Archives › 2011 › December
In this issue we talk to Peter Clark – a photographer from Staffordshire who, in my opinion at least, had the best image in this years Take a View competition (The Landscape Photographer of the Year). We asked him the typical questions. In most photographers lives there are ‘epiphanic’ moments where things become clear, or [...]
Our first book reviewed here is The International Garden Photographer of the Year, the catalogue to the annual exhibition held at The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. The competition which specialises in plant, flower and botanical photography showcases the hugely diverse skills of today’s ‘garden’ photographers and the natural spaces which inspire them. The book, well [...]
The second book is from the Czech photographer Josef Sudek. Born in 1896 in Kolin, Bohemia, he initially trained as a book-binder before being drafted into the Hungarian Army. Whilst serving on the Italian Front his right arm was severely wounded and eventually had to be amputated. It was during his convalescence in hospital that [...]
Planning When I first considered running this test I figured it would be quite hard work and would take a few days to complete. Little did I know I would end up spending around a hundred man hours completing it. The test started as a reaction to a few articles comparing digital with film over [...]
Joe Cornish Having been involved in the testing process I was a little nervous whether our ‘work’ in the field and studio would stand up to close scrutiny. Previous internet-published tests often seem to have a hidden agenda, (possibly to prove that the tester is right having invested in a particular digital workflow!). As a [...]
This test originally came about as a response to a previous test on Luminous Landscape. Although the test below stands alone, you may wish to read the previous test and our response to it. If you do, please visit the luminous landscape page IQ180 vs 8×10 and the follow up posted in ‘On Landscape’ here. [...]
The teachers of my youth were seemingly embalmed in cheap tweed jackets with leather elbow patches, lightly coated in chalk dust, and masters of the withering stare – often closely followed by a well aimed chalk duster. Intimidation and coercion were their preferred methods for motivating their students. They singularly failed as role models, giving [...]
Andrew Nadolski’s ‘End of the Land’ represented a watershed for many photographers in its discovery of a unique beauty in a small beach in Cornwall. For me, it showed me my first glimpse of an alternative style of photography, both in terms of composition and palette. Andrew visited in October and we recorded an interview where [...]
It is likely that everyone reading this article derives some joy from photographic images of the natural landscape and from the practice of photography. If my decidedly un-scientific observations are any indication, it’s also likely that most of you have found your way to this genre of photography through the appreciation of natural beauty that [...]
It’s easy to get hung up on weather forecasts. I admit, I’ve been guilty of putting too much emphasis on predictions of cloud cover, visibility and precipitation that may or may not come true. Making the most of what you are given is part and parcel of landscape photography and it’s something I am only [...]
A few days ago I received a very kind email from a client who attended my recent photographic tour to Torridon. Having thoroughly enjoyed the five day workshop he made a comment that finally helped me answer a question I have been asking myself for some considerable time. Why photography? For those of you who [...]
It has come to my attention over the last few years that many landscape photographers have begun to shun a very good friend of mine – the black pixel. I’d like to take the opportunity to spend a little time discussing the steady decline in the use of deep shadow in digital photography and post-processing.
Paul Moon’s article about the inclusion of areas of black in an image got me thinking about another pet peeve of mine and I was hoping to share it with you. Paul touched on this in his article when considering the balance of light in a picture and talked about the over bright foreground found [...]