A wise man and very good friend once told me “you’re only as good as the last thing you’ve done” To be honest it’s taken me a long time to come to this realization but I do agree. I’ve read so many biographies over the years and they all look like shopping lists. “I’ve done this and that”” won this award or grant””have this much education or certification” in the grand scheme of these actually matter? No.
I’ve been lucky with the people that have graced me by being in front of my lens. I’ve been able to shoot famous and not so famous people, musicians, actors and actresses, regular folk and so on. I’ve had the privilege of doing product shoots for both fortune 500 companies and little mom and pop operations. I take pride in knowing that every job I have taken on I’ve put my whole heart into it.
I’m formally and informally trained in the photographic arts. There hasn’t been a job I haven’t done in this industry, from the lowliest gopher to a featured photographer. My theory on formal training is that once you’ve been out of the classroom environment for any period of time you develop your style and way of doing things. As for informal training, that falls into the category of name dropping. I believe that the quality of one’s work should speak for itself.
Over the years I have won many awards and accolades for my work but they are mealy dust collectors and happy memories. Art “all art” is subjective and just because one panel of people thinks my work is deserving of praise doesn’t mean the rest of the world may think so.
In short I let my work stand testament to my abilities as a photographer. My education, training and awards are nothing more than happy memories from my past. Because like my wise friend said “you’re only as good as the last thing you’ve done”.
Thank you for the time you took to read this.
Sincerely
David Marden.
|