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 things do 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 merely 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.
