OneoftheoriginalInstagrammers,NeilAndrewsdiscusseshowthesocialmedia
platformshapedhisphotographs– andhowhisOlympusgearhelpshimcapturethem
Santas, seasides
and subways
Somephotographersspecialise
inwildlife,landscapesorfineart
portraits.Others,suchasNeil
Andrews,findtheirinspirationinmore
offbeatquarters.“WhatI reallyenjoyabout
photographyisthatit isa vastsubject,”says
theLondon-basedpro,“andformeit’sSanta
Claus,it’stheseaside,it’stheundergroundand
it’scityscapes.”
ThroughhiscolourfulInstagramchannels- namely@mumhad1ofthose,whichhasover
106,000followers– hegetstoindulgeeachof
thoseinspirations.Although,if pushcomesto
shove,headmitsthathe’dchoosetheseaside:
“Thereissomuchtophotograph.Youhave
seascapesandlandscapes,youhavepeople,
youhavekitsch,andit’seasiertoflya droneby
theseaside.AlsoI stillgettophotographcities
bythesea.”
Andrews’unconventionalapproachto
photographyisbornofhislonginvolvement
withInstagram.Hewasoneoftheplatform’s
earlyadopters,joiningwhatisnowtheworld’s
dominantphotographyportalin 2011 when
it hadbeengoingforjustsevenmonths.It
wasn’tuntiltheLondonOlympics,however,that
Andrewsstartedtrulyfallinginlovewiththe
app’spotential.“Itwasaninspiringtimetobe
inthiscity,andI wantedtoshowmypictures
ofwhatI wasexperiencingtomyfriends,”he
recalls.“Itreallyencouragedmyinterestin
photography.If it wasn’tforInstagramand
seeingpeople’sphotosonthefeedandmeeting
peopleinthecommunityinLondon,I donot
feelthatmyphotographywouldhavethe
breadththatit has.”
Unsurprisingly,asanurbanandoutdoor
photographer,Andrewsstoppedusingbulky
DSLRgearin2018.“Mywholekitbaghad
becomea bitunwieldy,andI decidedtolookfor
somethingsimplerandlightertouse.Olympus
fittedintothiscategorynicely,”hesays.“The
realadvantageformeisthatthesystemis
muchlighterandsmaller.”HecurrentlyusestheOlympusOM-DE-M1
Markll,mostoftenwiththeM.Zuiko7-14mm
and12-40mmf/2.8PROlenses,alongwiththe
25mmM.Zuikof/1.8Premiumlens.Andthis
smallersystemismorethanuptothedemands
ofprofessionalshooting.“Idothinkthatyou
canusemicro4/3camerasforprofessional
work,”Andrewsstatesconfidently.“Iambeing
approachedbecauseofthequalityofmy
photographyandnottheequipmentthatI use.”
Attheendoftheday,thatqualityiswhatsets
a photographerapart.Hisadvicetoaspiring
shooters,whetherthey’reInstagrammersor
workingpros,issimple:“Takephotographs
ofthethingsthatyoulove,nomatterwhat
camerayouareusing.Learna fewsimple
techniques,looktootherphotographers,both
pastandpresent,toinspireyou,andyouwill
takebetterphotographsandthereforecreate
bettermemories.”DiscoverwhyprofessionalstrusttheOlympusprocamerasystem– theOlympusOM-DE-M1
MarkII andE-M1X,andtheentireM.ZuikoDigitalPROlenslineup.Visitomdtestdrive.co.ukto
arrangea loantailoredtoyourprofessionalfieldofphotography.© Neil AndrewsOLYMPUS