Digitalab Featured Photographer: George Wheelhouse
At Digitalab, we know that you can’t underestimate the power of a truly exceptional image. The beauty of photography as an art form is in its diversity – with so many wonderful genres and so many utterly unique photographers out there, photography means many different things to many different people. That’s why we asked George Wheelhouse for one of his images and asked him a couple of questions to find out exactly how he fell in love with photography and what he’d say to any aspiring photographer hoping to make a career out of their passion.
Tell us a bit about this image and why you chose it to be featured.
I think the combination of snow and wildlife is always effective. Both visually – because the bright white of the snow makes a wonderful setting for the subject, and because it shows that subject in an interesting context. On this occasion, I wanted to get a relatively close-up shot of a red deer stag in the falling snow, in order to show the surprisingly hardy nature of a species which can often appear quite shy and skittish. Deer can often prove difficult to approach, so a portrait of this nature, in these conditions proved an enjoyable challenge, and a rewarding result.
Which styles of photography most interest/inspire you?
I’m obviously inspired by other wildlife photographers – particularly the more creative and innovative photographers out there. I also love a photo that tells a story, or makes a point about its subject or the wider society. Visually, my style is probably most influenced by portrait and abstract photography. I like to try to photograph animals as portrait subjects, to portray character and mood in addition to a visually pleasing image.
What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring photographer?
Be patient. There’s no shortcut to becoming a world famous name in photography, and there’s no rush either. It will take years to reach the high standards you set for yourself, so focus more on the achievable short-term ways in which you can incrementally improve. If you stay focussed on learning your craft, both technically and artistically, you’ll find that the standard of your photography will steadily improve. To my mind, there is no better feeling than that of continually refining and improving your standards. And in time, you’ll look back and realise you how far you’ve come – and how much you enjoyed the process.