The Ghost

 

Photography at A level was a great experience for me,it was a time where i could relate my interests in photography with those who felt the same way and with those who of course did not.
       The two years I spent studying photography at A level were not about the technicalities but rather the image itself,i grew to understand the importance of composition and subject. This placed me down a road which I have never derailed from.

       For my A Level exam we were tasked with basing an entire project around one word and the word that i chose was illusion, an idea quickly came to me. The greatest illusion is the one not seen and how better to be unseen than to hide behind a mask.
       Yes, I based my entire project around masks,masks ranging from old military gas masks to carnival props. It was a project that let me explore the strange and unusual, I pushed myself to see what i could with a simple bland mask and with the use of some lights and a novice skill of photoshop i managed to create the image above.
      It's nothing special now that I look back at it but then......it meant a lot. I had managed to take what I thought was a striking image,something that caught the eye. It made me want to do more,it was the final decision to pursue a career in photography,to always strive to create that perfect image. Two years later and nothing's changed.....

Why Photography?

As I turned 17 I was faced with the situation of what to do with my life. One year of A Levels had shown me what to expect of the next stage of education and it worried me. I never believed myself to be creative so picked the more written based courses such as history and Psychology and after a year of these i needed something else....something fun.


I was faced with theater studies or Photography and the popularity of theater studies meant i was placed in photography, a choice ultimately made for me. Placed in a class filled with people i had never met i wondered what would happen. My teacher i had met years ago and doubted he would remember the quiet child who sat at the back and listened in silence,i was wrong. He did indeed remember me and it was a boost to my confidence.

Our first photography lesson was something of an eye opener,five minutes in we were asked "What is photography to you?". I looked at those around me and listened at their ideas,some had experience with photography many like myself were as green as they came. All the answers were different and when it finally came to my turn all i could say was that photography was a way of remembering,a way to show the world to others.

 The lessons seemed to pass quickly after that and over the course of the first year i found myself growing to like the course more and more and then one day everything seemed to fall into place. I made the decision to buy a professional camera and for a full two weeks I went and photographed whatever caught my eyes. It was an amazing experience and put me on the tracks of what i hope to be a long and prosperous career in photography.

Since my first official year studying Photography my skills have increased ten fold,i know things now that i never knew existed or believed i could ever know. I realize now that i am creative,Photography is something I enjoy, it's a challenge and it is always rewarding. I hope to learn much more in the coming years.