Phototherapy 40

I don’t usually introduce any of these ‘Phototherapy’ posts. Here, as it is the 40th such post, I’ll make an exception and say a few words. Since the first in my ‘Phototherapy’ series, in January 2019, I’ve posted around 400 photographs. Some are in colour, others in black-and-white; all were taken by me for the main reason I take photographs: to help me to notice and appreciate the world around me. So, most of the images are of places and people in Dundee. I came up with the series title as ‘Phototherapy’ because that seems to describe the effect taking photographs has on the way I feel. It is a kind of therapy. Noticing, making, sharing. It’s a way of connecting.

I have a distant past which involved learning photography on a training scheme; and later employment as a Project Leader in Dundee Photography Workshop, a community project I started in the 1980s. When that closed as a result of cutbacks, I gave up taking photographs for a few years. It was digital photography, and especially phone-cameras which reminded me how much I enjoyed making pictures. Although I once taught Art as a Youth Worker, and I occasionally doodle, I never considered myself to be an artist. The most I would say about the images I make with a camera is: they are more than doodles, but not as skilled as I hope my writing is becoming. Still, I’m proud of some of the photographs I take. It’s fun.

Harvey Duke