Joe Cornish spent some time talking about a set of pictures taken on one of his favourite trips from the Scotland’s Mountains work and which produced one of his favourite photograph (when this video was recorded anyway) and one of mine.
Lairig Ghru - Winter Dawn
Devil's Point - Dawn
Devil's Point - On the way out..
Wow what an adventure you had going into the wilds, it sounds as though this kind of experience really gets to the centre of your soul. It reminds me of a film I saw recently about this guy that heads into Alaska (Into the Wild) if you haven’t seen it I’m sure you would empathize with the protagonist’s motivations… Anyway back to photography. In the second image you talk about, I’m wondering why you chose to compose the shot as a landscape and I wonder if you considered a portrait whilst there. I can see you were interested in the shape and undulating curve of the river, but for me anyway the Devils Point feels a little out of balance. I can see that you would have lost some of the flow and shape in the river by changing the composition and you may have been more interested in the way it flows out of the shot marinating strong diagonals, but I’m just wondering if you considered pushing a little over to the right? Anyway, a very interesting video and its wonderful to gain insights to the experiences around the images, cheers Joe and Tim…
Cant fault the pictures at all. Very interesting to hear the commentary about how they were created.
It’s worth putting a mic on Tim as well if possible as it’s often difficult to hear his comments.
No problem Andrew – I’ll look at getting a second mic.
Despite the glitches, another fascinating film, which provides a nice complement to the earlier Cairngorms video, as well as a further reminder of the relatively unexplored photographic potential of those magnificent mountains.
I especially like the first and last images. I’m amazed the final one didn’t make it into the book. Joe can be proud of all of them; they provide just reward for the effort and committment inherent in visiting such a remote location in winter conditions. From listening to the way Joe speaks about it, it sounds like its grandeur has left a lasting impression on him!
(By the way, re. the video, I prefer the other format whereby the videos can be donwloaded and saved.)
Doug.
Hi Doug – I will be adding the downloadable video but have to work out how to do so on my new video server 
EmDashMan
Hi Tim, I can’t view these videos for some reason (Safari 5.0.3 on my MacBook Pro, running OS X 10.6.6). I could view the video on dealing with haze/contrast OK. Martin
What happens? Both videos are served the same way so something wierd is going on – Can you see the player and if so can you describe what happens when you press play?
I have the same problem as EmDashMan..
The videos just don’t show at all, had no problems in the past…
I’m using mozilla firefox 4 beta, but also tried explorer with no luck.
Joe Rainbow
I have just watched and thoroughly enjoyed the video without any hitches at all. They are always the highlight of each issue to be honest. I found the first image grew on me the most whilst watching. I could see the potential for a vertical comp there too, but thought the top left mountain would be lost. The last image is interesting, in that it does feel quite claustrophobic, despite the great expanse of space. The composition worked for me on some levels, but I found it uneasy for some reason. Most likely just me. Anyway, the gems of personal experience Joe shares with us really come across as genuine and natural, inspiring me to get out there’.
Tim, it is so true what you say about Flickr streams. Very easy to just shuffle through a lot of images without digesting and allowing to grow.
Jason, I have also seen into the wild, and it struck a chord with me too. That pristine, escapist, self exploration/ inner journey came across in Joe’s first shot. Love all of the video series.
I watched this yesterday and had to rush out before I could leave a comment. I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and this, combined with the other Cairngorm video, has inspired me to start planning a trip up into the area either later this year or next year.
There’s some excellent commentary and some interesting insights into not only the environment, but also the process of understanding what works and what doesn’t quite work – and, more importantly, why.
I have to say though, I was quite surprised not to see the second image made into a vertical comp, framed with the river’s curve on the left and the gully leading up from the bothy to the right hand edge and back around. Even then, I’m not sure it would have been a match for the high standards you set with the first.
stevefrance
beautiful place…
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork
jennym
I also found it interesting to hear Joe comparing these three images, and also very helpful to hear his approach to capturing the scene in highly challenging conditions. I saw the first pre-dawn image at his ‘Wild Stillness’ exhibition and found it totally captivating. It is rare to find an image that truly transports you to another place. I love the sense of mystery, isolation, and space, and the way the mountain glimpsed through the cloud lit pink by the dawn light beckons you into the image with an invitation to explore, to discover what lies beyond. Very tempting!
As a film user it was interesting to see how much he chose to desaturate the familiar blues and pinks of dawn shot on Velvia 50. I wonder how the final print would have compared to a print on cibachrome in the ‘pre-digital’ age.
Robinj
I just want to say thank you for another superb issue. This video is excellent as have been the previous ones. You have broken the mould for the format of special interest photographic journalism. Free from equipment advertising, the spirit,aesthetics,motivation and shear pleasure of landscape photography shines through.Technique for Arts sake.
Really enjoyed the video, an excellent addition to your magazine. I found it interesting to see how even a seasoned professional like Joe was still strongly attached to images because of the memory/experience around making them, and not just for the pure aesthetics of the final print. Reassuring in a way for learning amateurs such as myself to see that it’s not necessarily wrong to think like that.
Wonderful video, thanks for showing it. Two things struck me regarding the first image: first the de-saturation. Having seen the thumbnail I thought “wow what a beauty“ and was more than happy with it. The sense of isolation, intense cold, very welcome warm sunlight on top and of course the considered yet simple composition all came across very strongly. Then Joe showed the saturated original and the wow factor hit even harder. But, if that had been the only version shown would it stick in my memory? Do very strong colours like that, even though they are really “as is” rather than “as seen”, seem OTT and so the image fades from memory as being “over-done”??
Secondly, the black patches that Joe refers to: I am not at all distracted by them, they are a totally natural and even expected factor in any snow-scape which includes steep drops, so need to worry about them.
Fianlly yes yes yes – the images which require not just physical but emotional investment shine through (when well executed!!) and inspirational discussions such as these videos will surely help us to achieve this aim.Rgds, Adam
