Hi my name is Karen Cross and I am a Photographer… when I say that, it still amazes me that I can
confidently say it and know I have a job I love, an usual place to be with so many friends not
really enjoying their job.
I studied Vocational Art and design just over 20 years ago…
ok just over 25 years ago specialising in fashion design and Photography, with
no computers in sight, rolls of film and a dark room as our ‘editing suite’ I
think it’s fair to say I am ‘old school’ when it comes to photography… but clearly
not OLD… J
I ditched traditional film photography about 18 years ago
due to an increasing family and less time I bought a basic digital camera but
that was frustrating, limiting and I was never happy with the results. So I
decided to invest in a DSLR camera about 7 years ago, two years later I joined
a Photography Society and haven’t looked back since.
Being old school and
stubborn I struggled with the Photo Club format, whilst enjoying the chance to
talk to fellow photographers about techniques and interpretations of what makes
a good picture I found that the parameters of Club photography doesn't really
stretch outside their guidelines about what makes a good photograph and so when
it comes to internal competitions the judges rigidly stick to the rules set in
place. I have always found this frustrating having come from an Art College
background and being taught to constantly observe everything around you and your environment, whereas in Club photography most images appeared to have been 'created to fit the criteria'.
I think
Club Photography has its place and I will continue to attend as I now
appreciate its format and as a result don’t enter internal competitions (I never
win… boo) but I have started to submit images to external national exhibitions
and succeeded in getting acceptances, which tells me I am not flogging a dead
horse and the criteria is more in line with the photography I enjoy.
For me I prefer a more creative approach to photography but
achieved in camera, I appreciate pictures created by manipulation in the
computer and have no problem with it but I prefer a distinction between Photography
Art and creative photography.
I have found that Club Photography has some of the
best Digital Artists around and their knowledge know no bounds when it comes to
digitally enhancing and changing an image or just creating an image from
several photographs.
My question though is this... is this photography? Or is it Digital Art?
I hadn’t considered myself a purist but I now wonder if my ‘Old
School’ approach is is airing more towards that.
Some of my images have been seen by judges who have assumed
were achieved in the computer and made detrimental comments to my ‘lack of accuracy’
when cutting around subjects and placing them in a new picture as they could
see tell-tale signs around of the edges of the subject they thought had been
added . Unfortunately for them they were completely wrong and extremely
surprised when I told them that the image had had almost no editing applied and
the composition was absolutely as seen.
The Image Judges thought was 'created' which is in fact a mirror ball with fountain outside the Monaco Casino with the gardens in the background.
As it looks now (2014)
My work is now for sale in the Handmade Boutique in
Touchwood, Solihull.
I met a customer in the Handmade Boutique, Touchwood,
Solihull, who was appreciating my pictures and when I introduced myself he was somewhat
surprised to find that the author was a woman, to me that was a compliment, it
means that I am not conforming but demonstrated that I am exploring what appeals
to me and not what people expect from me, although a ‘style’ hasn’t been
deliberate nor obvious (well, I don’t think there’s an obvious style) but I
expect others will say different which is fine maybe it says something else
about me I’m not aware of.
In short my photography is a reflection of my interests and
capturing a view of something others may have missed or dismissed.
The camera never lies... but a computer lies through its teeth ;-)
Karen
