Welcome to my new website! I made the decision this summer to do two things differently - first, leave the world of social media (and in particular Instagram) behind me; and second, create a photography website instead.
So here we are! Leaving Instagram has been a very positive experience, and it certainly frees up some spare time to enjoy collating images for the galleries on here. Social media gradually shifted and changed without me noticing for a very long time - I used it to get photography ideas, tips and locations and be inspired by other people’s work. But what slowly happened was a steady creep of adverts and constant click-bait content that I found increasingly stressful. Interestingly, when photographers did share their content I found that this was often a negative experience - “look at what you’re missing out on” social media shouted at me.
It’s easy to feel pressurised and manipulated by constant content online. I do still want to be inspired, but I now do this by bookmarking my favourite photographers’ websites and checking in occasionally to see new images. I also subscribe to Outdoor Photography and Elements Photography Magazine - the latter in particular is exactly the kind of carefully curated and beautifully designed medium that appeals to me. The key here is that I am now in control, and the negativity associated with the Instagram bombardment is fading away.
So, welcome to my new website. I suspect that it will be mainly a place for me to keep my images together in a more curated effort compared with sitting on a hard drive. I do hope to start printing, and will keep updating the galleries and the content on here. I’m not chasing competition wins, Instagram likes or other arbitrary measures of success - all of the images on here are included because I like them, and I’m proud of them, and for me that’s the only metric that matters!
High-stakes photography! Overlooking Land’s End and Longships lighthouse in Cornwall.