Follow me down the rabbit hole - with Claire Carter

Follow me down the rabbit hole - a new presentation from Claire Carter, who has been widely requested by members of the community and presenters of Camversation for such a long time! It's lovely we can organise this and a short follow-up series.

From Claire:

“Down the rabbit hole” is an idiom which refers to ending up somewhere strange. I invite you to follow me down my lens to view things which cannot be seen with the naked eye.

There is so much discussion about the place of post-processing; the altering of images and now AI that I sometimes think it is forgotten that the camera itself is a hugely creative tool. We can generate an altered reality straight from the camera and I am not only talking about techniques such as ICM but also the interplay between camera and lens to create distortions, high speed shots that show us things we cannot perceive because they happen so quickly, long exposures that deny the existence of things that moved through the frame, microphotography that shows a world too small to see with the naked eye and so much more.

My botanical studio photography often involves heavy post processing but I get my greatest satisfaction from a minimally processed image and marvel how I can twist reality. Edward Weston advocated we aim to take a photograph of a rock that is “…more than a rock”. It is I believe the greatest photography challenge.

My talk celebrates the camera as a tool as versatile as a paintbrush and advocates we lead new learners to master in-camera skills as thoroughly as post-processing. Picasso may have distorted reality but he started out being able to draw like an angel.

About Claire

I began my photography journey over 20 years ago with a film camera to record images to inspire my paintings. Over time my camera became my preferred creative outlet and in particular landscape photography as a way of escaping life’s stresses. When I eventually took the leap into self-

employment it became necessary to photograph what paid, it certainly wasn’t only about following the passion and it involved some interesting learning curves.

My first career was in education and my business always seemed to lean towards teaching photographic skills, and that is what I am able to concentrate on now. My husband and I moved to The Highlands of Scotland in 2022 and set up our new venture which enables us to run photography workshops from our home with small group accommodation available. A studio means I can offer indoor botanical workshops which have taken off following successes in The International Garden Photographer of the Year.

Photography changed my life, enabled me to see things and go places I otherwise would not have entertained, feel creatively fulfilled and be constantly learning. I envy those of you just starting out on this journey with a camera, stick with it and I can guarantee your life will be enrichened.

This talk will be recorded and made available for four weeks after the event