Last week I went to listen to a well-known English landscape photographer, Charlie Waite, give a talk. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect; it was in a theatre and so although I knew he’d be showing his work I wasn’t sure how technical the material might be.
He started with a little philosophy, a really interesting snippet about Ansel Adams; did you know that he only expected to take 12 great images a year in the camera? I get so used to seeing his work condensed into books that I tend to forget that he must have had his off days too!
I love listening to other photographers in my field talk; I like hearing about their successes and their frustrations, in fact, I’m always charmed when they humbly confess that they’ve had those days where they’ve struggled to make anything work, weeks spent abroad praying to find that one moment that makes their time away worthwhile.
As we looked through his photos, me making notes from time to time in my beautiful new notebook, I came to realise how similar we all are in the way we connect with the environment, and how special that connection with the universe is for us even though we all work slightly differently.
Someone asked me the other day what is it that you feel when you are taking the photo and the emotion afterwards? I wish I could say I gave a polished answer, but I fumbled around with words trying to explain what it is that it does for me; unfortunately for them, I fell short of what they expected me to say, as they tried to put it into their own words. “It makes you feel like this….?” Well no not really it doesn’t.
It’s a tough gig to explain to one person let alone a theatre full of people what images mean to you, and I couldn’t help but notice that when we got to the really personal photos; images where Charlie had clearly felt an intense connection in the moment between him and the universe that took his breath away, he too was fumbling around for the words to convey the importance.
Now let’s get to the things we really want to know about when we talk to fellow photographers. When car enthusiasts get together they can talk for hours about horsepower and pistons, horse owners talk about hands; we all have our own language; so half the excitement for me was what camera does this professional photographer use?
Would it be a large format camera to capture those big landscapes? Would it be a top of the range Canon or Nikon? No! A Panasonic Lumix; I was in ecstasy when Charlie started extolling the virtue of compact cameras, granted with interchangeable lenses. Since converting to digital a few years ago I’ve not actually upgraded from a compact, I’m still having a love affair with them; they are so flexible and so discreet to carry.
And just between you and me; a couple of weekends ago I could be found in an electrical store chatting with a shop assistant saying, “Eee, a few years ago 35mm cameras just took a plain old photo now look at what smaller digital cameras can do!”
I love going to talks and leaving inspired, and this weekend I did find myself trying to include some of the tips Charlie had given into my work. I love it when I come out more inspired then when I went in; I also do a bit of homework and observe their presentation skills and I take away what worked for me to put into my own talks and workshops. Most of all, I love being in a room full of people who share the same passion.
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Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.
Hi Ruth,
I read this with great interest – as I do with all your posts I have to say – anyone reading this should back track and discover Ruth’s journey in setting up her business – it’s quite refreshing that we all in some way experience similar footsteps along the way.
Charlie Waite is a fabulous and endearing man – in fact a proper Gentleman – Greg and I have met him on several occasions, have read articles he has written too, travelled to exhibitions he’s involved with and supports, and devoured videos he’s produced as well. He keeps it real, is very humble and most importantly of all, enjoys his genre.
For us, he has an amazing eye, and that is I feel something we should all remember – yes to have nice professional equipment is one thing, but your eye creates and hones the emotion within the shot captured.
For me there has to be emotion which promotes and sometimes provokes emotional impact, coupled with your own originality, and yes the skill in working with what you have. I would rather produce 12 images that do that, than 200 images that fall short, that we can try to explain why we composed it like we did, or waited all day to get the light just right, or just because it spoke to us in an intense way – the end result we hope is something beautiful, something which says ‘just enjoy me and lose yourself for a moment’.
We do have a full professional kit of camera bodies and lenses (Nikon), but we also carry smaller compacts with interchangeable lenses too – every photographer should I feel. And we have been incredibly impressed with the Olympus PEN and the results we’ve achieved with it.
I would say to anyone don’t beat yourself up about your kit contents, just go out and use what you have, and if your heart has a moment – capture what you see.
Regards,
Mary Ashford,
Ashford Daly Photography
Hi Mary,
Thank you for your kind words; it’s funny as I was driving home from the talk, ‘a proper gentleman’ were the words that came to mind. I was pondering about how gentle and humble Charlie is and how gentle most photographers seem to be, particularly the landscape ones I’ve met.
I love this quote ‘I would say to anyone don’t beat yourself up about your kit contents, just go out and use what you have, and if your heart has a moment – capture what you see’
Thank you!