Express Yourself by Timothy Woods
I love how society and culture has gone full circle and it’s actually cool to be different, cool to be artistic, cool to be unique, cool to express yourself. Self expression is healthy whether it’s through art, music, words, or just wearing those boots that are a little out there but make you feel good inside.
I’ve always loved art and being creative ever since I could put pen to paper. I’ve dabbled in all types of mediums over the years, but struggled to find a way to truely express myself. It wasn’t until 2016 when I actually purchased my first camera that photography became my way to do so. Through photography I could combine my passions art, travel, surfing, and the ocean. It has become my creative outlet right from the ideas through to shooting and into the editing process. I love to try create layers in a photo the ocean is perfect for this as there are already natural layers, sand, white wash, waves, sea, sky clouds then the sun.
My mother used to paint and play piano, my father comes from a family of artists and similar to me he dabbled in a bit of everything, but his main passion was shaping surfboards, he used to shape in the 80s and owned a surf shop in Coogee, Sydney. My brother followed in his footsteps and now shapes himself on the Gold Coast. This is where my love of waves came from, some of my earliest memories were of my dad throwing me in the ocean and pushing me onto waves, something I share now with my boys and will with my baby to come.
I have a constant inner battle whether to be out on the waves or on the sidelines shooting them, I’ve never been one to chase photos but always bring my camera along. I find thats when I get my best shots; whether it's on surfing trips, travels, or just around my little country / surf town of Yamba on the NSW North Coast.
The journey becomes the reward.
