For a long time, photography and painting existed along a technical dividing line in different worlds. Photographers "captured" the world, while painters "created images" as artistic interpretations of the world. Traditionally, photographers worked with the possibilities offered by reality. This meant they had to use what the camera captured and express their creativity through it. The task of photographers was to generate photographic art with these very possibilities!

Digital photography revolutionized this dynamic. David Osborn shows that nowadays, photographs are, among other things, the product of editing software. This shift has given photographers the creative freedoms that painters were deprived of for centuries. Digital software has bridged the gap between photographers and painters; creativity now extends beyond merely capturing subjects.

However, this artistic freedom also brings new challenges. The newly opened creative possibilities have revealed a "creative knowledge gap" for many photographers, unlike painters who must possess extensive artistic understanding before starting a painting. Photographers capture a prepared image with the push of a button.

With over 40 years of experience as a professional photographer, I seek to address this "creative knowledge gap" through my photography. How can one teach creativity to a generation accustomed to capturing images but not "creating" them?

My solution is to understand human nature to establish the unshakable visual fundamentals of an image and to comprehend artistic knowledge to understand artistic freedom within these fundamentals. In combination, these innovative guidelines can be taught to photography enthusiasts to enhance their creativity without adhering to a set artistic style.

I set out to unite all these principles into a system based on art and science. It should provide a logical basis and structure for the process of image creation; through my own photographs, I tested whether my conclusions are correct and if the creative guidelines work.

Today, I teach this innovative approach in photography workshops.

Biography

David Osborn was born in London in 1961 and earned his stripes as a photographer for news agencies and newspapers, such as Reuters, Associated Press, The Independent, The London Times, to name a few. He then spent time in Asia, where he documented, among other things, the Muslim struggle for freedom in Mindanao, Philippines. In 1989, he settled in Sydney, where he soon opened his own studio and specialized in business reports, particularly in the telecommunications sector. After eleven years in Australia, Osborn returned to London and focused entirely on the topic of airports. In addition to a series on airports worldwide, he also documented the renovation of London Heathrow. Today, he teaches photography.