Photography News | Issue 42 | absolutephoto.com
39
Interview
landscape courses, safety is always something uppermost in my mind. We all have relative strengths and tolerances, and clearly it is important that we never exceed these. Simple precautions such as dressing appropriately for the conditions, letting someone know where you are going, and taking your mobile phone with you, should help to avoid disaster. Have you ever taken any risks or been in a tricky situation? I do remember back in the early 90s investigating the border area between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and deciding that I would like to investigate an abandoned farm property. There was an adjacent caravan, so I decided to knock on the door, just to see if anyonewas around. As I received no answer I assumed itwas safe to enter the cottage, but just as I was about to, two men emerged and subjected me to what I can only describe as a thorough interrogation. They quickly assessed I was a complete idiot and finally let me go. Phew! Do you have any landscape pictures that got away? Of course; just a few weeks ago I was photographing a murmuration of starlings at Studland in Dorset. Fascinated by their movement I failed to notice I was rapidly running out of memory. Just as they got to their final crescendo I got that dreaded ‘card full’ message; by the time I changed cards, the show was over. I was kicking myself all the way back to the car. Why did you decide to focus on this specific subject and offer such a broad insight in your book? While the quality of the light and the structure of the location are important, weather, and especially bad weather can inject a mood into the photograph that would otherwise be lacking. We in the UK are spoilt for choice, and while we often complain about the weather, it
is the sheer variety which offers us so many fabulous opportunities for interesting landscape photography. Why do you feel there is a need for this book? What I have tried to explain in this book is that you cannot change the weather, but you are able to change your choice of location. By being aware that certain locations chime well with specific weather conditions, our options are expanded and therefore we should never return home without a bagful of shots. Certainly, those photographers who have seen the book seem genuinely enthused. Which came first – did you write techniques to go with the images or images to go with the technique? A bit of both; when I was reviewing my work, I recognised that a lot of it illustrated landscape taken in ‘challenging’ weather, but once I decided to do a book on the subject, I saw there were gaps. Moreover, I did tend to work on quite narrow themes which, for the purposes of this publication, needed to be developed. Of all of the landscape techniques, which is your favourite? I love fog! It’s just so transformational. One of the hardest things to achieve when shooting landscape is simplicity. When photographing through mist or fog, the aerial perspective incrementally reduces the background, allowing the photographer to feature elements that would otherwise go unnoticed. Who is the book aimed at? I hope that a broad range of landscape photographers will find this book interesting. It is worth noting that even newcomers to photography are capable of capturing truly magnificent weather shots, but because of their inexperience, they assume that their
images have no commercial value. That part of the book hopefully encourages the reader to value their efforts and recognise that some agencies accept work from both the amateur and professional sectors. What’s your best landscape shot? My last photograph; I suspect we all feel like that. If you had to give just one piece of advice what would it be? Simple: you cannot change the weather, but you can change your location. When shooting landscape,
assess the weather and then select a location that chimes with it.
Any future shoots coming up? Stemming out of this last book, I am currently discussing the possibility of doing a book called The Landscape Photographer’s Calendar . I am hoping to alert photographers that every month offers its own unique opportunities. Nobody should be staring out of the window on a dull day in February wishing it was a sunny day in May. Life’s too short.
tonyworobiec.com
Buy the book
Photographing Landscape, Whatever the Weather is priced at £15.99 and available from rhemediaphotography.co.uk
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