Photography News issue 26

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview 26 Simon Kitchin Photographing NorthWales Local to North Wales himself, photographer Simon Kitchin could see the potential in a book dedicated to such a rich and diverse landscape, and so his first book, Photographing North Wales, was born

How long did it take to put together? Two years, prettymuch. I started in September 2013 and it was published in August 2015. How many pictures did you take in total? Now that’s a good question, and honestly I’m not 100% sure. A quick check on my hard drive suggests it’s at least 2000. What were some of the challenges of producing a book? There were several. Unfortunately, photography isn’t a full‑time occupation for me at the moment, so being able to get out in the right light and weather conditions was sometimes a challenge. Time in general was at a premium, but thankfully I have a very supportive wife who was fully behind me. She’s as enthusiastic about the book as I am. Another challenge was the diversity of photos that wewanted to include in the book; North Wales has lots of big landscapes but we all agreed it needed to

of the area is probably unrivalled in the UK but strangely it still doesn’t seemoverly popular with photographers; they’re seriously missing out. Is the North Wales landscape not overly familiar to you now? How easy is it to find fresh inspiration in a familiar setting? I’ve only lived here since 1997, and that’s not long enough to discover all the amazing photographic opportunities the area has to offer. How did the book move from concept to reality? It all happened very quickly. As soon as I’dmetMick and Stuart from fotoVUE, I started work on the book. Their enthusiasm and seeing the draft of their first book, Photographing The Lake District , left me in no doubt that this would be a great thing to be involved in.

Interview by Megan Croft

What’s your background in photography? I’m completely self-taught. Moving to North Wales in 1997 inspiredme to take it up. Hiking amongst the stunning scenery of Snowdonia really gaveme the incentive to buy a good camera and try to capture it. Have you ever created a book before? No. I was approached by fotoVUE, my publisher, and after meeting them and hearing about the book concept it was too good an opportunity to miss. What makes North Wales a worthy subject for you? To be honest, this is a question I’m surprised anyone would ask. One trip here and it speaks for itself. I think the diversity

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