Paul Lock

I picked up a camera at 15 and taught myself how to capture the world I saw. I had a cheap 35mm film camera and I was so disappointed when my first roll of film looked nothing like what I remembered seeing. Then I spent years improving my technical skill, always striving for the perfect roll of film.

Eventually I learned that light and memories and emotions and the viewer are all moving in a complex interplay that is the impact of an image. Today, I continue working to capture the world as I see it, literally. In an age of fake everything, I'm fanatic about finding great images exactly where they exist. I only shoot subjects in their natural state.

I frequently take an hour to choose a lens and position the camera. Usually I press the shutter only once per subject, as though there was only ever one moment for that image. I only use existing light, without staging or post production, and after 40 years, I'm still trying to shoot a perfect afternoon of images. Composition causes us to slow down and appreciate the world more completely. I work to capture the art of our world in my composition.