Page 10 - Photo Review

INSPIRATION

‘Every time I felt like I was

better, I would delete my old

stuff and start again.’

But after a year or so, he’d picked up a new And then just as everything was humming
job in New Zealand – and a familiar pattern along, he accepted a job in France.
was repeated. It was an opportunity, he hoped, to explore
¶7KH ÁDWPDWH , OLYHG ZLWK KDG DQ LQWHUHVW LQ both his landscape and travel photography in
photography and we kind of egged each other a beautiful part of the world. Moving halfway
RQ +H ORYHG WKH WHFKQLFDO VWXII ZKLFK , ÀQG YHU\ around the world necessarily inserted a pause
GU\ VR EHWZHHQ XV VR ZH NLQG RI ÀJXUHG RXW KRZ in his Australian-based photographic activities.
WR VKRRW PDQXDO KRZ WR XVH ÀOWHUV DQG VR RQ · Even so, he continued to keep his hand in by,
%\ WKLV VWDJH /HH KDG H[FKDQJHG WKH ÀOP among other things, participating in the AIPP’s
FDPHUD IRU KLV ÀUVW '6/5 D &DQRQ ' annual Australian Professional Photography
+H DQG KLV ÁDWPDWH WUDYHOOHG DURXQG ERWK WKH Awards. A year or two later when he returned
North and South Islands of New Zealand and WR $XVWUDOLD KH TXDOLÀHG IRU KLV 0DVWHU RI
the experience re-ignited Lee’s passion for Photography of the Australian Institute of
photography – particularly of the landscape. Professional Photography.
In the late ‘noughties’ he moved to Australia While many photographers are given
where he continued to work in engineering to waxing lyrical about their photographic
while at the same time devoting himself to his philosophy, Lee’s attitude to his own creative
photography. ‘I've spent thousands of hours on it. endeavours is more cut and dried:
For a very long time, every single spare moment ¶, P GHÀQLWHO\ QRW RQH RI WKH DUWLVW W\SHV ZKR
I'd be out photographing – and Photoshopping talk about their photography in a deeper sense.
when I couldn't go out. I was building a business, , ÀQG WKDW NLQG RI ZHLUG · KH VDLG ¶, GRQ W VHH
teaching on the weekends and all my holidays things in my images. Or that they resonate from
were taken up by going out taking photos. It was my personality or anything like that.
all-consuming for several years. ‘It's the philosophy thing I don't feel like I have.
‘I built up to where I was earning decent Obviously I have certain visual preferences and
money. I was teaching groups of photographers I have a way of post-processing. So, I probably
every other weekend. I was teaching Photoshop have a style - although it's not obvious to me.
and doing some weekend trips away with I do like seeing a collection of work and seeing
people too.’ consistency through it.’

8 PHOTOREVIEW AUSTRALIA | Issue 75 www.photoreview.com.au