March's Photographer of the Month- Anthony Sims
‘What can you tell us about your entry into our photography competition?’
‘Mother and Baby’ was taken a few years ago at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, which is not far from where I live. I decided to place the elephants onto a black background as the background of the original image distracted from the main subject. I then cropped to emphasise the intimate moment captured between the mother and her playful calf. I’ve applied this treatment to a few other images of mine and am pleased with the results.
My second daughter was born a few months ago, and I am just about to move to a new house so for my image to come first in a ‘New Beginnings’ themed competition is quite apt! This was my second entry into a Picture Frames Express competition, my first entry finished third in August’s ‘Black and White’ competition.
‘How did you get into photography?’
There wasn’t one particular defining moment, but a series of smaller events and incidences over the years. My earliest photography related memory was always being treated to a disposable film camera when we went on family holidays. A few years later at school, I remember being blown away by some of the images in the many National Geographic magazines that were kept in the Geography classroom, and then a shot I took on snowboarding holiday over 10 years ago was perhaps the ‘eureka’ moment.
We had taken a wrong turn and were faced with either a steep climb back up to the piste, or a treacherous off piste route down that was beyond our level of experience at the time. The shot captures three of my friends looking over the edge and from it I can just tell exactly what each person is thinking from the way they are standing. It may not look much to anyone else, but to me it captured the situation perfectly! My wife is very artistic, so I thank her for unleashing the inner ‘artist’ in me, and I’d also like to thank my friend Owen for lending me his DSLR camera many years ago which firmly cemented my interest in photography!
‘What do you enjoy about photography?’
It’s been said a million times before and is probably the ‘stock’ answer to this question, but it is all about capturing the moment. Reminiscing about times gone by is something we all do, and for me my photography enables me to bring those memories back to life thus making it more enjoyable. I also enjoy the fact that when armed with camera, I will push my myself into situations I probably would not normally find myself in, for example, wandering off the beaten track, clambering over wet rocks and wading through streams to get shots such as these;
And of course, receiving positive feedback, having your work published and being successful in competitions is a great feeling. I’ve made a few sales at charity exhibitions and having somebody hand over their hard earned cash for something you have created is an amazing feeling!
4th Place National Geographic Traveller ‘Sun’ Competition – published Jul/Aug 2013 edition.
‘What are your plans for the future?’
My immediate objective is to set up my own website and start offering images for sale, something I have been meaning to do for a long time now. I’ve only started to scratch the surface in terms of what there is to learn in the world of photography so will continue to experiment and gather knowledge. My dream would be to be able to make a living combining my passion for photography with my passion for skiing/snowboarding and the mountains/outdoors in general. Whilst I figure out how to make that happen, I shall also continue to take hundreds of photos of my daughters – that’s a given!
‘What do you plan to do with your framing voucher ?’
I will be using the voucher to purchase some frames for use in the new house. Deciding on which frames though is proving tricky due to the large range on offer!
