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Ian began
an affair with the camera when his father gave him a Pentax K1000 for
his fifteenth birthday. As a schoolboy, inspired by travel and natural
history, he wandered between the aloe plants of South Africa capturing
whatever fell within range of the lens.
The presence
of the aloes epitomized the end of the mundane and the beginning of the
evocative. They grow in wild places and it seemed in a figurative and
a literal sense, Ian always wanted to be where the aloes grew.
Ian subsequently
majored in Geography and Physical Education before completing his training
in photography. In the process, the miles of travel added up; by vehicle,
bicycle, kayak, sailboat and on foot Ian explored the world and life,
engaging a wide range of people along the way.
Since his
first tentative submissions to magazines, Ian's work has developed into
a highly commended discipline. His photographs and articles have appeared
in magazines, text books, coffee table books and calendars in the USA,
UK, South Africa and Canada. As such it might be said that Ian's approach
to life reflects a passion - the exploration and appreciation of man's
interaction with the earth.
Aside from
the technical skill required to make a good image, Ian relies on three
creative senses. The first is a sense of mood, the second a sense of geometry,
and the third a creative use of light. Ian considers there to be a moment
of glory in every pursuit, place and person that can be captured on film.
It takes endurance, and effort to find that moment and it is tenuous at
best
and always fleeting. But the depicted moment has the power
to tell any number of stories. His best photographs consequently show
a graceful tension between these three elements.
It is the
capture of these moments and the outcome of that journey, that fuel Ian's
efforts as he takes that daily step beyond the aloe, from mediocrity toward
distinction. They now form the inner vision that guides him in the production
of images for worldwide use.
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