When Ashley Cooper came in to talk to us, I was already exited as I had knew some of his work before, such as the now infamous Polar Bear Picture. But I had never known his whole story or much about what he did and does as a photographer.
Although he's not a filmmaker as his main career path, the kind of compositions that he has made visually are simply stunning and inspire me to travel around the world just like he does.
What I mainly learned from Ashley was his humble beginnings as a hill climber, and a mountain boot modeler wasn't really tied into his want to be a photographer at all, and it was just his way of having fun. And it was his 3000ft venture in 1986 that really brought his name to the scene, not necessarily his photography.
This inspired me as it made me realise that you don't need a big break, or a sudden spark of genius the minute you leave university, sometimes genius comes slowly, and you have to battle through the ruff, but that your career path is always possible if you try hard and harder and harder.
It wasn't until 2013 that the Polar Bear image was realised, and Ashley started exhibitions and big works in the Antarctic's and polluted countries.
He also taught me that
your work should be what you want it to be, and not what people ask you, and his book images of a warming planet isn't a book of his work, but a statement he wanted to show.
He also taught me about the idea of stock footage and pictures being an early career path I could take, making small earnings but doing what i love, to film and to take photos.
Overall, Ashley really
made me think about the different paths i could take in my career, and how maybe professional development isn't something that needs to be taught quickly and efficiently, but something that never ends, you can always become more professional
in your works, and climb bigger mountains, much like he did himself.
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