Chris emailed.<\/p>\n

I am emailing to see if I could ask you a few questions about you and your photography. I’m doing research for a project on Landscape photography and I have been following your photography since I first started university and have fallen in love with your shots which is why I have chosen to do my research based on your work.<\/p>\n

Where do you take influence from in your photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That’s a great question and one that got me thinking. I think when i started out taking photographs of the Lake District Landscape it was a natural thing I wanted to do. I enjoyed trips into the Lake District and for some reason felt the need to capture those scenes I’d seen. Initially I was into Panoramic photography and the ability to capture a wider snapshot of the landscape really appealed to me. I made ultra wide-angle images that almost tricked your mind into what you were seeing. I was fascinated by the ability to see a wider\u00a0perspective than the eye would allow us to see in\u00a0real life. I spent many years developing this style of photography and spent countless hours researching and learning technique. This was just before the introduction of automated software and in camera features that now make capturing wide-angle images very\u00a0simple.<\/p>\n

Later I became focused more on regular one shot photography, I was visiting great locations in the Lakes and started to capture scenes within one frame. This was actually quite difficult coming from a panoramic image that included 360 degrees of the scene. I had to be more selective and look harder into the image to see what worked and what\u00a0didn’t compositionally. I remember\u00a0feeling quite motivated by this challenge of taking a fixed portion of what the eye can see and making that one frame work compositionally.<\/p>\n

As my photography developed so did the source of inspiration and influence. I recall buying Landscape Photography books and conducting web\u00a0research noting specific images and then studying them to try and understand what I found appealing about that particular image. This was a big\u00a0part of my early influence in learning technique and helping me to understand what appealed to me.<\/p>\n

In more\u00a0recent\u00a0times my influence has changed to more of what I want to accomplish personally. I find the process of creating an image very rewarding, from planning to taking and then processing the output. I am more influenced these days by enjoying the process than I am about the actual output.<\/p>\n

What is the proudest moment of your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u00a0wouldn’t call my photography a career, its more a\u00a0pastime or way of life to me. I have taken photographs for as long as I can\u00a0remember and will probably always do that. I am at my most content and happiest when I am doing that. I am lucky in the\u00a0sense I enjoy the entire process from planning to doing and then to sharing and discussing with others afterwards.<\/p>\n

If I had to pin down one particular moment or event that made me feel most proud though I would have to say it’s having a selection of my images selected from sale in the John Lewis network of shops\u00a0throughout the UK.<\/p>\n

During your photographic Career what awards have you achieved?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is an interesting question. I\u00a0haven’t won any awards for my photography in terms of trophies as I\u00a0don’t enter competitions for various reasons. I\u00a0would see my reward or\u00a0recognition\u00a0as the ability to continue with my passion and share that with appreciative people that award me with their gratitude. I really\u00a0don’t feel the need to be awarded a\u00a0prize to say I am better than anyone else. I am\u00a0totally content with focusing on my own\u00a0process and the satisfaction I get from that is more than enough to keep me motivated.<\/p>\n

What are your aspirations for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That is a great question and one I have been\u00a0thinking of a lot lately myself. Over the last 18 months or so my life has changed significantly due to ill health. I have been forced to slow down and stop and take stock. Frustrating but probably a good opportunity to review\u00a0everything in your life. What I am focused on and aspire to do more so now than ever is\u00a0focus\u00a0on my health and make a fuller recovery as I physically can. If I can achieve that then i am confident I can develop things further. I guess my ultimate aspiration is to maintain my motivation and desire for the process as I find it hugely rewarding.<\/p>\n

Is there one image you believe defines you as a photographer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would have to say that would be my image titled The Retreat<\/a>. It has been termed as Iconic by local people and has always\u00a0received a lot of attention. Often from people who openly say they have no interest in Landscape images but that particular image\u00a0intrigues them.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

In return I asked Chris a few questions.<\/p>\n

What is the background to your project and what do you hope to achieve from your studies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I study Wildlife Media, a combination on Photography, Videography, Ecology and Animal Behaviour. The project itself is a 4 month build up to a final exhibition. We\u2019re given four briefs to follow and produce 3 images for each brief. This being my first brief I had to Research a photographer of my choice, and ultimately create 3 photographs inspired by their style.<\/p>\n

By the end of my course I hope to have completely defined my own style of photography, I\u2019ve been photographing for 7 years now however I feel my style is yet to be defined. I also hope to be working alongside a conservation trust using my images to get their message out.<\/p>\n

What made you choose to\u00a0approach me?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been following you on Facebook and Instagram since I came up to Cumbria, after having found your work under the Lake District hash tag. I\u2019m always looking towards your photography for inspiration when I am out and about, my passions in photography are in Wildlife and Landscapes. When my project was given and I was compiling my research you were the first photographer that came to mind. After looking around your website and your blog to answer some of my questions I still felt compelled to contact you myself to get a hands on feeling of how you work. I am incredibly grateful that you got back to me.<\/p>\n

What is it about my photography\u00a0that you like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your way with composition is what attracts me to your photography, you seem to me to capture the lakes as another planet, somewhere never the same and always changing. The way you use natural light is also how I feel you give me this feeling to your photography. Such vivid yet completely natural colours always bring me back to your photography.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was recently approached by Chris Whitington, a second year student at the University Of Cumbria studying Wildlife Media.\u00a0\u00a0Chris emailed. I am emailing to see if I could ask you a few questions about you and your photography. I’m doing research for a project on Landscape photography and I have been following your photography since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[249],"yoast_head":"\nA few questions | Landscape Photography Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Landscape Photography Blog\",\"description\":\"By Professional Photographer James Bell\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the-retreat-panorama.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the-retreat-panorama.jpg\",\"width\":940,\"height\":486,\"caption\":\"The Retreat by James Bell\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2\",\"name\":\"A few questions | Landscape Photography Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-15T17:18:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-31T14:20:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0239e614a887dd119cef16c0b9bdde0c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"A few questions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0239e614a887dd119cef16c0b9bdde0c\",\"name\":\"James\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f25d46563b41c2fb93654ff12381eb43?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f25d46563b41c2fb93654ff12381eb43?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/author\/james-bell-photography\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A few questions | Landscape Photography Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"Landscape Photography Blog","description":"By Professional Photographer James Bell","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the-retreat-panorama.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/the-retreat-panorama.jpg","width":940,"height":486,"caption":"The Retreat by James Bell"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2","name":"A few questions | Landscape Photography Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-10-15T17:18:16+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-31T14:20:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0239e614a887dd119cef16c0b9bdde0c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/news\/questions-2#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"A few questions"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0239e614a887dd119cef16c0b9bdde0c","name":"James","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f25d46563b41c2fb93654ff12381eb43?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f25d46563b41c2fb93654ff12381eb43?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/author\/james-bell-photography"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5277"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24391,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5277\/revisions\/24391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jamesbellphotography.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}