Looking towards the Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, India. Photographed in January 1998 and recently scanned.
I’ve regularly mentioned Photoshelter on this blog, being as it is the place where I store my online archive, deliver images to clients and am able to take advantage of the e-commerce and licensing abilities that are included with a Photoshelter account. A lot of other photographers feel the same way and more than likely for the same reasons. There is however one additional benefit of a Photoshleter membership and that is access to their fantastic webinars. Due to timezone differences, these are usually held at 7am my time, which makes for an inspiring start to the day. This week was no different, with photographer Tim Mantoani giving us a program titled Focus On Your Passion. For anyone who doesn’t recognize Tim’s name, you’ll certainly be familiar with his photographs.
My biggest passion as a photographer is in the field of travel and culture. As long as I can remember, it’s been an essential part of my photography, with the desire to explore new places and bring back photographic memories and documentation always present. The image that opens this post is but one example of this. It was shot in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Hampi, in southern India. I was there during my first visit to India and the photograph was shot in early 1998 on black and white film. At the time, I’d been on the road for about 10 months. Photography of this nature is what drives me to create and explore.
Allen Murabayashi of Photoshelter describes Tim Mantaoni as
a case study on photographing for the love of it.
During the almost 90 minutes that the webinar ran for, Tim talks more about passion, inspiration and the value of personal projects than he does about gear or technique. This, to me, is what it’s all about. We do it because we love it. We do it because we have a personal need to make photographs. Grab a beer or a coffee, sit back and watch the video below. Anyone from any creative field can relate to this. Enjoy.
Focus On Your Passion: Finding Yourself in Your Photography from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.
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