Travel enough and you will eventually meet yourself. I recently read that somewhere but I doubt it is possible to meet an ever changing self. I am changing every day. I can feel my mind changing, I witness my views on the world and life changing. Fundamentally.
A changed me means a changed vision. My passion and interest now lies in capturing people. People, faces, emotions and everyday lives in remote areas. Indeed, a radical departure for me but things change, thankfully. People and travel photography now holds the greatest challenge and interest for me. Borneo, Laos and Papua New Guinea and a new me have been large factors in this move. I captured thousands of people images in Papua New Guinea and this woman illustrates my approach. Unaware of the camera for a spell I try to offer a glimpse into her world. As I improve I hope to offer a glimpse into the soul, the thoughts, the feelings.
I still love my landscapes but I feel they need a rest, I have “done” them for now. My seven days in Death Valley, USA, in May 2010 feels like the ultimate conclusion of my landscape quest. The Search for Perfection in Wide Open Spaces. Perfection turned out to be, ultimately, magical and gorgeous, but also boring and empty. No running, no hiding, I no longer need to ‘Escape in Landscapes’ nor get lost Into The Wild. I will however always treasure the images from the quest:
Presently, my landscape work is moving to a very minimalistic style and sometimes featuring altered landscapes, altered by man. I am exploring how much I can remove from the frame and still have an image left. Shooting flat, square, into the horizon, straight lines, few leading lines, few colours and possible only one simple subject. An exercise in simplicity. An exercise in creating a great image out of something that is not an obvious pretty image.
The exercise in people, travel and ethno-photography is however my main passion and project and will be for a long time as I wish to venture into humanitarian photography. I therefore very much look forward to the next three weeks of capturing people images in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos honing my skills. I look forward to the challenges, the challengers and forever changing and learning. I do admit to also look forward to creating a new home and base. I have soon been homeless enough for now and am quite tired and stretched thin. I am dangerously close to turning the extraordinary into the ordinary. I have seen too much. Yes a new home will be nice.
Flemming
18 Comments on “Forever Changing”
Very interesting read mate!
Glad to hear a new flame has been lit!
Best of luck to you
Thank you Dylan
Change is good. In all other aspects of our lives we're constantly evolving and redirecting, it stands to reason that it should happen creatively… especially creatively.Great thing about this is we never really throw any of it away, it just gets infused into what's already there. When you go back to escaping in landscapes, they'll have all that wonderful experience you've gathered in the meantime.
Who knows, by the time I start my F2 journey, you might find me doing landscapes… You and Stephen might have a solid belly laugh waiting 😀
P.S. "Presently, my landscape work is moving to a very minimalistic style"
I thought you were headed there already, especially with your USA and Africa work, like this:
https://flemmingbojensen.com/photo/sands-of-ti…
this: https://flemmingbojensen.com/photo/very-large-…
this: https://flemmingbojensen.com/photo/sandstorm-a…
for instance
Yes indeed my landscape work has mostly been minimalistic and especially some of the USA and Namibia images. The new images I have shot are even more minimalistic however!
😀
Hey Flemming,
A really cool and insightful post. I've always been really intersted in taking peoples photos but for some reason can never sit down and process them. I would much rather look at photos of street photography all day rather than landscapes funnily enough.
Have you seen this video of Vivian Maier yet? http://www.wttw.com/chicagotonight/video/A1hO97qc…
Jamie
Thank you Jamie. I will have a look at the video. Most of the blogs I follow are travel and people photographers, I get quite inspired by that.
Just watched this now Jamie, thanks for that link what an incredible, breathtaking and inspiring story. Amazing. There's a blog as well from the guy who bought the negatives: http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/
Flemming,
Life and its creative forces are a journey. At times these forces flow own way and then ebb another only to return from which it came. I know that I have gone through similar periods where I have put aside subjects because i seemed to get bored with them or found them less inspiring as compared to a new subject matter. I have found however that over time, there will be a landscape that suddenly catches you off guard and then the spark is re-kindled. Your landscape work is amazing! While I understand the need for change and to follow a passion don't shut yourself out from something you do very well! I am glad things are proving so inspiring and insightful for you. Keep safe, happy travels, and keep taking beautiful pictures!
Dan
Thanks for your comment Dan. I am not giving up on landscapes, just only shooting the few that really inspires me while I pursue my other passion.
Hey Bo nice to have a shift, can be disconcerting but if we stay the same how wasteful would that be.
I often wondered how you went with non stop traveling.
Good luck with it mate.
Thank you Tony.
hey flemming,
All the best with your new journey's ahead. Where will you basing yourself from and for how long ?
As for these two images…. I actually think I like the PNG portrait better 🙂
all the best,
T 🙂
You like the PNG best, woohoooo 🙂 Thanks Tony and as for future base, good question. If it's in Australia, it will definitely be Broome. We'll see. Stay tuned.
Hey Flemming, i'm with you on this, if you ever did run into yourself, your earlier self how do you think you would relate, what would you talk about? and do you think you would like each other/yourself? I find myself thinking these thoughts quite often as i realise how we shift and change as we move through the world, or as it moves through us. Many of the things i once thought of as true and essential i now see as totally unnecessary and incorrect, and i'm sure that process will continue. As individuals we are our own biggest and most important project. Good Journey Flemming, may you find some of the things you want and all of the things you need.
Thanks Adam.
Hi Flemming,
I found this website/organization and thought of you. Perhaps you know about it already but if not I hope you find some value in it. I know you are going to do philanthropic photography so this may be a place to find opportunities and/or show your work. Best!
Dan http://photophilanthropy.org/