Mark Pearson- July's Photographer of the Month
‘What can you tell us about your winning entries into our photography competition?’
The first one shows cyclists flying past during the road race at the 2012 London Olympics; the second is Pulpit Rock in the Norwegian Fjords. Both very different, and yet both pretty obvious places for taking pictures – so nothing too imaginative on the face of it. In these situations, I try to find something to make my pictures ‘different’. The arrangement of spectators in London made an interesting shot, despite the natural inclination to focus on the bikes. Meanwhile in Norway, I got lucky with the cloud formation which really highlights the person perfectly, but at the end of the day it’s just a spectacular view!
‘How did you get into photography?’
I travel quite often, and I think the photography naturally followed. But I soon realised my holiday snaps were pretty average, and started learning more about how to use a camera, plus a few tricks around composition, and saw some big improvements. As with anything, when you see your efforts bring rewards, you quickly get hooked!
‘What do you enjoy about photography?’
I like the fact it is essentially art, but it pays off to have some technical know-how too: I get to combine my geeky and arty sides. It’s also great for impatient people as (in theory) you can create a masterpiece at the press of a button. And of course, there’s luck involved – anyone can get a great picture if the circumstances fall together at the right moment.
‘What are your plans for the future?’
Keep taking lots of pictures and hoping some of them come out okay!
I’m also planning on supporting charitable causes via Shutter Mission once I’m confident enough in my abilities. Please take a look at their website.
‘What do you plan to do with your framing voucher?’
I collect gig posters so it’ll probably go towards framing another one of those!
Find out more about Mark and keep up to date with his photography portfolio on his site.
