Stunning Nature Photography by Craig Taylor-Broad + An Interview

Craig Taylor-Broad is a UK based photographer who calls the beautiful coastal town of Cornwall home.

While his portfolio covers a wide range of genres (including live music, band portraits, and street photography, just to name a few), it's his stunning images of nature that we'll be featuring on the blog today.

We've also got an insightful interview with the talented photographer, so keep reading!

Q: When did your love of photography first blossom?

A: It actually took a long time for this to happen. I remember in my late teens I had a girlfriend who was pretty into photography and I just didn't get it. I wouldn't go near the camera and refused to use it, I was pretty much scared of it, I don't know why!

Anyway, I've suffered with anxiety and depression since I was fifteen but as I moved into my twenties I got pretty ill with anorexia. I would eat one meal a week and tried to walk for three hours plus every day. In my head I knew that it had gotten silly and I was doing all these coastal walks around where I lived so I just bought a cheap compact camera to kind of justify my reason for being out walking for so long.

After awhile I figured out how much it soothed me and now I'm pretty much obsessed by it. It's become a way of self care for me.

Q: What is it about nature photography in particular that captures your attention?

A: Initially I was drawn to photographing nature because it wouldn't let me down. I've battled for a long time with the place where I live. I'm always trying to get on, to photograph as much as possible and be improving. When it comes to portraits you kind of need people to do this to a certain extent and I was being cancelled on so frequently that it made me doubt my ability and I didn't feel my creativity was being supported by the creative community I live in. I was pretty close to putting the camera down and being creative in other ways.

But then I started photographing nature, which has pretty much kept me going. I love how there's a calmness and a chaos to the subject. You're able to experiment both in shooting and editing without the pressure of someone not liking the final product or how it looks. And it never gets stale. I don't generally go to gardens to photograph. These are in fields, peoples gardens, etc and I have to work within that space and whether I want to disclose where I've taken that photograph visually. There's always a challenge to that and the moment you think you've got it figured out, the seasons change and a new set of possibilities come in.

Q: What other elements inspire you and why?

A: I'm inspired by a lot visually. Before shooting more nature based elements I was very much into the industrial. I'm a sucker for symmetry, for lines and things like that. I'm guessing most photographers would say that, we're certainly a strange breed of person!

But yeah, I've dabbled in a lot of fields of photography (portrait, live music, street, etc) so I try to be as visually open to everything. Apart from the sea. Despite living by the coast I'm yet to be inspired by the sea. Absolutely crazy I know but I am scared of water. I'm thirty two and I still can't swim!

Q: What advice would you offer to photographers thinking about embracing nature more in their work?

A: I think any creative person should be open to anything. That's how you grow as an artist.

Experiment. Try things you wouldn't normally do. Adding nature elements into work is no different than adding Industry elements in a sense, it's just this construct that you're able to use to enhance your creativity.

Q: Lastly, what do you hope to achieve with your photography career in the not-too-distant future?

A: The plan is to get back into portraits and hopefully live music again. I'd really like to shoot some more tours but we'll see.

I've also opened an online print store (www.craigtaylorbroad.com/store) which I'm adding to all the time, so making that successful would be incredible!

.We want to thank Craig for taking the time to answer our questions and encourage you to view more of his work by visiting his website, Facebook page, or Instagram. Enjoy!