Jonathan Bourla
Jonathan Bourla
PhotoForum Member Portfolio, 2015
Hydro Electric
This project was a progression from my earlier fascination with moving water, and how I could portray it using the medium-length time exposures of my camera. I found the gushing water flowing down spillways at some of the power stations, and the architectural forms of the buildings and dams really appealing. To investigate and photograph these sites meant a lot of travel. In fact, leaving behind our home to new owners, my wife, my elderly dog, and I travelled around New Zealand in a heavy four wheel drive car towing an equally heavy caravan. It was quite some experience, visiting places we just wouldn’t have gone to without my interest in the hydro stations.
My fine art photography is a process of several stages. The aim is to produce my personal interpretation of the scene before the camera, reflecting how the scene and lighting made me feel at the time. My initial inspiration came from the works and teachings of Ansel Adams, but have been most heavily influenced by the photographs of another American photographer, Howard Bond. I attended a workshop run by Bond in Ann Arbor, Michigan learning heaps and coming away with a book’s worth of Howard’s notes and articles to go over at home.
I emigrated from the UK to New Zealand at the beginning of 1993. The following year, with encouragement from my Kiwi wife, I decided to pursue my photography with determination. As I said, I learnt Adams’ Zone System, and acquiring a large format field view camera, learnt how to use it. In 2007 I held my first exhibition, with several following in subsequent years. I look forward to where things will go from here.
