March 7, 2013

Lakshal Perera and the Great Photographic Adventure

Last night after I posted a photo from a wedding I’d shot a month or so ago, and I received a message, one of the most heartfelt ones I’ve received in a long time.

As a photographer myself I knew you had something special going for you when I first saw your photos. Every single one of them was transcendent – like you could envision the moment before it happened and were on guard and ready for when it happened. Now I see your wedding photos and I am continually in awe. I shot one wedding myself and swore never to do another, too much pressure and too much knowledge that I could never capture the love that was between the two people in front of me on film (I’m old, we used film them). I thought from that moment on that wedding photographers were a special breed. Seeing your work in my feed shows me constantly that of that breed you are the most special. Your work goes beyond ‘wedding photography’ it shows that same transcendence and beauty I saw years ago but it has continually grown and evolved in to become something truly special. Every image you post is its own moment, its own work of art and always something truly beautiful. Your work makes me want to get married.

Nice huh? But first, let’s go back in time a bit.

The reason I became a photographer was simple – I had too much money for my own good and I didn’t know what to do with it. I was at University and on a pretty healthy scholarship and had a part time job while I was living home with my parents. I had no idea what I was doing with my new Canon 350D, it had all these buttons and dials, and I had only the most cursory knowledge of photographic theory (“If you over-expose, it looks all white, if you under-expose, it’s kinda black”). It was going to be an adventure indeed.

I remember, one of the very first things I ever used my camera for was at a music festival called The Great Escape held in Sydney. I wanted to take some photos of Sigur Ros who were the headliners that evening so waited patiently in the “mosh pit” for them to come on stage. All my photos were terrible, out of focus and motion blurred. But I somehow ended up taking a photo which I loved – it was Stephanie Ashworth from Something For Kate and I considered it, for a long time, to be one of the most elegant images I’d taken (ignoring the numerous technical flaws).

This image was all that I needed, I’d caught the photographic bug. Having already failed as a musician, I wanted something to stay in the scene somehow and I really enjoyed the adventure of photographing bands so I found some music websites to effectively volunteer for. They organise your media accreditation, you turn up, take photos and send them off to the website for publication. This model is still running and it’s a great starting point for a lot of photographers (but the exploitation that happens afterwards is another issue entirely). But there was one website where I never felt exploited – The Dwarf. The main editor at the time was a young woman called Jade and slowly over time, via email, we became friends. Every gig I ever photographed for The Dwarf, she would shower me with praise, which at the time I felt was very undeserved. But it still felt nice getting positive feedback when you’re at such an embryonic stage of photographic development. It helped me push myself to that next gig; the long drive to Sydney from Wollongong, the waiting around, the photograph 3 songs and get out of our venue policy some places had. But seeing your work online and people telling they liked what you did, as egotistical as it is, was all the encouragement I needed. And my first opportunity as a wedding photographer came after I shot a band at a venue in Sydney – the bassist in the band contacted me a few weeks later and asked if I could photograph his wedding.

The message last night really inspired me today to think about the real positivity that can be instilled in a person because someone believed in them. We’re all fragile beings in the world and having someone out there trusting you (more than you trust yourself even), is a pretty powerful thing. I get that on a daily basis from Kristen so on the days when I doubt myself or find it hard to get out of bed, her encouragement is all I need.

And it’s all come full circle – the message above is from Jade. Even after 6 years, she’s still out there encouraging me and helping me push myself to the next level. We’ve never met in person but I’ve already promised to her that I when the day comes for her to get married, I will be there, holding my camera and trying to repay her for the belief she instilled in me so early on.

So tell me, who believes in you? Tell me your stories let’s take some time to reflect and think about how we can all do the same for others.

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    11 Comments

  • Elleni March 13, 2013

    I just got around to reading this Lucky and I must admit I am grateful to have MANY people believe in me, often more so then I believe in myself. It is kind of nice to have those strong words of encouragement/ bashing over the head when you start to feel down. Very nice post. 

  • Lakshal Perera March 13, 2013

    Tahnee, I think that’s all it takes. You need to be sensible about what you want to achieve and most importantly, how you’re going to achieve it. I think the best motivation is to do something simply because you love it – it sounds like you’ve got a whole bunch on your plate yet you’re choosing to follow your passion. I think if you’re dedicated and be the best you can be, you can make a living doing something you truly love. All the best with it!

  • Lakshal Perera March 13, 2013

    Thanks Antz. I guess you and I have the shared experience of the music stuff, it’s just that you stuck at it much longer than I did. :)

  • Lakshal Perera March 13, 2013

    Thanks Jen. :)

  • Lakshal Perera March 13, 2013

    Thanks for the love Ben, you’re a good egg.

    And yes, putting faith in others is awesome – you end up having to do less because other people are doing great jobs! ;)Plus, you end up like my friend Jade, inspiring other people and setting them on their very own path.

  • Tahnee March 10, 2013

    this is really powerful, lakshal. I am only new to your work, you photographed my friend’s wedding a few months ago (Emma Kearon) and I was hooked. you have a real gift, that’s for sure. encouragement is a powerful thing, and really what has driven me to turn my photography hobby into a business only recently. just starting out and taking things slowly – while raising three littles – but I’m away nonetheless, and it’s really all come through my personal blog and the encouragement I received on my photography through that avenue. thanks for the inspiration..

  • antzpantz March 7, 2013

    Wow. Just wow. I honestly don’t know what to say. This is amazing, Lucky.

  • James S March 7, 2013

    Jade is an absolute star I agree. She was also really encouraging when I was shooting bands.  She lives in Melbourne last time I checked so you should both go for a beer one time to thank her in person!

  • Jen Halldorsson March 7, 2013

    beautiful, wonderful wise words lucky. 
    :)

  • Ben G Morgan March 7, 2013

    Lucky, mate, it’s a pleasure to know you. Reading Jade’s words, they seem to spell out exactly what I find so spell-binding about your work. I still remember the day we received the images you’d taken for Paper Rock Magazine back in ’07/’08. As we dropped them into our layouts, it was the most exciting moment of that little mag’s life. It took it from being just another student mag, to something altogether more professional.

    With the photo you took of Amy Townsend for Issue 3, you’d captured more than just a simple image. You’d caught a moment and conveyed an emotion and character. I see this in countless examples of your wedding photography today – the faces, the moments, the hands, the objects you capture, they tell stories.

    I think, in a way, believing in others is where I gain strength. If in my life, all I do is create platforms for others to inspire, and promote passionate and talented people, I’ll have achieved more than enough.

    Thanks for the post. 

    (attached image is a photo of the mag with Artist Amy Townsend)

  • Joel March 7, 2013

    2006 Lucky – wow, I thought you’d started earlier ;)

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