I began by asking Adele how her interest in photography started.
"I’ve always had a great love of the landscape, which began in my childhood taking pictures using my dad's hand me down cameras on family camping holidays.
Over the years I have been inspired by books, magazines, lectures and many photographers around me to move towards a more minimalist style, often with a peaceful delicate, feeling and enhanced by printing on matt or textured art papers."
"Water has a strong draw for me as it naturally tends to simplify a scene, particularly moving water combined with long exposures.
I’ve always been fascinated by the camera’s ability to produce images in a way that the eye can’t see.
It’s quite rare for me to surface pre-dawn but when I do I am occasionally rewarded with glorious mist, which again simplifies a scene."
You have given us a variety of subjects so apart from the landscape, what else inspires you?
"Graphic lines, curves and abstract shapes, is another general theme I enjoy, whether this be architecture, sculpture, objects or natural forms."
Annual camera club competitions for triptychs and a panel of six prints has motivated me to take sets of images. This provides the opportunity to show, in a bit more depth, what my photography is about, and more than may be conveyed by a single image.
It can also become more of a project from which I can learn and I enjoy the process of arranging images into a cohesive panel.
I think this has improved my photography by focusing my mind on spotting opportunities to take multiple images that work together."
"A fun camera club ‘Teapot’ themed competition recently triggered an interest in Still Life photography, which has the obvious advantage that it can be done at any time and in the comfort of home, without the need to travel.
This has led to an enjoyment of photographing flowers, aiming for an artistic style, which I hope to explore further."
Finally, I asked Adele about her photographic goals.
"As my photography, post-processing and printing have developed over time, I find I’m being drawn more and more towards minimalist images and without realising it I seem to be developing a bit of a ‘style’ for simple, peaceful images.
An ARPS is certainly my next goal as it naturally leads on from my enjoyment of compiling small panels. However, it's somewhat daunting to go from a panel of six to one of fifteen but I am trying to look at it as three panels of five that work together, different yet cohesive."
Thanks to Adele for sharing her images with us and providing some food for thought for any of us thinking of working towards an ARPS. I guess a personal style is photographing what inspires us and presenting it in a way that pleases us as individuals.
