26 DIGITAL CAMERA^ SPRING 2018 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
Terrific triangles
Nicholas Goodden revisits old images
in lockdown with a new creative eyehe worst thing you can ask
of an urban photographer
is to stay locked inside.
But such is life: it throws
unexpected events and challenges at
us, and it’s up to us to rise to them and
adapt. After all, creativity needn’t
end as soon as we step indoors.
So when lockdown was imposed on
us in 2020, I decided that it would not
stifle my need to create. I would find a
way to create an entirely new ‘London’
series without going out, using and
recycling existing photos from my
archive that had not previously
been used or published.
What became obvious is that a
photographer should never aggressively
delete photos from their hard drives; I’ll
admit I may have been guilty of this at
times. Of course, you may think the
photos you shot that day aren’t usable;
they’re just a waste of space. But hard
disk space doesn’t cost a lot, and who
knows? A few years down the line,
they could become useful.This is what happened to me. It all began
with an idea. I was playing around with
an old photo I’d taken in the Italian
Dolomites, with a sculpture of an
astronaut in the middle of the landscape.
This series was a great exercise for
me. It taught me to make use of what
I have available, and not spend my time
obsessing about what I do not have. It
was quite a challenge ‘wrapping those
triangles’ around buildings in Photoshop.
There were many challenges, the biggest
ones being perspective (to ensure the
triangles fit within the image) and
reflections over water or tiles. With
enough trial and error, I think
I eventually got that right.
I hope it will inspire you to step out
of your comfort zone, explore your
archive and maybe create something
a little different from usual. The worst
thing that can happen is that you may
end up learning a new skill... and that’s
not a bad thing if you ask me!
http://www.nicholasgoodden
photography.co.ukT
5 | CREATIVE26 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2021 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com