Brad Carr, nature photographer and writer, shares how he found his soul through nature photography
Back in the summer of 2018, I woke up one day feeling incredibly lost and alone. I wasn’t sure what else there was to do but take a walk outside in the hope of further losing myself, so that I might eventually be found.
The camera was my map, and my heart the compass. I could not stop walking. I left some old friends behind, as well as many of my old habits, behaviours, and beliefs about what ‘I’ and this life was. My life up until that day had been spent marching along the same path as the masses, trying desperately to fit in. It is no wonder that I was feeling so lost.
I had not created much in the way of art before this fateful day, apart from a few written stories in primary school, but I thought, ‘what better time to start than now?’
Most people seem to wait for the ‘perfect’ moment before they start anything. In my experience, that moment doesn’t exist. They want a map or a guidebook to know where they are going to end up, and a plan or a blueprint for how to do something before they begin. How do you follow something that hasn’t been done before? There are no blueprints for our own lives, no maps to show the way. Are we not free to make of them whatever we want to, despite what other people might tell us?
I didn’t know it at the time, but this walk was me beginning to make something of mine. I have always felt a desire deep down inside of me to do something meaningful with my life. My earliest experiences at home scarred me deeply and brought with them a lot of pain for myself and those people close to me. If I were to make that pain worthwhile, then I knew that I had to use the experiences to fuel some sort of change.
At one stage, I wanted to change the whole world. I have learnt firsthand through this journey of self-discovery that there is a world inside of myself, and that is only thing I have the power to change.
Live Talk
Brad will talk for approximataly 40 mins followed by a 20 mins Q&A
Hosted by Company of Makers’ co-founder Steve Bomford.
Q&A
The talk will be followed by an Q&A session, so you’ll have the opportunity to get involved and he’ll answer as many of your questions as we can squeeze in.
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