Stepping Out From Inside The Introvert Shell

At the time of publishing this blog, I will be rapidly approaching the completion of my 5th year of retirement from the fire and rescue service. Apart from 2 years when I was based in Service Headquarters as the Deputy Head of the Fire Safety Enforcement Department, the other 28 years from Firefighter through to Area Commander all had a public facing aspect to it.

Despite this extensive exposure over the majority of my 30-year career, I regarded myself (and still do) as an introvert. In the last 6 years of my career, I wrestled with this characteristic constantly, as by this time I was regularly attending meetings, functions and events alongside Chief Executives, local politicians and other senior officials from across a range of organisations and agencies, some of whom were very influential within the public sector arena.

Whilst I was comfortable enough talking about fire and rescue service business in a formal group setting, my discomfort manifested itself when I was away from the group chats, especially when attending civic and other less formal related events. On those occasions when I was on-call, I was more than happy for my pager to activate as sometimes it provided the opportunity to mobilise to an incident which enabled me to be back in the environment I was at my most comfortable, that being within the world of emergency response. Being an introvert and attending work related social events was challenging at times too, however there would normally be larger than life characters in attendance, so it was relatively easy to blend into the surroundings and let them take the spotlight and centre stage.

Since my retirement, the battle with the introvert side of my character has been easier as I am no longer in the public eye and my photography has also played a key part in keeping it in check. It is easy to see the attraction that photography offers when you are an introvert as it tends to be a soloist endeavour, therefore for me, there is less scope for the introvert side of my character to be as dominant as it once was.

For many photographers such as landscape, astro and wildlife photographers, being out there on their own is the norm whilst they make a connection to their respective environment through their photography. Even though I been fortunate to have travelled to some densely populated areas like London, New York and Paris in relation to my architectural work, photography enables me to enclose myself in a bubble and experience the same feeling that encapsulates me whenever I find myself on a deserted beach for an early morning sunrise.

I have found by being fully committed to my photography, I have slowly pushed back further on my introvert trait and feel I am now at the point where I am more outside the introvert shell than within these days. Whilst the following photography experiences are personal to me in terms of overcoming my introvert nature, I hope they will perhaps resonate with others who want to use photography as a mechanism to manage their own introvert challenges.

Social Media Presence

Whilst I appreciate establishing a social media presence is not for everyone and can have a negative effect on some individuals, I have used social media firmly on the basis of being more as a receiver rather than a transmitter. What I mean by this is, whilst you will see me posting my work, I only do this when I have something to share and at a frequency that suits me, as I am not actively chasing the algorithms and posting at set days or times. When I do post my work, it is because I have created something I like and wish to share and if others happen to see it and like it, then that is very much appreciated, and if they don’t then that’s fine by me too. In other words, I am not looking for validation but merely sharing for the reason that someone might be interested in what I have created.

My primary use of social media since day 1 has been to use it to view and appreciate the work of others, to see other places that I will probably never visit in person and as a means to learn and continue to grow as a photographer.  Across ‘X’ (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram (the social media platforms that I use), I comment and engage far more regularly in relation to the work of others compared to the number of times I have posted my own work. I use social media as a tool to network and have enjoyed engaging with other like-minded individuals from across the world, bound by a mutual interest in photography.

Video Calls

An off shoot of being online has been the participation in video calls. The pandemic back in 2020 and subsequent lockdowns, inhibited a significant part of our lives which compelled us to maintain contact with families, friends and colleagues through alternative means. The use of video conferencing technologies such as Zoom exploded over night and became a popular method of overcoming the isolation that we were experiencing.

Even though we now have the freedom of movement once again, I still use video calls from time to time in relation to photography. The benefits of live time engagement presents the opportunity to have more in depth discussions, share ideas or methodologies about our respective work, whilst fostering an environment of support and encouragement.

Website Development

As I just mentioned, I do use social media as a method to share my work but it’s not without its draw backs, the main one for me was how social media platforms curated my work and was the initial reason I decided to create a website. As an introvert I find it challenging at times to express myself, so to try and mitigate this, I decided to also add a blog section to my site, as I generally find it easier to put my thoughts down into the written format compared to verbalising them.

Photography Societies / Club Presentations

In the latter part of 2022, I was contacted by a former work colleague who at the time was the President of their Photographic Society and asked if I would like to give a presentation to its members. Initially I had some anxieties as it was over 3 years since I last done any speaking in public coupled with the question, what would I actually talk about, as my photography was very much a personal journey and not a profession (and still is).

In the end I delivered a presentation about my journey at that time and the influences that had shaped the progression of my work. I’ve subsequently delivered presentations to other Photography Societies/Clubs about my work and processing methodologies and no longer feel the same anxieties as I once did as the common bond of photography has assisted me in quelling the pressures that being an introvert can exert.

Critique By Peers

Up until August 2023, I had only ever received comments and general feedback on my work when it was posted online through my social media accounts or from those occasions where I have met up online using video calls or from email correspondence.  Although I cite various people who have been influential in my photography journey, the biggest influence by far has been from following the work and teachings of Joel Tjintjelaar who is an international award winning, black and white fine art photographer based in the Netherlands.

Joel is regarded as one of the pioneers of the genre I am pursuing, and when you see the quality of the work he produces, it is easy to see why he is such an influence within this part of the photography community. Over the past few years, I have invested in Joel’s teaching products, his processing tools and I have attended almost all of the online seminars hosted by him and very much still regard myself as a student of Joel’s teachings.

In July 2023, Joel announced he was going to run a 2-part online seminar with a difference starting in August. The first part involved Joel discussing and demonstrating the latest aspects of his black and white fine art workflow and his philosophies in relation to his work. The second part of the seminar two weeks later was structured around attendees submitting their own work to Joel for him to provide an in-depth critique. This was a unique and too good an opportunity to miss, so I elected to subscribe to the seminar and to submit my work to Joel for intense scrutiny.

Joel specified 8 criterion he would be using in relation to the critique and how this would form the structure of his personal feedback session. He also advised that he would email us all separately before the 2nd part of the seminar with an in-depth review and comments on our work and then he would subsequently discuss each of our submissions within a group setting during the 2nd seminar.

Needless to say, I agonised over what to submit to Joel. Work that I was previously very happy with, now all of a sudden felt it was not worthy of submission. In the end I selected a series of images taken from my various trips to London and sent these to Joel.

I anxiously awaited my feedback and frequently checked my email every day until I finally received my response. My written feedback and the subsequent group session was extremely beneficial to my development as the balance that Joel struck in his comments was both enlightening and encouraging. Joel highlighted the areas of strengths in my work but also gave advice to those parts that I may wish to review and apply a slightly different approach. He encouraged us all during the group session to speak about our work in relation to what our intentions were and what areas we thought would benefit from his guidance, which he duly provided. This experience has been one of my personal photography highlights to date and has had a major influence in pushing back on my introvert tendencies further as I now feel more resilient about my work.

Photographing With Others

My photography tends to be an individual pursuit, but I have enjoyed those occasions where I have met up with other photographers as during the short time together, this presents the opportunity to chat and to share knowledge and experiences. It has also been nice to meet in person some of those who I have followed online over the years and look forward to returning to London in July as I have arranged to catch up with a couple of photography associates and spend some time with them capturing more of London’s diverse architecture.

I have only ever participated in one group meet up but given the location of the meet up and how we subsequently scattered about the area in pursuit of our own compositions it never felt like we were on top of one another as each of us sought to capture our own perspective of the landscape.  In comparison, I recently met up with a photographer friend and during our time together at a well-known and popular coastal location, a large photography meet up was occurring close by. Unlike my only group meet up where everyone was spread out, this large group were in very close proximity, almost tripod to tripod. I doubt there would have been much difference in their compositions but from a social point of view, it looked like it was an enjoyable experience for them and it did make me consider the positives that meeting up with others could bring.

As this is one aspect of photography I haven’t fully ventured into, I have set myself a personal challenge of attending a small group workshop within the next 12 months. All being well, this will take place in Hamburg next year as it’s a destination I have wanted to visit for a while and will look to use this as an opportunity to continue push myself out of the introvert shell even further.

Podcast Interview

A few days ago, I took part in a podcast interview which being an introvert, was another ‘step out the shell’ moment for me. The interview was conducted by Adele and Max Warner-Tate as part of their Coastal Creations podcast series and over the course of an hour we discussed various aspects of my photography journey and my work. Initially I did feel nervous, but Adele and Max were great hosts by putting me at ease straight away and by the time the session was concluded, I actually forgot it was being recorded due to the relaxed style of their interview method. I would like to convey my thanks to Adele & Max and wish them continuing success with their podcast series and look forward to listening to their other guests over the coming weeks and months.

It was after the recording and thinking about the interview, that I decided to write this blog as this was another new photography experience for me and felt the time was right to bring my experiences over the last 6 years together, to discuss how my photography has had a positive effect when it comes to dealing with my introvert nature.

Staying Outside the Introvert Shell

Photography for me is not just about the equipment, the travel, the capture and the final image in whatever format that might be, it’s also a state of mind as it projects a feeling of contentment to enable me to be at ease with myself. In pulling together my thoughts about this subject I thought about my holiday to Cape Verde back in January 2023 and ironically enough, specifically about the time I was walking along the vast expanse of the beach with my camera.  

Whilst enjoying the warm winter sun and accompanying sea breeze, I came across a small souvenir stall on the beach which was prominently displaying a sign ‘Cabo Verde No Stress’. As it turned out this was not just a sign, it was also a testament to the Cape Verde culture as it meant “to take things into consideration for what they are worth without taking on anxieties and worries for the future”.

As I walked on to continue my exploration of the beach, I smiled inwardly and thought to myself that sign could have just as easily have said “Photography No Stress”, as for me, it has been and still is, my ally in keeping the introvert inside me at bay.