Darkrooms Uncovered - Mark Foard

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’m a hobby photographer, so I don’t really feel the same pressure to create that a full time photographer would probably experience. I haven’t really got any specific habits or conditions that spark creativity in me but my mind is constantly twirling and ideas come and go all the time. These generally come from a variety of sources such as walks in the neighbourhood, books, magazines, movies, galleries etc. However, I’ve found that having a purpose, like a project idea, really helps focus my attention and get the creative juices flowing.

When you're feeling creatively blocked, what's your go-to method for breaking through?

I don’t really have a problem with creative blockages as I always seem to have a head full of ideas. I keep a running list of potential projects and pull from that whenever I need inspiration. Where I really struggle is finding/making time or having motivation for photography. Sometimes it just comes down to scheduling time and forcing myself to get out with my camera. Everything pretty much falls into place after that.

Describe a moment when your creative perspective shifted dramatically. What triggered it?

That would probably be when I purchased my first camera that had RAW capability which, in turn, led to me downloading Lightroom. Those two things opened up a whole new world of photographic creativity for me. Moving from just making basic edits on JPEGs to being able to have complete creative control of a RAW image was a game changer for me.

What recurring themes or elements do you find yourself naturally drawn to capture?

From an early age I’ve been interested in nature so it was a given that animals, plants and bugs were among my first subjects when I first started taking photos. I still get immense pleasure from photographing nature and I find the process very calming. However, living in a big city (Toronto) I’m also drawn to street photography and urban landscapes, especially old buildings. I love the buzz you get when you’re in a busy city. I try to find unusual subject matter and compositions to make my images more interesting.

What non-photographic influences (books, music, films, etc.) most impact your work?

I love studying the cinematography in movies. Seeing how a scene was lit, understanding the interplay between light and shadows and how it impacts the overall mood is very insightful and useful. I also enjoy reading biographies and autobiographies or watching documentaries about photographers. They don’t necessarily influence my work but I do find them very inspiring.

What photograph of yours feels most personally revealing, and why?

Because my photography covers many subjects, I’m not sure that there’s one photo that is particularly revealing. However, the photo I’ll choose is one of my favourites and is from an ongoing project called “The CN Tower Series”. This was inspired by Joel Meyerowitz’s Empire State Building series. I took the photo in Toronto’s Music Garden on the harbourfront with the CN Tower in the background. I find the different layers very appealing. It also has a bit of street and a bit of nature and a little bit of fun.

Find out more about Mark Foard

Website: https://markfoard.substack.com/

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