Back in late 2017 two life changing events happened to Aron. The first was being diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome (a form of High Functioning Autism), and the second was being brought his very first DSLR. Both events have had massive impacts on his life. Aron says “Discovering there’s a reason why you always felt at odds with the world and why you never really fitted into any social norm was a truly profound revelation but then discovering a hobby that was perfectly suited to my Autistic needs was equally life changing.”
Photography has ever since been his special interest that has afforded him a safe place to escape the stresses of living in a scary overwhelming world he find himself at constant odds with. “Photography offers me many distractions to focus my obsessive mind to. There’s the nerdy tech side of photography, the researching and planning of locations, the field craft of capturing the perfect exposure, finding the ideal composition and possibly my favourite element of all, the “ART ” of post processing.”
“I am still unsure why I am particularly drawn to landscapes and seascapes but it’s probably because my father used these two elements extensively within his oil paintings when I was a child. It has been said that my photos have a “painterly” feel to them which I also guess is also due to my fathers influences and my own strong love of art when I was younger. I am country raised and love getting out to beautiful serene locations when no one else is around trying to capture their special rural idilic country charm. Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk aren’t the obvious counties most people associate with beautiful landscapes and vistas but I am keen to change this misconsept and show the intrinsic beauty East Anglia holds.”
Aron is quick to point out he is NOT an old school “documenter” style photographer. He is more a modern day “digital artist”. He strives to create impactful images through thoughtful artistic post processing choices that reflect him and his unique Autistic outlook on the world he sees. “This does of course mean my images are a little removed from what is considered the ‘normal’ realistic style of traditional landscape photography but I’m OK with that. There will always be a lot of push back from the landscape photography establishment when ever the saturation and vibrance sliders go up and not down but colourful, vibrant images are to some people a welcome escape from the drabness of the everyday reality they see. I want to be artistic and not just a documenter, I want to add a little something of myself into the final image as photography is an invaluable way of creatively expressing myself and connecting with people in a way that simply documenting locations can not.”
Aron’s website at aronradford.com holds many familiar and not so familiar images from Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, as well as his bonus gallery from around the rest of the UK. Please contact him through his contact page with any inquiries you may have. He is also available for 1-2-1 workshops too by special request.
