Member Profile: Andy Soar
About me:
Who are you?
My name is Andy Soar. I’m a 55-year-old legal clerk living in Essex, England. I took up photography about five years ago because I felt I needed a hobby and that I lacked any creative bones. I felt photography would provide me with a platform to create an end product that I could take pride in.
What has your photography journey looked like?
Having bought a camera, I wasn’t really sure which direction to take my photography in, indeed, the whole concept of composition and the exposure triangle were alien to me. I booked a couple of landscape workshops to gain some basic knowledge, and with that, my photographic journey began. That’s when I discovered TSOP. I had so much that I needed to learn, really from the very basics and especially in post-production so I looked online for photography courses that could improve my photos. I started with the beginners’ guide and then worked through the Lightroom and then the Photoshop courses. That’s when I started to get a lot more compliments on my images from friends and family.
©Andy Soar
What is your preferred genre?
©Andy Soar
I work in London and take my camera to work with me every day. I started mainly doing street photography but over time I evolved into more of an urban landscape/cityscape photographer. I love the colour and vibrancy of the city lights after dark. In London, there are so many options and places for this style of photography. There are the old favourites such as bus trails that regularly show up on Instagram but there are so many places away from the iconic and famous buildings where photographers can create images that are truly their own.
Most of my photography is done on a tripod using a slow shutter speed and often exposure bracketed because there tends to be a lot of dynamic range between the bright lights and the dark shadows, this gives me a lot more latitude in post-processing. Speaking of post-processing, this is something that is important to get the image that I want. I like my images to have high vibrance, texture and clarity. This may not suit everyone’s taste, but these are the style of images that I’m drawn towards on social media.
What inspires you to create photography?
My main sources of inspiration come from social media postings. TSOP have a member Facebook page with some amazing images in response to the monthly assignments. I also find the TSOP Facebook community as friendly, encouraging and supportive as they are talented.
©Andy Soar
My favourite photograph:
My favourite photo that I’ve taken ©Andy Soar
Describe the first photo you took during your learning journey
My first photographs were really record shots, I didn’t really give much thought to composition. I just pointed and shot. Now I am much more aware of composition. I look more for elements in my frame rather than just looking at the main subject.
What is your favourite photograph that you’ve taken?
My favourite image is of the sunsetting behind Docklands. It was taken from the Thames Barrier. I set out intending to shoot the barrier and noticed Docklands in the other direction with old pier as a foreground element. Unfortunately, I only had a 24-70mm lens which left the skyline too far in the distance and didn’t give me the compression that I wanted so I retuned with a longer lens and tried again at around 110mm. I got some sunset and blue images that really pleased me.
What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned from TSOP?
If you want to get a great photograph, then you need to take time to plan it. Thought needs to go into the location of your shot and what equipment you’ll need to capture it. As well as more practical things like checking the weather forecast, wearing appropriate clothing, and ensuring you allow plenty of time getting to the location (especially with sunrises and sunsets!). Once the planning is done, then you can take time to express yourself through your photography.
What’s next for Andy?
Moving forward, I hope to keep improving. I’d like to do more Long Exposure Seascape photography and also some Wildlife and Astrophotography. I’ve been working on those three TSOP courses, so I hope to try out my newfound knowledge in 2024 but mainly, I just want to keep having fun. Photography is my happy place where I can set up my tripod and camera and just watch the world, it’s a cathartic process that lets me forget the negatives that life throws and just enjoy the moment and if I can create some images that I like, and hopefully others might like as well, so much the better.
Where can people follow you?
My Instagram is @andysoar68 if you wish to see more!
Andy’s Gallery:
All images ©Andy Soar
