Entry Title: " Prairie Cloud"
Name: Preston Wilson, Canada
Category: Non-Professional, Landscapes


Entry Description: This photograph was shot on our way through Ohio, USA. Dave, Tom, and I were heading for California to start our summer road trip up the West coast. This cloud was huge and so far away, its presence was overwhelming. The tiny moon in the distance was a total fluke, I did not even see it when i took the shot. Man I love photography.

When I first used my Dad's 35mm Pentax camera I only had one concept in mind, “don't think just take pictures.” I was only thirteen at the time and my curiosity towards photography came out of the need to capture the proof of my numerous adventures in life. When I saw something epic I wanted to show others with my pictures. I was only looking at the world as an innocent teenager with a new means of documenting my surroundings. Having an exceptional arts programme in high school allowed my new photography experiences to be both technical and highly experimental, photography became the reason for everything. The process of developing my negatives and dipping my finger tips into the stop bath to retrieve my new image simply overwhelmed me and I was hooked. Graduating From high school and immediately going into University quickly opened my eyes to how complicated and strategic the photography industry had become. The digital era was something that came as a threat when I first heard of its presence. I immediately ask myself, “How can a computer take a picture?” I had become so used to the process of photography. The connections between the moment you take the picture and the moment you see it for the first time, in the dark with your favourite music playing. This was my world of photography. Nineteen years old heading to New York City to photograph the 500,000 strong in protest of the re-instating of George W. Bush. I am overwhelmed with ambition and armed with 30 rolls of film, the streets are flooding with peoples voices screaming to be heard, I click at this I click at that, I am taking more photographs in one minute then I do in a month. Last roll of film, “don't think, just take pictures.” I had run out of film that day and spent the rest of the evening wondering of all the shots I may have been able to take. “I am going to buy a digital camera when I get home.” I am now 25 years old, I am an uncle and have already been a best man. I have fallen in love and have dealt with loss, my camera was always there, helping me preserve these feelings and keeping me focused on how amazing it is to be alive. I have excepted that digital photography can still evoke and capture emotion and for that I have come to terms with its presence. My lasting impression on photography is one that relates it directly as a modern art form. The history of photography and its profound effects within the art world is something I have come to study and appreciate. Our history defines our future, I hope to change photography's future by remaining deeply connected to its scientific methods of exploration. Cheers. Preston Wilson, 1984.