Newsletter #23

December  2021

For all of my new subscribers, welcome! Each month I send out a newsletter that includes all the latest blogs, photos, safaris, tutorials, and promotions. I look forward to including you on the mailing list, and I cannot wait to share all that inspires me! Please feel free to get in touch if you would like more information on prints, have questions about photography, ideas for the future, or simply just to say hi! Thank you for joining my mailing list, and I hope you enjoy newsletter #23!

GOODBYE 2021

Another year has come to an end, and it certainly has not been without its challenges. November 2019 I sent out the first newsletter, and what a wild last two years we have shared. This month I turned 30, and with it came a lingering feeling of disappointment. Although it was out of my control, accepting the setbacks of the last few years put me in a very negative headspace

To try and snap myself out of it, I wrote down some of my favourite achievements of 2021. The self-reflective process (which is an inadvertent trend to this month's newsletter) helped me realise that even during tough moments, great things happen! While it is easy to think what could have been, it is just as important to look back over the last year, and acknowledge there is so much to be proud of. It has been an absolute joy sharing those moments with you throughout the year in these newsletters.

Those who saw my 30-year social media post will have seen I shared a song 'time trades' by Jeffery Lewis. The song describes how time takes everything from us eventually, but there is a way that time can offer you a trade. You can trade it for skills and experience. All you have to do is invest the time. Thank you all for sharing some of this time with me, either in person or vicariously through the newsletter and social media. While many of my goals remain in my head, I have some really exciting projects in the pipeline for 2022, and I can't wait to share more as we go along.

Thank you everyone for the amazing collection of experiences this year has provided us with. Have an amazing last few days of 2021 and here is to an exciting year ahead, let's keep trading!

- William

THE BEST OF 2021

MY FAVOURITE IMAGE FROM THE YEAR

Each year I try to condense my favourite 20 images from the year. Some of these images are my 'best' others are on the list because they reflect experiences or memories that I cherish from 2021. Choosing these images is a very self-reflective process. From reliving the amazing moments, to reminding myself of techniques I have neglected, it is a great way for me to assess the way my style of photography has developed over the year/years.

A few recurring themes showed through the images in this years selection. Whether that is because I am going through a phase of favouring certain techniques, or maybe it is just that those are the opportunities that have presented themselves. The four most noticeable trends are;

• A move towards a more minimalistic style, with simple forms and shapes.

• Using the way light falls on a subject to emphasise texture and angles.

• Reimagining common subjects that I have previously neglected.

• and; delving deeper into capturing urban wildlife.

I am going to try and let the images speak for themselves, as I feel describing why I picked the image, not only takes away from the story they tell, but also in doing so, I find that I over analyse each image. I hope you enjoy my "top 20 images of 2021", and as always please let me know what you think!

REDISCOVERING FILM

DUSTING OFF AN OLD CAMERA

Many of you reading this newsletter will have some fond, but mostly frustrating memories of photographing on film. Buying my first camera in 2010, when digital had already stamped its mark on the industry, I simply missed the age of film. Although over the years I have occasionally dabbled in shooting film, I have never photographed wildlife on it.

On my five-week trip to Botswana this October, I took a basic film camera, a 50mm f1.8 lens, and two rolls of black and white film along for the ride. As someone who loves the process behind creativity, I instantly fell in love with the more concise thought-out approach of photographing on film. From carefully planning out each image to the element of the unknown results. Averaging one image a day, the excitement of getting the camera out each time there was a perfect scene was unlike anything I have felt in photography before. With digital's rapid-fire approach, capturing a moment in a sequence seems more important than getting that exact moment perfect (not that I have mastered that yet!). Stepping back and thinking about each element of the image was a welcome reminder of carefully focusing on the details of the frame, rather than relying on a numbers game.

Initially I was massively let down by the results of getting my first roll of 36 images developed. The world of digital has made us obsessed with clarity and 'perfection', failing that, you can always edit the images to make them fit your vision. It took me a while to get out of the digital mindset, but eventually, I realised that the natural flaws are what give the image character. The grain, the blown highlights, the unedited feel to the moment. In search of perfection, we have forgotten the beauty of imperfection. 

When I started getting into photography, it was a hobby. When that hoppy became a career the purpose of photography changed. Picking up a film camera, for the first time in years, photography has become a hobby again, and I am loving the process of seeing the world through an enthusiast's eyes.

For those interested, I was using an Olympus OM-10 35mm single-lens reflex camera, with Ilford HP5 Plus, 35mm black and white film. I got the film processed at Cape Film Supply in Cape Town. I cannot recommend them enough as a great personal and professional service. I plan to develop my own film going forward, but, for now, I am still in the learning phase, and I'm loving it!

REMEMBERING WILD DOGS

THE BOOK

I am thrilled to finally get my hands on the latest Remembering Wildlife book 'Remembering Wild Dogs'. It is a true honour to be able to contribute an image of one of my favourite African animals! This is the 6th book in the groundbreaking series which has already raised more than $1 million USD for conservation in the five years since it launched, through the power of photographers working together.

SOMETHING NEW

AERIAL ATTACK

An African skimmer attacks a water monitor lizard as it searches for eggs on a small island on the Chobe River. Chobe National Park Botswana.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV - Sigma 500mm f/4 Sport

f/4 - 1/3200 sec - ISO 320 - 500mm

CANON MAGAZINE

LOCKDOWN FEATURED

It was great to see my image "lockdown" featured in last months Canon PhotoPlus magazine. PhotoPlus magazine featured a selection of their favourite images from the Bird Photographer of the year 2021 competition. Lockdown was awarded a silver medal in the Urban Birds catagory this year.

NOT SIGNED UP YET? JOIN THE MAILING LIST!

TO RECEIVE THE NEXT NEWSLETTER

If you are yet to subscribe and would like to join the mailing list, you can sign up below! Each month I send out a newsletter that includes all my latest photos, blogs, tutorials, promotions, guest features, and much much more! I look forward to including you on the mailing list, and I cannot wait to share all that inspires me. 

PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS

IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM!