Bigger Photographs are Better

It’s been spoken about a million times before I am sure but I think the way we view the bulk of our photographs on mobile phones these days is changing photography, and not necessarily in a good way. Why is it bad? Because often bigger photographs are better.

I, like everyone else, look at the vast majority of photography on Instagram but I am not sure that what makes an image successful on that platform is necessarily leading to better photography – you need a bigger picture. The screen size of phones is such that you cannot see many of the details and subtle nuances of some great photographs and that, I think, is a real shame. Look at what makes a popular image on Instagram and you will find that it is often a very simple, very striking, image or a picture of a saucy looking man or woman. Simple and striking images are great and are something that I too enjoy creating sometimes, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of the work that I, and a lot of other photographers, produce is also richly detailed and needs a bigger platform.

One day I might have an exhibition of my travel photography work with large prints adorning the walls of a gallery somewhere but, for the time being, ditch the phone, move over to a desktop computer, make your browser window as big as possible and have a lot through a few of the images I’ve selected below at the size I intended them to be when I made them. These are all scenes from my travels to India and capture not only one subject, but a whole slice of life in that place at that point in time. The images below are just a small selection – you can view loads more in my online galleries.

Dog sitting in the road in the haze of a morning in India
Man in orange sweater buying tomatoes in India
Goat standing on a blue scooter
Early morning on the ghats of Varanasi India
Cow Grazing amongst the rubbish early in the morning in Varanasi India