Today is Christmas eve and the final instalment in this year’s ’24 Mobile Photographers Til Christmas’. It has been another fantastic series which has seen 24 hand picked mobile photographers offer an insight into their work, to reflect on their year gone by and plans for the coming year ahead. Each featured photographer in this series is someone who has inspired or supported me in one way or another during the course of the past year.
Today’s photographer, the last in this year’s 24 Mobile photographers series is award winning, Brendan Ó Sé.
What has been the main takeaway you have learnt about your mobile photography during the past year?
It does not only apply to mobile photography. Before I was very much aware of the imitate – assimilate – innovate spectrum of learning and believed that in my creative life I had arrived at the innovate end of it. However, my thinking on this has changed. I now believe that it is not a linear thing. At any given stage, I may be at any given stage; be it the process of imitation – it’s impossible not to be as we subconsciously absorb when we consume art. We may not consciously remember what we have seen and unwittingly imitate. As we absorb, we internalise and assimilate with what we already do and know, and from that hopefully innovation springs. For the creative process to flourish we need the stages to be in progress together, I believe.
More and more I believe I know so little and that there is so much more to learn and experience and that is the exciting and invigorating thing.
I have given a few workshops in 2015 in the Glucksman Gallery in Cork and The Gallery of Photography in Dublin. The reaction from the participants has been so positive and I have really enjoyed the experience and am learning so much about what is for me a new type of teaching. It is great to do these workshops with the backing of such well-known and established art galleries. Having a sponsor like Olloclip – who make those incredible snap-on lens for iPhones – on board is also fabulous.
In the new year, there are plans to continue and extend these workshops with both galleries and there are talks at the moment with different parties to offer workshops in different parts of the world.
Exciting times ahead. Kiss the future!
Connect with Brendan Ó Sé
www.brendanose.com | Instagram | Twitter | Flickr (iphone) | Flickr (DSLR)
