I do not generally photograph the subject of a scene, but I am trying to capture what I feel about the scene. It often is because I have perceived something, perhaps a quirky juxtaposition of elements, that has initiated thoughts well beyond producing a straight documentary image. For example:
This scene, on Shetland, made me think of a person looking out to sea, head bowed, lonely and isolated, whose world is falling apart. That was my feeling, and this is my metaphor for it.
For the next image I was immediately struck by the flimsiness of the fence at the same time as it was appearing to interfere with my “right to roam”. Hence this straight on, confrontational composition that emphasises the emptiness beyond.
Finally, this image, taken in the Lammermuir hills where I was struck by the old, quite weak fence in the foreground being ignored by, and incapable of stopping, the army of turbines as they march across the hillside.
I will end with another quote from Minor White:
“One should photograph things not only for what they are but also for what else they are.”
It is the capability to do this that excites me about photography. It means my images will often be misunderstood or dismissed but what does that matter? I know what it means.