Darkrooms Uncovered - Giles Thurston
A peek into a photographer's mental creative darkroom
What does your creative ritual look like? Do you have specific habits or conditions that spark your creativity?
I don’t have any specific habits, other than trying to ensure I always have a camera with me. With the power of modern smartphones, this is pretty easy these days. This year I have adopted the mantra of “if you see it, shoot it” and as such am always on the look out for compositions. Even if it’s a quick snap, I will try and grab something. I feel this has really helped develop my photographic eye and opened so many more opportunities for me.
When you're feeling creatively blocked, what's your go-to method for breaking through?
Reading magazines or photography books can help, as can watching and reading content published by photographers I admire on Substack and YouTube. However, my number one source is podcasts. I am a real podcast addict and love listening to all sorts and have a number of photography related ones in my feed. The Photowalk by Neale James is my top recommendation but there are others in the list, such as the new Negative Influence by Justin Allen, here on Substack.
Describe a moment when your creative perspective shifted dramatically. What triggered it?
Wow, that is a tricky question. I have been surprised by the positive reactions I have received to some photographs. In terms of myself, I guess it would be when a photograph I have taken has come out even better than I hoped once I get it back onto the computer. There are a couple of examples of shots I have taken in the English Lake District that as soon as I saw them they were almost exactly as I have envisaged and required very little post-processing. I know a lot of people dislike post processing but I enjoy it and feel it’s a key part of my creative process, typically as I prefer desaturated or high contrast images. So when an image is almost perfect as shot, that has been a surprise to me.
What recurring themes or elements do you find yourself naturally drawn to capture?
I am really drawn to having human elements in my shots. This will occasionally be people but typically it is things that we have built, created or abandoned in the landscape, either urban or natural. I call this the human landscape and it fascinates me and really catches my eye. That said, a lot of people do tend to suggest I have a fascination with bins, doors, abandoned pallets and old farm machinery, which is probably true as well.
What non-photographic influences (books, music, films, etc.) most impact your work?
I consume all of those, but I am not sure it has a direct impact on my photography. I guess scenes in films and specific styles and looks may do, but I am not aware of it. Another great question.
What photograph of yours feels most personally revealing, and why?
For ages, I have been trying to put my finger on who I am creatively and what my style of photography is. This image, which I took in the Lake District at the end of last year, finally opened my eyes to my fascination with human elements in my photos, and my move away from grand vistas and more classic landscape photography. This has really allowed me to double-down on this kind of photography this year and embrace my love of bins etc.
Find out more about Giles Thurston
Website: www.giles.fyi
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gilesthurston
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