"What do you see when you look at this photo?" That was exactly what local photographer Hugo Johnson asked me as I flicked through his photo collection, at a local coffee house in the summer heat. For more about the photo above and how you can create your own, read on! So, what do you see? When quizzed, both a friend and myself looked at the picture not quite knowing what we saw, it was like a trick question as we tried to see some deeper meaning. Of course we saw the trees and field, yet the way the photo was taken from within a dark room, looking out through an open doorway gave an eerie feeling to the photo. Hugo explains that the photo, like many others of his, is thought provoking. As you can see, the view of the field has no definite direction and it is not certain where this forest leads, or what to look at
Hugo Johnson developing At just 19 years old, Hugo is fast becoming an accomplished photographer. He says that hes always been interested in photography as he finds it fascinating to look at deep, interesting pictures, which provoke him to think about their meanings. He is also interested in modern art, and as hes no good at painting, he felt photography could be another way to express creativity. Scooping a job at a local camera shop inspired him even more so, often getting a peek of others photographs, he thought "I can do better!". With a strong willed attitude he started snapping, taking hundreds of photos aiming to achieve thought provoking images that would tempt the viewer to ask questions such as "what is it of?" and "what does it mean?". Hugo has definitely achieved this goal, as he was bombarded with questions like this from me. I never knew that photography could be so interesting and never would have thought of taking the pictures Hugo has
Hugos hot pics Hugo personally doesnt like posed pictures and says everyone has their own taste about what they do and dont like so its essential to experiment. Instead, he loves taking pictures of things that you wouldnt expect to see a picture of, somewhere you wouldnt usually look or that you wouldnt appreciate. Barbed wire is an example of something we wouldnt usually appreciate; yet Hugo thinks its symbolic, showing restriction. His picture of a corridor is extremely interesting, as you normally wouldnt take a second glance at a corridor, yet from the angle its taken, a great edgy effect is achieved. He also uses the angle rule with his picture of a CD rack - yes, it is a CD rack, I was really surprised too!
Top Tips After seeing Hugos work, I felt spurred on to do some myself. You too could be on your way to creating such enigmatic pictures with some top tips from the photographer himself: Tip One
Its good to experiment and look at things from different angles as you can usually give a photo a completely different effect by doing so. Tip Two
Maybe, sometimes, you should go against the typical rules of using a camera and instead of holding a camera steady, you should shake/twist it whilst taking a picture. Tip Three
"Lighting is everything", always make sure the light is behind you when you take a photograph. Tip Four
Digital cameras are excellent when youre starting out as they allow you to experiment. Tip Five
With a digital camera, long exposure can give better effects. Tip Six
When using a film camera, by using a slidefilm and putting it through a colour processor, you can get better processing and good effects.
If you have suggestions about any Gloucestershire arty things I can write about, send them to me via e-mail below: [email protected]  | 
