Theory & Reflections

Looking for something to reflect upon, some photography theory or philosophy, or just want to read about how/why other photographers do what they do? Then this is the place to start!

Photography is often a lot less about the facts, and a lot more about the subjective and individual. For everyone who undertakes it, it is a very personal experience. I take a lot of pride in the fact that 35mmc has always – and will always – perpetuate these ideas.

As such, in this section of the website you will find authors sharing their thoughts, reflections, workflow and experiences. You won’t find anyone telling you how to think or how you should approach photography, but instead a series of articles from people reflecting on how they think and what they do.

Below you will find a list of the articles in this section separated into categories. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, or indeed feel like you have something you would like to add, then please feel free to get in touch. You can find out more about how to write for 35mmc here.

Philosophy and Reflections

Here you will find articles from authors talking about their thoughts towards photography, why they do what they do, now and in the past.

1960s New York. Dad’s slides scanned – by Charles Higham

Gear Theory

In this section, you can find articles from authors talking about their gear and media choices and reflecting on what these choices means to them. There is a lot of content online that perpetuates ideas about right and wrong approaches to photography. This section of the website aims to dispel some of those ideas and instead help to outline the reality that we all have different approaches to photography and the kit we use.

Workflow

Similar to the above section, but here you will find articles that focus on the the wider workflow. Again, the content in this section reflects how differently we photographers approach what we do.

Interviews

A more recent addition to 35mmc – I have started interviewing some of the people I come across in the photography community, from artists to manufacturers and those who run charities – people who I find interesting, inspiring, or simple that I have enjoyed chatting to and want to draw some attention to what they do.

Learning Journeys

In this section of 35mmc, authors document their paths into photography through series of articles. Thanks to the help and support of the readers of 35mmc who comment on these articles, and indeed the varying paths the authors take, these series provide very interesting reading for photographers at all levels.

I think of myself as fairly knowledgeable, but I still learn a great deal from the insights of the authors and those that comment on the posts. It goes to show, I think, that it doesn’t matter how much we think we know, there is always more to learn – and sometimes, it’s the ‘student’ and not the ‘teacher’ we can learn from.