Back in 2025…
Hello again and welcome to 2025,
Well, here we are in 2025! Is this the year where we find out just how bad things can be? It seems likely it will confirm how geopolitics, late-stage-capitalism and Neoliberalism will clash and how that will affect us all, coupled with what will come home to roost.
I’ve not published any of my writings for over a year now as I felt the combination of the genocide and the fact the world was burning was too much. I waited for better times, hope and ceasefire but none of this has come about. I’m not sure what else I/we can do, I feel so hopeless but I have had to realise now we are in 2025 that I can’t stop completely. I must put my NathanPhoto voice back out there. It’s a sad turn of events when nothing you can do will stop the onslaught. I have to push on though, as I have not much else to give. I’m looking at relaunching NathanPhoto and gaining some more work via this identity. You can’t seem to do that if you are silent on socials or in life so I’m pushing my voice back into this world. It doesn’t mean that I’m still not appalled at what I see and I’m not doing what I can (except sometimes without promoting it on social media.) I have a need to continue and I know that speaks to my luxury of privilege but there’s only so much that I can do with addressing that. But I will do what I can. I intend for these musing to be slightly less regularly than weekly but more than monthly. I hope that they are received in the manner in which they are written and intended.
So here we are at the start of a new year.
And I begin to think what news of mine can possibly have value. Once we think like that it’s very difficult to create anything. But I’m not absorbing the intransigence any further, I’m writing my story, rebalancing NathanPhoto as a practice (along with my research profile) as well as starting a new idea with a school, aptly called the ‘NathanPhotoSchool’.
All that of course raises questions, so here are a few, my answers (some may be a bit too honest so read with care as they do come from the heart of a woke, aware person.)
What does this involve?
Well I’ve restructured the website with some new work in new sections, which is a slight departure away from the previous sole output of commercial work. I am hoping it offers a taste of what I can be photographic wise now. It’s also tidier with images in pigeonholes for ease of use and description. It shows what work I’d like to do coupled with what work I can do. The aim is to highlight opportunities where my skillset can be utilised. This is quite a departure because previously I felt people valued my pricepoint and not my skills.
Relaunch to what though?
That is a very good question as the workplace seems brutal at the moment. Everyone I’ve spoken to is saying how tough it is out there, a lot of my old outlets for my work went pre Covid and currently, from what I can see the last remaining ones have changed beyond what I can comprehend immediately, plus I don’t want to work for less than an acceptable rate anymore, as I now know my value.
What’s changed?
Workwise everything, so not sure I can answer that straight away. The death of paid for photography, the influx of new digital, editing, the fact that everyone’s a photographer, the acceptance of all sorts of imagery of varying qualities, the rise of AI imagery, the list can go on and on. I’m not a luddite, technophobe or doomsayer though, I believe that in and of itself, each of these developments can be good, but I do realise that it’s the late-capitalist machine driving these tools that we have to watch out for. This topic is bordering on my research practices ideas though so I’ll move on.
What specific work would you like to do?
I think the classification of the areas I work in will be documentary/people. I’m stepping away from the editorial/news/events/PR type cycle stuff that I used to make my living from. My style has changed over the years and feel I’m entering a different era for NathanPhoto. Older, not necessarily wiser but possibly more considered. My style was more reactive, (less structured could be a way of putting it but one can never say that out loud when looking for new clients.) And I think the way forward may be more honesty. I look back at my career (verb not noun) and it was just that, reactive. But as I enter this chapter, I believe I’m more focussed.
What camera you using?
Any that fits the job! I’ve been returning to the quality of film and its approaches too. Digitally speaking I’m also getting into the usage of my new air fryer, I mean mirrorless camera; ‘…it’s the future…’ the salesperson said as I bought it, ‘yes’ I said. We will see.
There you have it a peek into NathanPhoto’s brain and what I’m thinking for 2025. With new work and new directions I’m approaching it with hope even though 2025 promises to be ominous. Let us all try and face it with love, hope and understanding though, helping each other and see how we can get through this.
Every post needs an image so here is one from the latter end of 24, beginning of 2025.
The changing faces of Manchester shot on film, something my other practice looks at but it still features here in NathanPhoto as this image illustrates. I do have one of the Beetham in construction somewhere in the archive but that would take quite a large task to find, too much for January.
Stay safe, do what you can and thank you for reading.