There's a truth to the cliché that a picture speaks a thousand words, and if photographer Mike O’Brien had his way, that would suffice. In spite of his jokes over the telephone that he’s not great at talking about his work, however, I find that he has a surprising amount to say. Two cups of coffee worth, in fact.
A graphic designer “by day”, photography is a hobby and a passion for O’Brien. Even as a young kid, he says he loved taking photographs and even hand printing his own black and white snapshots. He has an old Hasselblad camera which he says he likes to drag out and dapple with when he has time, but the graphic designer in him also appreciates the ease and affordability that his digital camera allows.
Looking at the photographs in his One Hundred And Eighty Degrees exhibition, you wouldn’t say that he breaks the rules. Whether it’s the rule of thirds or taking photos at midday, when the lights and shadows are at their most problematic, O’Brien says he relies on instinct to position a shot and that having studied principles of design, colour and composition inevitably informs his approach.
It’s also the graphic designer in O’Brien that sees him willingly altering colours or tones if he thinks the image needs it.
“A lot of my stuff I do leave, but I like the freedom of being able to take the shot in the moment and then later on go back and add a detail or a certain effect, for example. But I would never add things in if it wasn’t there, that’s where I draw the line.”
There’s a focus on city scapes in this exhibition, but O’Brien concedes that his favourite shots are probably his wildlife photographs. “I like the challenge of shooting animals. I mean, you cannot tell an elephant to keep moving left until you have a perfect frame,” he laughs.
O’Brien approaches photography with a very relaxed attitude. His love of travel and wildlife comes first, while the photographs that arise from his adventures he sees as simply an attempt at “capturing a moment” - nothing more, nothing less.
“It’s interesting to hear what people see in my photographs, but I think a lot of people read a lot of stuff into art that isn’t necessarily there. My photos were taken to record a memory; they meant something at the time, but for me you never know what you get until you see it back at home on the screen.”
This article first appeared in CitiVibe in The Citizen on Wednesday 5 October 2011. All photos courtesy Mike O'Brien.
Mike O’Brien’s One Hundred And Eighty Degrees exhibition opened on September 22 and is on at Odd Café, 116 Greenway Road, Greenside for a month. For more information on the artist and his company, visit www.obriendesign.co.za.
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