Photography News Issue 42

Photography News | Issue 42 | absolutephoto.com

Interview

LukeMassey Luke Massey was named winner of the One- Shot – Wildlife & Nature category with his image of an endangered Iberian lynx and bagged himself a six-day winter or summer voyage for two along the Norway coast, as well as a Torres Insulator Jacket from Páramo. What made you enter TPOTY? I admire the images in TPOTY year on year. I love travel and get to go all over the world seeing amazing things so it is great to see other people’s images from their own travels. This was only my second year of entering but with the high calibre of entries I am honored to have my image awarded alongside some truly stunning shots. You like to tell important conservation stories in your work; can you tell us more about the Iberian lynx? The Iberian lynx is the world’s rarest cat. In 2001 there were fewer than one hundred in existence. They feed mainly on rabbits and due to various factors the rabbit population in Spain and Portugal crashed, meaning the lynx population did too. Luckily, thanks to an EU funded project a captive breeding programme was started 10 years ago that has been quite successful, this has led to new populations of lynx being introduced across southern Spain and Portugal and there are now over 400 in the wild. Tell us about your winning image? I’m a bit lynx obsessed. When I first visited Spain to look for the lynx I was very lucky and saw six in just five days. However, I realised there was not much media coverage of the lynx’s plight outside of Spain. You’ve got all this PR in the UK for sexy exotic species further afield but the Iberian lynx is basically on our doorstep and on the verge of

dying out. I decided to do a long-term project on it with help from a grant from Wildscreen Exchange. It took two months to reconnect with the lynx in the wild. We were working with the captive breeding programme so were seeing lynx in captivity/being released but on this day I found two lynx together in the morning and was able to stay with them

all day. Just after sunset the female laid down on the boulder and began to clean herself before heading out for the evening to hunt. I’d pictured this shot hundreds of times, a lynx sat perfectly on a boulder but I never expected to get it, sometimes everything comes together perfectly!

Above Sierra de Andújar National Park, Andalucia, Spain by Luke Massey, UKWinner, One Shot – Wildlife & Nature.

Alison Cahill Alison Cahill, winner of the New Talent Portfolio – Eye To Eye categorywith her series of images documenting ‘Son & Dad’ won her a set of luxury leather travel goods from StaaG, a personalized leather portfolio case from Plastic Sandwich, Photo Iconic tuition and a Páramo Halcon Traveller jacket. Are you a regular entrant to TPOTY? Yes, this was my third year of entry. On my first attempt in 2014 I was a finalist for the best single image award in the Tribes category for my portfolio of photos on a Bali tattoo

artist at work. The fact that one of my images became a finalist encouraged me to continue with my photography which was in its early stages at that time. It also encouraged me to return to Bali to work further with tattoo artists there. In 2015 I became a finalist with commendation in the New Talent section of TPOTY formy storyboard about a tattoo artist from Nusa Lembongan, a small island south east of Bali. Inmy third attempt at TPOTY I’ve managed to win the New Talent section. How long did you work on this portfolio? I was actually in Penang, Malaysia getting a visa for Indonesia when I got lost on my

way back to my guesthouse and discovered Son & Dad by accident, I thought it looked interesting and decided to take a look inside. I asked Elyas the owner if I could come by the next day and take some photos; he was really friendly and agreed. I spent a few hours with Elyas and his staff and took some photos, I was really nervous but they were all so friendly that I soon relaxed. I left for Indonesia and while I was there sent some of my photos from the shoot to Elyas and asked if I could return to spend more time with them as I’d like to do a photographic project on the shop. He agreed and just over a year later I returned to Penang and spent around three months on

and off at the barber shop trying to get a feel of the daily life there. They were amazing, very welcoming, friendly and funny and just let me do my thing. It was a great experience and a good learning curb in my photographic development. What were the technical challenges shooting in the barber shop? The barbers shop is very small and often very crowded, so trying to get an overall distant shot to convey the place was very difficult with the lenses I had; a Nikon 50mm prime f/1.8 and a 24-120mm f/4. This for me was the biggest challenge: trying to get some distance.