Writing about my photography is something I have done for some time.

It is a way of me making sense of what I have been doing and what I am seeing with my own work. In recent years my personal writing has been just that. I have kept much of it in my journals only sharing snippets on Instagram and other social media.

Late 2019 I wanted to start sharing more and doing so on a more regular basis. My old website was sorely in need of a makeover so by revamping it and launching the blog that is now attached I think it will be a better fit. They are both a work in progress, but I have made significant changes already. I am hoping this blog offers me more control than the one I had years ago on Blogger. My plan is to gradually build a collection of articles and resources to share.

So this first post is just a little introduction with a few images sprinkled throughout.

The cover image titled Georgia’s Rose, is a bit of fun I had creating a soft palette from a deep red rose that my brother in law gave me. I’m a great fan of Georgia O’Keefe’s art and am often motivated to play with an edit and try to develop some of her sensuous lines. I’m not sure this was successful as an homage to the brilliant Georgia O’Keefe but it is an image I really like. In the edit I actually converted it to a high key black and white image and then blended it in Photoshop with the colour and moved the petals around so there were some small eliptical shapes throughout.

I took the image above in Morocco on a recent Bailey Chinnery tour.

There is nothing I love more than being able to immerse myself in a place and just create different pieces. Morocco was interesting. Colour and shape and such beautiful architecture – some grand and some humble. I learnt a trick a number of years ago to relax a bit and try not to just focus on that heroine image I might want. I try to really work in an area and find shapes and colours and hidden beauty – some work and some don’t.

I also try to shoot more than one style when I am there. This trip was an abstract/creative tour and of course that is what I focussed on. I was also there to learn. However, there are images in my catalogue from that trip that I just “bank”. I take them and put them away knowing that I can use them in something else. They might be  base images to add another or they might fit into a series I have at home. This one is just a memory of the gorgeous patina.

More from Morocco in a later post.

Taking photos around water and in particular, the ocean is something fundamental to my photography. Looking through my catalogues, it is seascapes that appear the most. I feel quite a spiritual connection when I am walking on the beach and when my camera is in my hand it seems as if it is just an extension of my being.

I will share more seascapes in future posts but for now I just want to share a couple of images from up the coast where I grew up. The image above, Bonny Wave was taken a few years ago around the beaches at Bonny Hills. One of my favourite places.

The image below titled Dark Moods is also from the Mid North Coast. Both images use my technique of camera movement to give a sense of a painterly feeling.

Link to some of my seascapes.

http://www.shirleysteel.com/seascapes

I live in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney and we are surrounded by Australian bush, trees and big vistas. We have so many amazing landscape photographers in our backyard and I am not in their league. However, what I love is the opportunity to create something a little different. Here is something I shot recently – above the roofline in Katoomba. Multiple exposure settings with a Canon R.

The hanging leaf below is from one of our local gum trees. They are a bit addictive to photograph and I find it hard to not press the shutter.