John Paul Murray
BIO
Photography
It's quickly becoming an obsession and altering my perspective on whats important to me. At times I can be a little self-conscious and a bit of an introvert. Travelling to cities by myself or even going for a hike outdoors always made me feel a bit… well, a bit anomic.
On a trip last year, a last minute decision and with only a few decent climbs under my belt, I travelled to Ben Venue, a small mountain in the Trossachs National Park. After a few hours, out of breath and with the light fading fast,
I reached the true cairn at the summit. A quick bite to eat to refuel and a chance to relax and watch the sun sinking towards the horizon. There was only the softest breath of warm June air on my face, and thankfully not a midgie in sight, when the sky exploded! Beautiful golden rays shooting out across the slightly clouded sky to the west, reflected against the still waters of
Loch Katrine, I couldn't believe my luck. Such a boost for mental health,
and totally worth the isolated walk back to the car in near-pitch darkness.
I felt I wanted to share, brag almost, what I see as the 'sunset of my life',
but I only had my iPhone to capture it.
I needed a decent camera! The camera was the missing piece of the puzzle.
All of my doubts about being a madman, out for no reason in the dead of night were gone. Photography provided purpose.
My Camera journey
Whilst studying Industrial design from 1994 till 1997 I first learnt how to work a camera and develop in the darkroom. It wasn't a necessary course skill to have when I later moved on to Edinburgh college of Art or The Emily Carr Institute for Art and Design in Vancouver, but I continued to shoot film on SLR till 2002.
As a hobby it kind of dropped off my radar once I started working as a designer.
Like most consumers I moved onto Canon's APS (which I actually still like the nostalgia of) and then to the early days digital with a Sony in 2006. I think the absence of print at this time caused me to drift away from it.
14 years later, a high school teacher now, and I've migrated back to film with a little 35mm Canon EOS300, and my treasured 6x9 1936 Zeiss Ikon that I inherited from my Grandfather - a Royal Engineer & D-day veteran who traded two packs of cigarettes with a German POW for it, and 'shot' bridges he worked on through the remainder of WW2.
After a little researching last year, and to modernise a bit, I opted for the Fujifilm system and their XT100.
A couple of lenses have been added to the humble collection and we all have a great relationship. If I have my camera and I am exploring somewhere new, a city street, hiking or simply ambling along my local trails then I'm happy and at peace.
Whats next...
I don't quite know. Does anyone really? I like people to buy my prints... and I have plans for a darkroom.
At times I have delusions-of-grandeur that I'll be able to give up the teaching job and pursue this, but I'm well aware of my limitations. At best I have a developing 'eye' for this but with so much to learn I'm just happy to see where it takes me.
The added blessing I have is that my son has started tagging along on hikes and my very 'arty' 9 year old daughter seems to be developing a love for shooting too - shes a bit of a camera geek.
All I know is I love it. Photography makes me happy, and if I can keep my wife from finding out how much money I'm spending on camera equipment then I'll stay that way. ;)
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