In two weeks time I’ll be off to Japan again for our annual White & Wild Japan tour.
Many years ago, I started to experiment with off-camera flash in an effort to create truly original images of the often photographed Japanese snow monkeys. At the time, no one else was doing this, so it seemed like a good thing to do. And it was. Over the years I’ve created an entire series using this technique, and it eventually won me the Grand Title ‘International Nature Photographer Of The Year’ at the International Photography Awards. I’m still very proud of that achievement, but it also taught me a valuable lesson: it pays off if you try to be different.
We’re still in the early stages of the digital revolution, but you can already see how it has changed photography. Just look at this website for instance. Someone posts a picture on 500px, that picture becomes very popular, and soon after you will see a lot more pictures taken at that same location or of that same subject. Locations that were once exotic have turned into cliches within a decade. If you’re the exploring type and/or love hiking, you don’t have to worry – people probably won’t be able to find your locations and copy what you’re doing. But the moment you decide to photograph a common subject or a well know location, it’s good to know that you have to put in some extra work to make your images stand out from the rest. That’s not easy, but in the end, it will be a good thing for both yourself as an artist and for the quality of photography in general.
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If you’re interested in joining us on our White & Wild Japan tour to photograph snow monkeys, Japanese cranes, Steller’s sea eagles and whooper swans, please check out our website for more information:
Squiver Photo Tours & Workshops
Marsel
©2015 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
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