Photography News | Issue 42 | absolutephoto.com
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Interview Whatever theweather Landscape photographer Tony Worobiec believes that you shouldn’t let the weather hinder your photography, in fact you should let it do the opposite. His latest book Photographing Landscape, Whatever the Weather offers help and advice on shooting, editing and how to make money
Interview by Jemma Dodd
Why landscape photography? Simple, being outside experiencing the elements is spiritually uplifting. I cannot get enough of it. Who are your favourite landscape photographers? I have long been a fan of landscape traditionalists such as ShinzoMaeda and Eliot Porter, but I am equally drawn to more contemporary workers such as Joel Meyerowitz or Richard Misrach. All of these wonderful photographers show a remarkable capacity to reveal the hidden spirit of the landscape. What are the key ingredients for an epic landscape shot? Clearly the location is important. Lighting is the other key issue, but
Where do you want to shoot but haven’t yet? Having recently watched a documentary on the ‘rust-belt’ of America, I think I could happily make this my next project. My wife and I have had two books published on our documentation of the abandoned communities on the American High Plains; while this would be in a different part of the States, I suspect wewould encounter very similar and equally challenging situations. When it comes to risk taking, what situations should people avoid? Clearly the more remote or hostile the environment, the more mindful one needs to be regarding potential dangers. As I now regularly run
something which is sometimes overlooked is the prevailingweather; it can prove transformational. For example, an urban landscape which under normal conditions appears quite unremarkable, can look amazing immediately after a thunderstorm. What time andweather conditions do you prefer to photography landscape in? The secret to landscape photography is to understand that every location will have its golden moment. All the seasons have unique qualities, although Imust confess I do struggle a bit in summer. Weather for me is the crucial factor; broody grey skies can appear hauntingly beautiful when shot in daytime, adding a
unique pathos to the landscape, and yet they can appear equally as interesting when shot at night. The same applies to a landscape shrouded in mist, covered in snow or subject to heavy rain. Of all the locations you’ve shot a do you have a favourite? I live in Dorset, so not unnaturally I am rather fond of the county. If, however, I had a choice of just one location, it would have to be Death Valley. While it is famed for the wonderful Mesquite sand dunes, it has so much more to offer. To have this desolate basin surrounded by an impossibly high mountain range offers landscape photographers incredible opportunities for truly awe-inspiring photography.
Above Approaching dust storm, Tucumcari, NewMexico. Top right Spring flowers, The Alentejo, Portugal. Centre right Rising Dawn Mist, Factory Butte, Utah. Bottomright Mammatus clouds and abandoned school on the prairie, North Dakota.
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