Darkrooms Uncovered
“Before the shutter clicks, a photograph first exists in the mind's darkroom.”
This was the trigger that prompted me to start this newsletter. For this new initiative on creativity, I am collecting insights from photographers about this pre-visualization process to gain as much knowledge as possible about how our creative processes work. As well as being interesting to read, it will help us all find new ways of working and pick up tips and tricks to help us in our photography practice.
Here you will find the combined list of all photographers (ordered by surname) that participated in this interview series. Click the names to read the interview
A
Alain ASTRUC
”There’s something magical about capturing something I didn’t expect, something that feels both mine and outside of me.”
B
Marcel BORGSTIJN
”I deliberately focus on expressiveness over technical perfection; my photos that I'm most proud of all have some technical shortcoming.”
Xavi BUENDIA
”I put everything down that relates to my creative process and consume a bunch of junk that I wouldn't on a normal day.”
C
D
Donn DOBKIN
”The idea is just to build creative muscles, not necessarily to create 10 perfect ideas or solve problems.”
E
F
Mark FOARD
”I keep a running list of potential projects and pull from that whenever I need inspiration.”
Matteo FRANCHI
”I guess, however, that my brain records what I see, listen to and read and then mixes up everything regardless I want it or not.”
G
Lin GREGORY
”I record any ideas that are sparked in a voice note as I walk and that often help me find ways of approaching something from another angle.”
H
Søren K. HARBEL
"If I am in a bad place, the way out is to take the blinkers off. Take a different path. Turn right instead of left."
Susanne HELMERT
“…moving through the world with a heightened awareness, camera in hand, ready to notice whatever reveals itself.”
I
J
K
Alex KUSTANOVICH
”Warm bath and Mexican food. Nothing works better.”
L
M
Juliette MANSOUR
"I make sure that I leave lots of gaps in the day and that's when I put up my antenna.”
Geoff MAXTED
”I have chosen this image because for me, it sums up missed opportunities in work, life and love."
Kees MOLDERS
”As if an action or habit can trigger creativity by magic."
N
O
P
PERFECTLIGHT
”Creativity is like an alien that eats me from inside screaming to get out.”
Matthew POBURYNY
”… often brings my feet to hinterlands, peripheries, and liminal spaces in urban and rural environments where I feel the veil between reality and a sense of otherness is available to me”
Q
R
S
Buku SARKAR
”Mania. Mania drives my photography whereas strictness drives my writing. I mostly photograph at nights if I am doing self portraits.”
Neil SCOTT
"...I realised that every photo I take—whether of a mountain or a molehill—is a kind of self-portrait."
Ronald SMEETS
"Any creative block I encounter often tends to be at photo editing stage, I just don't feel like sitting behind my computer all night..."
Just SUZY
”While I can absolutely enjoy the energy of a bustling city, I also need to retreat regularly to recuperate”
T
Manuela THAMES
"We have to unlearn our adult way of thinking/working and nurture a childlike curiosity that then can lead to trying something new without worrying about the results."
Olli THOMSON
"Or I'll pull together some existing images and create a new photo zine or book."
Giles THURSTON
”For ages, I have been trying to put my finger on who I am creatively and what my style of photography is.”
U
V
Mike VOSS
"…but I prefer street photography because it’s more honest. There’s always so much going on and so many choices to make on the fly."
W
X
Y
Z
How do you translate the world into images?
Share your creative approach and become part of this expanding archive of photographic insights. Submit your story