About
I have been in love with the natural world for as long as I can remember but photography is a relatively new (to me) means of expressing that relationship. I did have a very brief flirtation in my 20's with an old Zenith SLR but life and it's various meanderings took over and photography quickly took a back seat and was lost off the agenda.
In 2006, I had a notion. As an ex- professional botanist and someone who has been visiting the Island of Iona for over 30 years, I decided to make a record, complete with photographs, of the island's flora. Armed with nothing more than a Fujipix compact camera, I set out on several weekend visits over the course of that Spring and Summer only to conclude in the end that I had neither the photographic skills nor the equipment for the project! (The camera also died on me during the September visit). I needed to find a course and learn something. At the same time, I needed to acquire another camera. A two day course in flower photography at the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens was followed by a return trip to Iona with a Canon 400D over my shoulder. One never knows where a thing is leading and in this case I really didn't.
Back on the island with my new SLR and a tripod, the only thing I wanted to do was photograph the landscape. I had the most wonderful week and I'd found a new passion!
On my return home, I booked myself on a landscape photography course for the following May (with photographer Garry Brannigan of the Digital Dawn whose courses I highly recommend - see my links page).
And so my exploration of landscape (and flower) photography began. When I get the chance I love to be simply out in the world, waiting for and watching the play of light and shadow on the land in places I love to be. I'm reminded of studying Geology in my first year at University. In the understanding of something about the rocks and strata beneath my feet, how they're formed and how they shape the land, I was given a whole new perspective on the world. So it is with the photography. I'm seeing things with fresh eyes; shapes, textures, patterns and colours; the richness of the world's beauty on my doorstep.
I have, for a very long time, wanted to find a way to convey my love of the natural world. Photography is at least one of the channels I'm beginning to use and I can't think of many things much more pleasurable than having to simply be with beautiful moments (very cold dawns and dusks notwithstanding!)
Babara Sellars, January 2010
In 2006, I had a notion. As an ex- professional botanist and someone who has been visiting the Island of Iona for over 30 years, I decided to make a record, complete with photographs, of the island's flora. Armed with nothing more than a Fujipix compact camera, I set out on several weekend visits over the course of that Spring and Summer only to conclude in the end that I had neither the photographic skills nor the equipment for the project! (The camera also died on me during the September visit). I needed to find a course and learn something. At the same time, I needed to acquire another camera. A two day course in flower photography at the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens was followed by a return trip to Iona with a Canon 400D over my shoulder. One never knows where a thing is leading and in this case I really didn't.
Back on the island with my new SLR and a tripod, the only thing I wanted to do was photograph the landscape. I had the most wonderful week and I'd found a new passion!
On my return home, I booked myself on a landscape photography course for the following May (with photographer Garry Brannigan of the Digital Dawn whose courses I highly recommend - see my links page).
And so my exploration of landscape (and flower) photography began. When I get the chance I love to be simply out in the world, waiting for and watching the play of light and shadow on the land in places I love to be. I'm reminded of studying Geology in my first year at University. In the understanding of something about the rocks and strata beneath my feet, how they're formed and how they shape the land, I was given a whole new perspective on the world. So it is with the photography. I'm seeing things with fresh eyes; shapes, textures, patterns and colours; the richness of the world's beauty on my doorstep.
I have, for a very long time, wanted to find a way to convey my love of the natural world. Photography is at least one of the channels I'm beginning to use and I can't think of many things much more pleasurable than having to simply be with beautiful moments (very cold dawns and dusks notwithstanding!)
Babara Sellars, January 2010