Port de Royan

Last week I visited the lighthouse at Cordouan, on the French Atlantic coast, not far from where I live. It’s one of those things that aren’t far, but as a local you don’t do (e.g. when I grew up in Paris it took me many years to visit the Eiffel tower the first time even though I saw it nearly every day).

Royan port and cathedral
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Become a Good Photographer, Step Two: Quantity

I’ve watched, and sometimes was involved in, countless conversations about creativity that devolve into the same tired refrain: “Quality matters more than quantity”, “creativity can’t be controlled”, and my personal favourite “I prefer creating high-value work rather than churning out rubbish”.

This thinking is nonsense.

Textures and composition practice, many years ago
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Applying My Own Lessons

I discussed wanting but failing to start a project lately. My conclusion was that if you can’t find an obvious project, one way of starting could be to choose a technology, a constraint, or a theme, then go out and take photos to see where it goes.

I was in Oslo lately (for work). So I decided to put that conclusion into practice. I decided:

  • Not to shoot monochrome because it’s currently my comfort zone.
  • Shoot only streets, because landscapes are a safe zone for me and I want to learn street (human activity) photography.
  • Use only one camera and travel light.

Finally, I decided to experiment with a few techniques:

  • Camera movements.
  • Shadows.
  • Patterns.
Electric scooters in the streets of Oslo, 2025
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