The coming of age of a photography project - Part III

Showing you the evolution in my long-term project

Apr 30, 2024

In the last 2 newsletters I told you about my ongoing project 'Riverlands' and my struggle to find the right direction.

In the first newsletter I showed some first pictures and tried to show how we Dutch deal with land conquered by water.

In the second part, I focused on some lighter images, although still dark because of the harsh contrast.

Now I would like to show you another approach, in which I had the help of one of our fellow Substackers, but more about that later....

Ever since I bought the book Landschapswaarnemingen (Landscape Observations) by Ger Dekkers about ten years ago, I have been interested in landscapes in which the sequence shows an abstract representation of that landscape. With this in mind, I have tried to present a rather mundane scene in an alternative way.

(Click on the images to enlarge)

Then I moved the project in a different direction. This was in reaction to a post by

Susanne Helmert

. She introduced the work of Robert Adams, who used to photograph his subject from different perspectives and/or distances, putting 2 or 3 images on one page in his books. Here you can read her post.

This was, at the time, the perfect continuation to explore in my project. I began to search my immediate surroundings, my beloved river De Lek and its floodplains, for interesting locations to capture a la Robert Adams.

Why post unedited photos?

In the last newsletter I received a comment that one of the photos had a tilted horizon. This was indeed true and I pointed out that I do not edit my photos definitively until the images are selected for the project, be it a book, an exhibition or as individual images. The photos I have posted here are straight from the camera, with the high contrast black and white filter of my Ricoh GRII providing the 'first' edit. That way I can see if the image looks the way I intended.

Susanne asked why I was showing these unedited photos when I didn't yet know the concept. If it would help me understand more about the motivation behind it. She asked because she sometimes works on something without knowing where it's going, but usually doesn't share anything until she finds out.

My answer is that I am fascinated by a photographer's working process, and therefore by my own. That is why I started this newsletter; curiosity and the drive to create.

Because I get the pictures straight out of the camera in black and white, I already have a good idea if the photo appeals to me. There is no need to spend time editing it to my liking. That follows later on when I select the images for my project. I also regularly discuss my photos with photography friends and make small prints. At this stage it's more about seeing if I can tell my story with these images and hearing if it resonates with the audience. Comments about the technical aspects are not yet relevant. They will be if, for example, it turns out that a different angle would give a better image. Then I can go back to that location and try it.

I started Darkrooms because I love to see and learn how other photographers work. That's why I regularly post interviews [LINK]. As this is a very inspiring and often constructive community, I feel free to show my unedited photos and receive your comments. This is where not only I grow, but anyone interested in working on photo projects.

Let's not only show the final product, but also the process of getting there. These are often much more interesting.

Getting back to the beforementioned motivation for this newsletter, curiosity and drive....

Coincidentally, I read a quote from James Clear, the author of 'Atomic Habits'1, in his newsletter last week that deals with this topic. How appropriate.

“People can help you in many ways throughout life, but there are two things nobody can give you: curiosity and drive. They must be self-supplied.
If you are not interested and curious, all the information in the world can be at your fingertips, but it will be relatively useless. If you are not motivated and driven, whatever connections or opportunities are available to you will be rendered inert.
Now, you won't feel curious and driven about every area of life, and that's fine. But it really pays to find something that lights you up. This is one of the primary quests of life: to find the thing that ignites your curiosity and drive.
There are many recipes for success. There is no single way to win. But nearly all recipes include two ingredients: curiosity and drive."
- James Clear

Like to hear your thoughts on this set of photos (in comparison to the previous images).

The coming of age of a photography project - Part III

Showing you the evolution in my long-term project

Why post unedited photos?

Let's not only show the final product, but also the process of getting there. These are often much more interesting.

Discussion about this post