Photography News Issue 30

Photography News Issue 30 absolutephoto.com

Interview 38

quite well, in some ways, not that much. I have given up (almost) worrying about the weather, for example. I will just pack my maps, wellingtons, wet-weather gear, tripods and cameras into the camper van and set off. Part of the magic of these experiences is the unexpected. Ultimately the pictures that you make are a distillation of effort, ideas and the light on the day in question. With luck, one or two of themwill be worth working on. What sort of challenges did you experience while shooting? It’s tempting to say ‘the usual ones’ because that’s true, but it sounds a bit tired and cynical doesn’t it? Certainly one of the hardest parts for me is the frustrationof knowing thatmy carbon footprint is rising every time I get in the vehicle and set off down the road once again. I need to plant a rainforest byway of compensation, even though you do your best to use an economical vehicle, and drive it gently. Walkingonhills andmountains is obviously hard. But in many ways that is precisely why I do it. Lifewithout some hardship is notmuchof a life. Gettingwet is less of a problemthese days as good outdoor gear and wellingtons sorts that out. Does the light play ball? Of course not, most of the time. It’s important to be stubborn, persistent, resilient, philosophical and grateful when things do (occasionally) work for you. Good decisions can also load the cards in your favour too, and that all comes with experience. Did you shoot film for this project? If so, what cameras, lenses and film did you use? The film images in the book from my archive were nearly all shot with an Ebony 4x5inch view camera and various lenses, especially 90mm and 150mm. I used Fujifilm’s Velvia and Provia. Have you gone digital now? If so, what cameras and lenses did you use? “Gonedigital” is aworryingphrase, as if Imight have sold my soul to the devil. In practice I shoot digital; as aworking colourphotographer it would be difficult/impossible to function with film, since only a small handful of clients would be prepared to pay for large-format film, processing and scanning costs, or tolerate the delay in throughput. And although I find that I can copewith different formats okay, jumping

between digital and film exposure would be a step too far. I would also suggest that it took me at least five years to become reasonably comfortable with digital, and having taken up the digital challenge I had to concentrate fully on the relearning process. I now feel confident with it, and embrace the responsibility that comes with the understanding and interpretation of digital colour. I have used a number of different digital cameras over the years, but my current choice is the Sony A7R Mark II, and for medium- format I usePhaseOne IQ280, oneitherLinhof, Cambo or Hasselblad camera bodies. I have lots of different lenses on the different systems that I use so it would be a bit complicated to list them all here. Do you favour any specific camera techniques, like using camera filters, for instance? I do use camera filters, both Neutral Density (ND) grad filters and also extreme NDs (or stopping filters) when appropriate. Almost all working landscape photographers I know use filters, even when they are post-production wizards and when blending exposures. I’m not sure if using a tripod counts as a special technique, because plenty of people don’t these days. However, I do, and I still find the tripod an essential component creatively. How much post-processing work do you carry out on your images? Some images are close to being straight from the camera, while others require considerable time to tease the best from them. The common thread is that I don’t want post-production to intrude on or dominate the image… in the sense that I don’t want to be able to see it myself. If I can’t see it I figure that other people shouldn’t be able to either. Do you prefer to shoot wide scenes or details in the location, and why? I don’t have apreference at all, I enjoyviews and details equally and I feel that the variety is an important stimulus for me. If you take a look at ThisLand youwill see that the balance between views and details is evident throughout the book. There may be a slight weight in favour of views, in the sense that I felt a responsibility to show the lie of the land.

Above “This image of the standing stones of Calanais was taken with a 5x4inch Ebony.” Below “One of the very last photographs made for This Land , this summit photograph epitomises the risks and endeavour required for mountain photography.”

Above “There is a sense of immersion in the process of shooting reflections, an intense scrutiny of proportion, line, light and relationship really comes into focus.”