Photo taken by first-time contributor Jonathan Bourla, a 49-year-old man from Snells Beach, Auckland, New Zealand. Jonathan’s career as a fine art photographer has run almost concurrently with his battle with Major Depression. His depression was originally thought by his doctor to be a “grief reaction” after extended time caring for his father during terminal cancer, whilst also doing a demanding job. He was formally diagnosed as suffering from Major Depression in 1994. Trying to work at his photography was made very difficult by the continuing spells of depression. Things got progressively worse until 2006 when Jonathan was prescribed a new mixture of medications. Shortly thereafter things started to look up. In June of 2007, Jonathan held his first photography exhibition. Preparing for the exhibition, Jonathan asked the gallery owner if he should mention the battle with depression in his artist’s statement. The gallery owner thought it was best not to – “don’t want customers thinking the photos are depressing.” Jonathan thought this wrong, but in his inexperience had to bow to the gallery owner’s wishes. Since 2007, Jonathan has had a number of solo and group exhibitions, and continues to work at, and enjoy, his photography. He still has occasional spells of depression, but these are very minor in comparison to his earlier experiences.

About this photo: “I wanted to capture the waves breaking near to the Devonport Wharf, and obviously the wharf itself. Although I tend to photograph in late afternoon/evening, which gives me time to set up the camera, here I decided to photograph in the early morning light before sunrise. A lot of effort in the interpretation stage to make the water the highlight tonally.”

Find more from Jonathan at his website.

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