Gavin Kelly

My photographs are by no means a random sample of what can be found in the west of Ireland. They are dependent, above all, on the sorts of things that grab my attention. I like to explore. Since just about everything in the west has already been "discovered," my journeys of exploration, such as they are, tend to have as their aim the rediscovery of things either forgotten or existing in relative obscurity. I often visit the same location many times until I get the image I am after. I usually know when I come upon this kind of emotionally powerful scene because, while creating the image, I literally begin to shake, and I start babbling about how great the scene is, even if no one is listening.

I am very careful to maintain believability, and when you view my images they look totally plausible, even though they are different from what you would have seen through my viewfinder when the initial capture was made. My images go beyond the literal interpretation of a scene, replacing it with the personal vision and emotion I bring to my photography. In other words, my images are created by me, not just my camera.
I am not a purist. And though I respect those that use the “rules” of any given art to apply their lens to it, I confess I don’t use rules as a methodology to dictate my creative process. Igor Stravinsky once said,

“I don’t create because I want to, but because I have to.”

Even though I have photographed for years, I honestly feel my work gets better every year. The inspiration I feel when photographing has never abated — I simply love what I do, and it has been, and continues to be, my life’s passion
 

Gavin