Tracy Hallett

Working as features editor on Black & White Photography magazine and assistant editor on Outdoor Photography magazine, Tracy is lucky enough to see hundreds of fantastic photographs every week. As a photographer, she finds the sheer mass and quality of these images drives her to question the standard of her own photography on a daily basis – an exercise that can be both satisfying and dispiriting in equal measure.

For Tracy, photography will always be an art that requires constant practice. When she was given her first SLR as a teenager she knew nothing of exposures and meter readings and was happy to switch the camera onto program mode and concentrate on training her eye. Tracy was attracted to the work of Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander, William Eggleston, Martin Parr and Richard Billingham – they all seemed so clear in thought, communicating complex ideas without the need for explanation. She began to compare their work to hers, and soon learnt that badly executed photographs were less powerful photographs; as a result, teaching herself the technicalities of photography.

Recently returning to the darkroom after a long absence, and have discovered, yet again, that there is still so much to learn, so much to master; but instead of becoming dispirited she is excited by the prospect of how far there is to go. Perhaps the time to stop taking pictures comes when you feel you have mastered the art completely – when practice and experimentation become a thing of the past. Tracy, for one, plans to remain inspired, and slightly envious, of those who excel in photography, in the hope that one day someone may feel inspired by, and slightly envious of her own.

More of Tracy's images can be viewed on her own website: www.tracyhallett.com