Steve Mansfield-Devine

1 week ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVEFamiliarity breeds contempt, they say. But in photography, re-engaging with a subject you’ve visited before can pay dividends. Shooting the same subject over and over sounds like a definition of madness. But not every photograph is successful. And that is frustrating when you know there is potential in the subject.

2 weeks ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

Everything has to start somewhere. And so it was with my photography obsession. It began when I was still in school and resulted in two friends and I annexing a janitor’s storeroom to create a darkroom. I detailed this origin story in a recent article, but there were details I merely skirted over. This darkroom was an ad hoc, ramshackle affair, pieced together by boys with no money and few clues but a lot of enthusiasm. By the way, this is all based on my memories. The details are right in principle.

3 weeks ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVEWhat is it about this art that so appeals? For me, the fascination started at the dawn of photography. The act of taking a photograph seems innocent enough, most of the time. Often it is driven by a desire to remember or celebrate a person, a place, a mood or a moment. Or it is a need to document or bear witness. And sometimes it’s just fun. I have pressed the shutter release for all these reasons and more. But when photography gets under your skin, it shapes your experiences.

1 month ago | medium.com | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PERSPECTIVESmartphones carry the risk of distancing us from the world, but a camera is a way of connecting. Smartphones — and more specifically their integral cameras — have been blamed for distancing people from the world. At music events, it’s not uncommon to see a sea of raised phones as audience members apparently record the event rather than living it. To believe the doomsayers, younger people now experience the world through the mediation of the smartphone — they are no longer present in it.

1 month ago | cameralux.org | Steve Mansfield-Devine

PORTFOLIOThrowing people out of a helicopter just so you can rescue them doesn’t sound like a rational thing to do. Except when you’re practising for the real thing. The helicopter slowed to 10knots, skimming just 10ft above the water, and on a signal from the pilot the crew chief began pushing people out of the door, watching them drop into the deep waters of the bay. Not that they minded. Every one of them had volunteered for this.