LUKE SIMPSON is a Travel, Landscape and HDR Photographer passionate about helping others to view our world in a beautiful light.
Born in England, based in Australia, Luke is currently living out a free spirited lifestyle, travelling the world pursuing his goals and photography dreams.
It is his intention to capture the diverse wonder of our planet and its magical moments, whilst offering his positive insights to inspire and encourage others to follow their heart, share their gifts and co create an Epic World for everyone.
A previous finalist of ‘Travel photographer of the year’, his work has been recognised around the world. Luke is available for location, editorial and assignment photography anywhere on the planet.
GIVE HIM THE SHOT, TO GET YOU THE SHOT !
Read on to get to know him better:
MY PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY
I had been taking happy snaps for many years and remember people always telling me that I had to do “something” with them. In 2011 I received a Canon DSLR as a gift from my parents, who were determined to encourage some potential talent. From that generosity I felt compelled to learn how to use the camera properly and began to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the art.
I am completely self-taught, always learning, and believe one doesn’t need expensive degrees and certificates to prove their worth. Instead I feel an openness to grow, a passion for what you do and self belief to be more necessary ingredients towards a successful path.
The frustration of not being able to accurately portray in an image, how I see the world, remains a main motivator towards my desire to improve and is what initiated my interest into high dynamic range (HDR) images.
I find inspiration from all kinds of situations: beautiful scenery, unique light, exposure to different traditions and many of life’s magical moments.
It is not important to me what category my photography falls into. What matters to me is that my pictures are impactful and interesting, that I am inspired to shoot them and having fun doing it.
Research shows that looking at images can have positive effects on people’s mental and physical health, so getting to share frames of my life that may shine light into someones else’s, feels like an honour and pleasure to me.
Whilst I enjoy playing around with the camera and attempting to capture the diverse light of this epic world, I find it necessary to remind myself not to take it too seriously. I understand that photography is just one of the tools I can use in helping to convey a larger message of love, peace and unity.
WHO I REALLY AM
From an early age the western cultural narrative of “work, buy, consume, die” had very little appeal to me and the idea of spending my life in the pursuit of material wealth seemed like a hoax. The mundane 9-5 grind was clearly not going to satisfy my soul, so I have spent most of my short days on this rock in search of peace, happiness, freedom and adventure.
“For me the way to a free and beautiful life is to keep the smile on my dial, my attitude full of gratitude, to dream big, laugh hard and quite simply love it all.”
I have chosen to measure my success less on what I am ‘doing’ and what I ‘own’ and more on who I am ‘being’ and the positive influence I can have on the planet and those around me.
I have been lucky enough to visit and travel many places around the world, yet I’d say my most rewarding adventure has been the journey into myself. The nature of reality had always fascinated me and the more I began to investigate spiritual philosophies, the more I came to realise that we truly are the creators of our own destiny.
From there I recognised the most underestimated power we possess as human species: The gift of choice.
We may not always get to choose what circumstances we find ourselves in, but we always get a choice in how we respond towards those circumstances, and that I believe to be our response-ability. For when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
“Everyone sees the world differently, given what they choose to focus upon. Whether it is seen as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is in fact chosen by the observer.”
When I understood this, I began to consciously create a happy inner and outer life for myself.
We live in amazing times, where more choices are available to us than ever before, but due to the continued hunt for materialism and the race towards individualism, we have become dis-connected from our ‘oneness’ and our true spiritual self. We play out this disconnection to all things around us, to the environment, to animals, to each other and to all of life.
We must remember that we are all connected and part of a greater self. Understanding deeply that ‘we are one’ with all things is something I believe very strongly in. An ideology with the power to change our very existence, that allows us to behave in a more appropriate and compassionate way with all of life around and within us.
What we do to another, we do to ourselves. For beyond the illusion of the 5 senses we are one and all unified. One People. One World. One Love.
By focusing our thoughts, intentions, words and actions towards where we wish to be, I believe we can create an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet.
MY MISSION
My life work is to constantly be creating a greater version of myself. Travelling the world has been a great teacher and has enhanced my life in ways I don’t think possible through conventional education.
As I adventure to new and exciting locations around the world, I wish to continue to capture visually appealing magical moments of this journey we call life. What better way to spend our days, than doing what we love, sharing it with friends and planting seeds of positivity.
I don’t believe we’re are put on this earth to be enslaved, live in fear and just pay bills. We weren’t put here to be average, we were born to be f#%king awesome. We are miracles made out of particles designed to be free and to love, and that is what I intend to do.
I feel very privileged, blessed and grateful to live out the life of my choosing and look forward to the time, when more people get to experience the same.
After some positive feedback about my views on life and my photos, EPIC WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY was created to share life through my lens with a wider audience. This website, blog and portfolio is just one step towards the reality I visualize, and I hope you choose to jump on board and enjoy the journey with me.