A (new) Resolution for a New Year

A (new)  Resolution for a New Year. 

Welcome to my blog which will be linked to the photographs on my website but not always … I have been inspired by David duChemin’s writing  on chasing your vision, by Emma Davies for her ‘A Year With My Camera’, and by Lynn Gail - here in my own state of West Australia - whose photographs and writing continue to amaze me.

As for me, I am currently at a crossroad having recently sold every camera I have previously owned and purchased the Fuji X-T5! A new adventure and lots to learn! I’m wondering if, like me, you too have a collection of ‘how to’ books on your shelves. Books that try so hard to explain the exposure triangle and why the f stop hole gets bigger while the number gets smaller! How the aperture, shutter speed and ISO must have the most amazing but complicated symbiotic relationship! Each book I buy holds hope for me that this time - maybe this time - I’ll get it. Then it happened…

Cycling along the Canal du MIDI in the south of France’s Languedoc region for 240 kms over 5 days, my friend Paula and I finally arrived in the medieval city of Carcassonne on Bastille Day. Our accommodation was pre arranged by the cycling company and I found myself in a semi circular hotel room with windows and balconies looking out over El Cite- a world heritage listed restored fortress. The view was delightful but I was blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. Tourists, hundred and thousands of them from all over Europe scrambled and jockeyed for position to see the fireworks display over the fortress. I looked out of one of my many windows and saw a thin red line under the dark ramparts of the old building. Intrigued, I stared and realised that fireworks are about what they light up. A new perspective. Instinctively, I attached a lens to my camera and started shooting. I looked through the viewfinder and couldn’t believe it. The f-stop, shutter speed and ISO seemed to just fall into place as if they, too, knew that this was a magical moment. I knew then that photography is about believing our instincts, believing what we know but also understanding that sometimes we chase our vision and sometimes our vision finds us. 

More photographs, more stories - my (new) resolution. 

Anne

---