I don't know why I'm a photographer

[Garp]

Divine pretty much summarised it perfectly there from your text. I'll have a stab too, though I'll be putting lots of words in your mouth, based on what I've heard you talk about in the past, if you're not so keen on what he came up with.

Why am I a photographer?
I feel driven by it, by a deep passion that's hard to put into words. A passion to break down the walls of the seemingly dull and dreary and reveal the beauty that is hidden in plain sight. A passion to make people stop in their busy lives, rushing from place to place, minds focused on everything but their surroundings and show them what they're missing. A passion to tell a story in a city of millions, without saying a word. A passion to stir memories, to invoke those magic words "Do you remember when ... "
Most of all, to me, it's an expression of love. I love this city, and I love these people, and these photographs are my way of saying "I love you"

Cheesy? Maybe..

[Desmo]

I was going to to quote exactly what divine did. If you feel it is what you are meant to do then say so. You hear it from singers, actors, musicians all the time. Why not photographers?

[petemc]

Really shouldn't consider things while heroic Lord of the Rings music plays. "It *is* what I was destined to do." *heroic stance*

Originally Posted by Davey_Pitch

It's not pretentious at all if it's true, or what you feel. You could simply say "It's what I feel I was meant to do" to perhaps tone it down somewhat. It still means the same thing.

Yer perhaps. I do feel that I know who I am now. I've always had a creative side. Loved writing stories as a kid and also programming computers. I was as good a designer as developer and loved both. It all sorta came together with photography as you need a good understanding of the technical side and of computers to get the best of it. The photography side appeals to my creative nature. So it does seem like I've found what I was meant to do. I guess if i explain it that way it works rather than simply say it was my destiny

Originally Posted by Kitten

I'm sure he won't forget me

Pete - from our many conversations about your pictures, I remember you being really pleased when I told you that you remind me why I love Liverpool so much. That when things are rubbish, I can't be too down when I am surrounded with such beauty - and you give me that beauty right to my eye, I don't even have to look for it! You show people what they don't always see through their own eyes, you consistently surprise people with the beauty you find in seemingly boring and random places. You can take a photograph of a set of bins behind a hotel and make it seem like something special, you make it mean something. To me, that's why you do what you do.

As nice as that is for you to say, I'm not sure I can say it without sounding like an arty person. Its so nice when others say that, but I don't feel like its something I can say. I'm just a guy with a camera who takes photos of things that look good. I'll let others say the nice things that they see in my photos. I guess most simply I can say "I just take photos of things that make me go wow in the hope that others look at them and also go wow" Computers give me the ability to create images that look how I saw them more so than how the camera saw them.

Originally Posted by Garp

Cheesy? Maybe..

Just a little bit too cheesy for me

Originally Posted by Desmo

I was going to to quote exactly what divine did. If you feel it is what you are meant to do then say so. You hear it from singers, actors, musicians all the time. Why not photographers?

I dunno. I guess because a lot of photographers work is grounded in reality. Its simply what we see. But artists, singers, etc are all meant to be a bit flamboyant and dramatic to some extent.

I think my answer is that Liverpool is such an amazing place that it continues to inspire me on a daily basis. There isn't a really one single thing that jumps out. Its all about being there and seeing what happens and the city is just so great that there is always something to photograph, every time I go.

Phone interview is at 11am, I should put some pants on.

[Davey_Pitch]

How'd it go?

[petemc]

They haven't rung yet, which is terribly unprofessional and my sister just invited me out to lunch for 2pm.

[Admiral Huddy]

Pete,

I'm always showing people your work, including some decent photographers I know. They are always impressed. Doesn't help but just wanted you to know

[petemc]

Cheers I got my days mixed up. Interview is tomorrow at 11am. Still got Radio Merseyside at 11pm tonight though.

[Kell_ee001]

Tell them "a picture says a thousand words" and hand them one of your skyline pics

[petemc]

lol Not sure that'll work on radio

[Kell_ee001]

Well once you've done that tell them to "say what you see!" Let them try and put it into words