I have mentioned in a previous blog post that when it comes to photography I am self-taught. Back in the days of buying film and darkroom papers and chemicals that could be an expensive approach. I was however learning and researching methods and techniques that I wanted to do as opposed to following a set syllabus. When it came to taking photos the approach was the same, read the books and magazines that I wanted to read and focus on what I wanted to do. That’s not to say that courses and qualifications are bad, on the contrary, people who achieve qualifications and recognition will have a fuller and more rounded competence in photography.
I was a Professional Engineer by trade and spent 45 years in the aviation industry before I decided to retire early in 2017. During that time I attended many courses and studied continually ending up with an Honours Degree in Manufacturing Engineering. I also became a Chartered Engineer. Throughout my studies I came across many lecturers that were so far behind the curve in what they were teaching that it concerned me. I was working at the forefront of technology in Rolls-Royce then Boeing, but the material some of the college and university lecturers were using seemed about ten years out of date. This made me wonder if the same issue exists in other disciplines, including photography. What would happen if I did go to a course on photography? Would the lecturer be regurgitating the same material to my class, the same material they have used for years? Is being self-taught not such a bad idea after all?
I then came across a quote recently that resonated with me. It is attributed to Alexandra K Trenfor but nobody seems to know who she is, not even Google. The quote is quite profound though. It states that: “The best teachers are those who tell you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see”.
I found that to be a great approach toward teaching. Yes we need the theory in subjects like Maths but everything else is fair game for taking a unique approach. Your approach.
Although I have never been on any formal photography courses, I have attended a couple of street photography workshops led by Brian Lloyd-Duckett at StreetSnappers. I look on these events as coaching more than teaching for me. I embarked on my first workshop in June 2018, about a year after I retired. I suppose I was looking to seriously kickstart my association with photography after closing the book on my engineering career. The workshop had the desired effect and I was delighted that the approach taken by Brian was in line with the above quote. The workshop introduced me to parts of London I had never been to, hotspots for good street photography. Not once did the workshop leader say “stop here and lets all take a picture of this, I advise the following settings….”. I attended another workshop a year later in Westminster on Brexit Day with Brian and StreetSnappers. His experience helped us to be in the right places for potential shots and his coaching was invaluable. I have returned to these locations numerous times now and had some great days out on the streets of London.
As I am typing this I have received an email from the RPS (Royal Photographic Society), listing out courses they have available. They are between £95 and £120 roughly, but are Zoom based courses. I am sure some people will jump at these but I honestly don’t know what I could learn from a Zoom lecture, and without a bio of the lecturer, I don’t know what to expect or if they are any good at the subject they are lecturing on. For me there is no substitute for pounding the streets and seeking out work that you can be proud of. It may not happen tomorrow or this year, but I am confident that if you just go out and take photos, rather than sitting looking at Zoom, you will become a better photographer and find your place in the art.
The more observant of you will have noticed that this blog has come out a bit earlier this week. That is because I wanted to let you know about the upcoming Zine Fair at the Glasgow Gallery of Photography in Glassford St., Glasgow. A host of Photographers, artist and makers will be setting up tables and selling lots of zines, books and other creations. It will be on this Saturday and Sunday (1st-2nd July). The opening times are 11am until 6pm Saturday, 5pm Sunday.
I will be there with a small stand on the Saturday only and will have my five Zines available for purchase. Those will be, “Mother Glasgow”, “AcumfaeGovan”, “The Glasgow Celtic Way”, “Brexit…one day in Westminster” and my recent zine on Glasgow in the 70s and 80s published by Cafe Royal books.
If you are in the area and want to pop by it would be great to see you. Even if you don’t have any plans to buy any Zines I am happy to discuss how to go about creating one if it’s something you have been contemplating. The gallery will also have photography exhibitions ongoing and of course it’s bookshop will be open.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and thank you for reading it. If you want to comment on this blog post please do so below or you can contact me by using the “Contact Me” facility in the website header.
