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Talenthouse member Tom Price

Tom Price says that for photography, “I often think that the interesting stuff happens in the in-between moments.” Big events can be the most obvious prospects for photography, but when Tom was shooting at the WOMAD UK (World of Music, Arts and Dance – a global music festival) it was a single shot of a dancer that captured an ethereal and mysterious image. Tom thought of this picture right away when his brother Ben Price introduced him to Talenthouse and the Photograph for Tommorowland Invite. But he never expected to win that coveted first place. Host Toby Andrews from Get In PR describes the image as conveying a sense of “tranquility and happiness” that perfectly captures the theme of the Tommorrowland festival.

Though Get In has high praise for Tom’s photography skills, Tom admits, “I’ve always considered myself more of a words than a picture person.” In fact, Tom first studied law, but found it hard to work creativity into that environment. While traveling in South America pursuing a degree in the Spanish and Portuguese languages, he first became interested in film and photography.

Tom’s preferred type of photography is documentary or street photography. He says, “I like to research a story or an issue and really plumb the depths of it. I think that the relationship between the aesthetic and the functional is a complex one, but to me, documentary photography is where it’s at.” Some of Tom’s inspiration comes from Brazilian documentary photographer Sebastião Salgado, whose recent projects include photos of coffee workers (to raise awareness of the origins of the ever-popular drink), and “Genesis,” a project that reconnects humanity to nature.

Tom was also encouraged by his photography professor Edgard Oliva, who was the first person to affirm Tom in his interest in photography. For newbie photographers and aspiring artists, Tom says the best thing to do is, “to enjoy taking pictures of the things they like, to try and forget about the gear – that’s often such a distraction – and to print their photos as much as possible.” However, enjoying photography isn’t enough in itself. For the professional photographer, there has to be some mission, some story to tell. “For me, it’s almost about having a quest. Something that you want to achieve over and above the photography itself.”

“I’m wary of the claims that pictures are a universal language,” says Tom. “We all interpret the visual with our own cultural and psychological lenses – meaning isn’t uniformly interpreted.” However, with the Tommorowland submission at least, both Tom and the Get In hosts saw something magical in the swirling patterns in a dancer’s dress. Something meaningful that goes beyond good lighting and composition. With his jaw dropping skills and his eye for telling a story through photography, Tom Price is just the lensman to photograph for the Tommorrowland festival!

Congratulations to Tom on this opportunity! We’ll be keeping the Talenthouse community posted on this photographer’s upcoming adventures in Tomorrowland.