Photography News | Issue 68 | photographynews.co.uk
Interview 42
PN: Do you think up the concept for a shoot; or is that driven by clients? Or is it a bit of both? MM: It is a bit of both. I’m usually approached by an advertising agency with a concept for a shoot andwill give themmy opinion onwhether or not it is feasible, and how I would go about creating it. For my personal ideas, I roll them around in my head for some time before I start to shoot them, from ideas about shapes, to colour pallets. My entire ‘Aqueous’ series is the perfect example of ideas that I have rolledaroundbefore executing them. PN: Can you give us an idea of what camera and lighting kit you use for a shoot?
MM: I use Hasselblad H series cameras with Phase One digital backs. This is purely based on personal taste, due to the fact that I have used them ever since I made the digital switch from myMamiya RZ67 in 2005. As I’ve mentioned already, I use Elinchrom lighting. PN: Tell us about your workflow, especially with colour management, which is obviously critical in your work. MM: I always shoot Rawand process the files in Capture One Pro software. Colour management is very important in my work, as my clients always want to achieve exact colours in their advertising. Whether it is to match some clothes, or a shade of coffee or paint, I have to ensure that everything looks how it should. I use Datacolor’s SpyderX to ensure my monitors and printers are all calibrated and producing true colours. With calibration taking less than two minutes, I am able to calibrate all of my monitors twice a month, ensuring colour accuracy throughout myworkflow. PN: Your website has some personal work. What do you prefer to shoot when you are not shooting liquids? MM: I love shooting cinematic scenes, ones that tell stories and have a lot of atmosphere within them. In these scenes I enjoy using people and creating mystery shots by having them do something in the picture that isn’t very clear to the viewer, making them think and wonder what is going on in the image. This resembles the multiple aspects people can see in my liquid work, with everyone seeing something different, from faces to creatures – a little bit like seeing an object in the clouds. PN: If readers want to shoot liquids, how would you advise them to start? MM: There are many variations of liquids to shoot, fromsplashes inmid air to ink inwater. If
Above Mark Mawson's studio is well equipped with tanks, specialist gear and lighting to achieve his stunning images
you are doing splashes, make sure everything is covered up in plastic sheeting; it’s amazing how far splashes travel. Other liquidworkcanbedone ina fish tankor even a small glass – I would encourage everyone to just experiment to seewhat you like. It might also be worth noting that liquid photography is a rather laborious process to shoot, with a lot emptying and cleaning of tanks to be done both before and after each shot. The images created domake it worth it though!
My clients always want to achieve exact colour in their advertising
About theDatacolor SpyderX
MarkMawson uses theDatacolor SpyderX to calibrate hismonitors. Two versions of the SpyderX are available: the Pro at €179 and the Elite at €279. The SpyderXElite is featured in the SpyderXCapture Pro kit which also includes the Spyder LensCal, Spyder Cube and Spyder Checkr and you get all this for €399. spyderx.datacolor.com
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