68 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
APS GALLERY
AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY JUNE 2016With Jane
Clancy
My
Journey
W
e all know that
every journey starts
with the first steps.
We often have
expectations about the end of the
journey and the possibilities along the
way but don’t really expect everything to
go to plan. My journey into the world of
photography has all these characteristics.
Like most people I have taken my fair
share of family photographs to ensure we
had a record of all the important events.
I loaded film, pressed the button and
got what the camera decided I should
have. Like most people, this was about
the full extent of it, and I lived with the
disappointments that inevitably followed
on many occasions.
In 2006 and 2007 my husband and
I made trips to Canada, Alaska and
New Zealand. I took along my first
digital camera – a Canon Powershot
A700 and our trusty Pentax MZ60
film camera. True to form I took all
my photographs on auto mode. While
I got the usual range of photographs,
satisfactory to disappointing, it resulted
in a very fundamental change and one
that started me on a definite path in theworld of taking photographs.
I decided I wanted to learn to take better
photographs. I had caught the “bug”. The
first stage in my education was a short
adult education course in photography
that resulted in more confusion than
knowledge. Searching around I came
across the Essendon Camera Club and
their course “Photography Techniques –
your next steps moving beyond Point and
Shoot”. I completed the course in 2008.
Submitting work in Monthly Competitions
and the comments from the judges was
the next phase in my education. There
was now a deliberate plan to put in the
effort to learn and improve. It was up to me
now, not the camera; the ownership of the
results had shifted.
It was very clear to me that to improve
you had to take photographs and plenty
of them. I had to get to know the camera
and the various settings. Understanding
ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture as
individual concepts and more importantly
their relationship to one another became
a focus. I continue to pursue all areas
and styles of photography as this fits with
my belief that each area has its own set
of skills to master and that these skillsFor Australian Photographic Society member
Jane Clancy, catching the photography bug was
the beginning of a long and rewarding journey.
are transferable. In striving to attain
competence I will hopefully become a
better photographer. This is not to say
that some areas interest me a little more
than others. I love texture and form in
more abstract images, mood or light in
landscapes and have recently done a fair
bit of portrait photography, both candid
grab shots, live shows and studio.
In 2012 I was Photographer of the Year
at Melbourne Camera Club and with lots
of encouragement and support I started
entering National and International
Competitions in 2013. I have received
many Acceptances, several HM’s, Merits,
Gold and Silver Medals. Those who have
done their sums will realise that 2008
when “My Journey” started was just seven
short years ago.
My selection of photographs for this
article is not all recent and not necessarily
my best work. They are photographs that
have been a part of “my journey”. Canada
holds a special place in my heart - some
of the landscapes capture my love of rock
formations and mist and the portrait
work enables me to interact with people,
something that does not happen when
photographing seascapes or landscapes.
The process of entering Nationals
and Internationals gives me a purpose to
actually go out and take photographs and
by doing so hopefully grow and improve
along the way. There is so much beauty
everywhere if only we open our eyes! ❂