The Long Version

I hope that you’ve had the chance to have a look at some of my images. It’s this looking and responding, without anything having been said, that I like the thought of most. The seeing an image for the first time and engaging the brain and responding to the image by thinking that it’s lovely, beautiful, quirky, happy, sad, poignant, questioning, interesting etc. etc. or maybe even that its boring, perplexing, confronting or sad. It is the purity, simplicity or innocence of this immediate response that is so important. Just seeing, responding and engaging the brain. There can be so much more to an image, but just to have this from an image or from art more broadly, is wonderful and I think can be enough. It makes me smile. I like the thought of the images that I create being accessible to all without the need for explanation.

That doesn’t mean though that it’s the only response that I seek from my images or that it’s the only motivation that lay behind their creation. For those that want to go further; to take a second, third or fourth look, to read words, to understand, to see their own image; there is always something else there. Venturing into these places provides the depth to any initial response to an image.

This approach also reflects the way I often work. There is always something that captures my initial attention, something that I see that makes me push the button. Sometimes that is enough. Its all that is needed. But it is often the case that when I take another look at an image I see it differently and want to work with it to create a new image. To give it a greater depth, different emphasis or more striking impact. At least in my mind’s eye!

If you are really interested in the about and why of my work, then that starts with the following sentence. No matter how simple or complex an image may appear, everything that is me has gone into the creation of that image. It really has. Sometimes that part of me might be obvious in an image, but other times it’s just not possible to dissect. I’m qualitative not quantitative.

Because of who I am: I put myself in that place; I looked-up, down, or around and saw the image; it resonated in my eyes and head; my mind shaped how it was captured; and, amongst many other things, it created an emotional response, of some shape or form, in my head.

Because of who I am: I think beauty, emotion and art can exist in anything, small, medium, large, natural, architectural, industrial, people, animals, the simple, the complex etc. etc.; I love variety and not being constrained in my focus; I love seeing things that others might not see; I love balance, even when that might not be the immediate impression; I love seeing  patterns and shapes; and I love knowing that every other person will bring their own self to seeing the image that I’ve created.

An image may be a moment in time but hopefully it’s also something that is full of life; emotion; thought; experience; knowledge; the before and after; and one’s individual creative mind.

By now you’re probably regretting starting to read this extended explanation. As someone who is not a great fan of tortuous and convoluted artist statements and analysis, this has taken more words that I expected. I can only apologise.

The Short Version

David Bailey is photographer based in Hobart Tasmania who loves to get out and about and explore and capture the world, whether it be locally, around Tasmania, in other parts of Australia, or in countries around the world. I have no specific subject focus for my work as I love seeing beauty and creativity in so many different things. All images have been taken by myself. While images have been cropped and “played with”, no new subject matter has been added, and no AI has been used at all. Thanks and please enjoy.