Derek Cottrell : Member in Profile

I confess to only recently taking photography seriously. By some unconscious route I found myself aligned to Photohastings and I had a sudden realisation that I was among some pretty illustrious company. “Uh oh” I thought. I had to try to raise my game and raise it fast. I am pleased to report that my association with Photohastings has been a very positive experience and well, here I am, writing this piece about my creative practice.

There are two main strands to my work, the encountered and the prepared. These two aspects are increasingly becoming interwoven, and it is that convergence that is my current area of interest. This journey has been held back by lack of studio space, which will be resolved when I move to Bexhill.

I do not seek technical perfection. As in music, I believe that the slightly imperfect voice is the one that carries the emotion. To paraphrase Don McCullin, unless I feel it, how do I expect others to feel it. People tell me that my photography has a poetic feel. A lot of my best work is taken when there is a connection between the object and the observer. It is not always so and sometimes the spontaneously taken picture will surprise me.

Being new to creative photography, I have not yet found many artists to inspire me. I do like Albarrán Cabrera, especially the Mouth of Krishna series. Music has always been my greatest inspiration, especially where there is spaciousness, and I believe I carry this element of space into my photography. Recently I was totally overwhelmed by a mime/dance event at the Barbican called aSH by Shantala Shivalingappa (Youtube Link). The work was based on Shiva – creation and destruction – and was breath taking. The visual impact is already finding its way into my work.

Currently, I am already thinking about the Photohastings summer exhibition. I have a strong visual idea and have been scouring charity shops for props. The last summer exhibition was an amazing experience for me on both a physical and emotional level.

I tend to use Flickr as a sketchbook and Instagram to post selected work and to follow other creatives. The four selected images are current work.