I’ve had many careers since leaving school, from Civil Servant, Outdoor Education Tutor to Occupational Therapist. The one constant has been that I’ve always had a camera in my hand! I saw that Kendal College offered a part-time evening photography course, which I joined and thoroughly enjoyed.
"For event photography, my job involves following a client brief and delivering high-quality images in a timely fashion. Since the course, I have done event photography for several clients, including high-profile events like Kendal Torchlight Carnival and Kendal Unity Festival for the Mayor. These have been a direct result of networking made possible by my course. However, I am moving in my preferred direction, developing my own artistic path and style towards fine art outdoor photography.
Three things that I like about my job are self-determination, contact with nature, being in a flow state when facing photographic challenges. The skills that I developed during my time at college that I find useful in my current career are learning about the wider artistic process and steering my photography to reflect that, working under pressure to produce something original and powerful, letting go of old habits.
Also (but secondary) some new photographic technical skills in response to the stimulus of being on the course – but also learning that these are things I can teach myself, whilst tutors’ - and indeed fellow-students’ - contribution to my learning is more towards my wider development as a creative.
You can follow Richard on his Instagram account @rwgibbensphoto."
