Creative Camera has emerged after four sustained years of looking online at photography and ten years of tutoring emerging photographers. The result is an ethos which we’d like to share with you.
About us
“Photography is a means by which we learn to see the ordinary.”
David Bailey
Team
The story
Some years ago I noticed the online photographic marketplace didn’t offer a one-stop website that provided quality online photography courses, free learning materials and workshops. So, Creative Camera was developed to fill that niche and inspire photo enthusiasts and provide the location experience to put that into practice. The Morocco Photo Academy is my base in Essaouira on the Atlantic Coast where I’ve been receiving students for 12 years.
Creative Camera is overseen by Darren Lewey who also runs Images in the Sun. His support team are photographers; Brian Law ARPS, Matthew Sergeant (UK) and Anshul Khurana (India).
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE BIGGER PICTURE ON DARREN LEWEY:
I’m Darren Lewey, the voice behind Creative Camera. Born in Hertfordshire, UK, I now live in Morocco as a husband and father; photographing, writing, learning, teaching and hopefully inspiring. I took the plunge in 2010 to leave a teaching job in the UK and follow my heart, starting workshops in Morocco.
My long-standing passion for photography begins in my early teens with a makeshift darkroom in my bedroom. At university, I included filmmaking to go with my photography, eventually finding a career in TV, filming and directing documentaries.
My own images place an emphasis on craft and the final look, due I think in part to those years at home finessing prints, and also in the pure enjoyment of looking at great pictures.
To achieve wonderful photography that can inspire you and connect beyond your circle of friends and followers requires structured thinking skills which hopefully you will find in the design of the courses and workshops. Take a peek to see how they differ from the mainstream.
Creative Camera is a hub which reflects a community spirit in personal photography. Jump on in, mail me, sign up for the newsletter at the footer or if you’re a beginner, take up the offer of a free course.
My photos are on the left and click on the links to view more of my photography portfolio 1 | portfolio 2. I also write for online journals which you can see by scrolling down to the footer. Click for reviews of me on TA.
Ethos
Creative Mission
Firstly, we hope the site layout, the images and online DSLR courses, show that being creative is about everything a company or individual does and is more than a simply expressed intent.
As in the stick of rock analogy, creativity should run through everything we do. Slogans and buzzwords have never been so mistrusted, or indeed just bypassed by the astute reader. The proof should always be in the pudding.
Many self-styled, creative photographers, have websites that do not showcase their message well. Likewise, there are also online photo galleries that do not allow a good user interaction. No one is perfect and there is always room for learning and improving, but the real value of creativity is often not truly understood by the person offering it.
Here at Creative Camera, we want to offer good practice and insights into all aspects of the creative process, from developing ideas to finalising the paperweight for your handmade book. It really all counts.
Creative Plan
Terms such as beginner, intermediate or advanced photographer have been left off the website. These labels are simply not reflected in the actual photography that is often made. Of course, technical capabilities will vary, but with the sophistication of mobile phone cameras, someone can make an interesting image in 10 seconds with their mobile. What’s key is individual creative aptitude.
Most of the online DSLR courses out there are structured around specific genre outcomes that are detached from a person’s individual outlook. During the 1980s when I began taking photographs, I could never understand why many of the photographs in Amateur Photographer Magazine didn’t look anything like the masters I was reading about.
The photographic marketplace influences what you think you need to take, using equipment and accessories to drive certain genre outcomes, when actually you have most of what you need already, which is individual vision.
Moreover, we won’t talk gear unless it relates to lens choice and apertures.
Instead, we’re in favour of promoting and developing personal projects. It’s out there but often gets drowned out by hotspot trophy work or by contrived art market photography, offering novelty. We’re old-fashioned here and schooled on the 20th Century masters as well as current photographers who know a thing about composition and lighting. Many of these greats who made a living as commercial photographers were also driven to make personal imagery.
Due to copyright laws when it comes to showing top-quality photography, blogs, online photography schools and journals are in a difficult position. It’s why there’s so little quality photography in ‘top 10 tips’. We’ve started mostly with in-house imagery. It’s not ideal and hopefully, in time we can attract inspiring image-makers to allow their work to be shown within articles.
Finally who is CC for:
You may want to break away from the camera club notion of what good photography is.
You want to find out more about the range of great photographers out there and take inspiration from them.
You yearn to spend more of your leisure time being a creative photographer.
Enjoy the site, take a look at our online DSLR courses and get in touch if any of this resonates with you.