Chris Bryant
Who am I, How did it all begin, Where do I go from here, Why am I doing this. For my 21st birthday my late Mum nervously handed me a carefully wrapped present. With a degree of trepidation I opened the box. My caution wasn't surprising as the year before I received a screwdriver and the year before that a toolbox. So, when I pulled the camera from the wrappings all I could utter was "What's this!". A rather ungrateful response, but Mum did have a habit of surprise and rather unwanted ones at that. I didn't even want a camera, what was I going to do with it! Dejection was an understatement. "You can take pictures of my works skittles matches now" she said as she smiled. I scowled. Mum was always one for ulterior motive. That camera was a Practika MTL5 and it started what has today become an obsession. Perfectionist, reclusive, obsessive, compulsive, focused and totally goal driven, I find picture making a respite from an increasingly mad world, or am I increasingly mad. I haven't worked that one out yet. I know I enjoy what I do, it's good therapy, the creativity, the solitude, even if I am slavishly pursuing excellence. My hope is that others enjoy my picture making too.