It’s not often that I find a photographer who’s photographs inspire me to shoot in black and white and have such a depth and emotion to them. Donald’s unique vision and sheer enthusiasm for monotone is displayed beautifully in his photography and I was thrilled when he agreed to answer my questions about his passion for photography and what inspires him to take the stunning photos that are displayed on his website…
Firstly can you please tell me a bit about yourself and how you got started in photography?
I’m aged 27, based in Perth, Scotland and my work focuses on the landscape and seascapes that surround me. I’ve been actively involved in photography for around 2 years, although I’ve had a passing interest in photographs for a number of years. This interest turned into a passion after seeing a BBC drama called “Shooting The Past”, about a vast photographic library which was being closed down, and the staff’s attempts to save it by telling some of the amazing stories behind the photographs. It stuck me how powerful photographs can be, and inspired by that I bought my first SLR camera so I could begin creating my own works.
As your website name suggests, most of your photos are shot in black and white, can you explain why you choose this technique over colour photography?
There’s a great quote by Mark Twain; “you can’t depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus”. I use black and white to take myself and the viewer away from reality, I like to think it can lead the imagination into places beyond what the eye can see. I find it more interesting to work with as it allows for more creative license and experimentation in shooting and post-processing than I might have with colour images. Also I’m often out shooting in locations where you won’t meet anyone else at all, in some ways there’s a sense of bleakness and isolation in regularly experiencing that, and I think black and white helps continue that feeling into the image.
I notice that many of your photos are shot using slow shutter speeds, can you please talk through the process, settings and equipment you use to capture these images?
Yes I use long exposures a lot as it compliments black and white very well, often producing a soft ethereal atmosphere that I find appealing, and again helps take you away from the reality of the scene. The basic principle for shooting a long exposure is to reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor, which can be done by setting a low ISO, slow shutter speed and small aperture (ie. f/16). To further reduce the incoming light I also use various neutral density filters from ND8 through to ND110, with the high number filters allowing for longer exposures.
Is there a location in Scotland that you have not yet photographed that is on your agenda?
Absolutely, I’ve not been doing this too long so there are many locations I’ve yet to explore. My main interest is in the coastline, and until now have concentrated on locations closest to home, but eventually I hope to have photographed around the entire coast of Scotland. One of the great things about taking up photography is that it’s led me to visit so many fantastic locations in my own country that I’d never have discovered otherwise, so it really helps you connect with the place you live.
Looking further afield, is there anywhere in the world that you would particularly like to visit to photograph?
I think it’s right that I fully explore what my own country has to offer before doing too much travelling abroad. Having said that, Iceland is a place I’m keen to visit, it looks a spectacular place to photograph. I’m planning trips to the south coast of England and then across to Ireland this summer, as these are places I have fond childhood holiday memories of but have yet to explore with the camera.
If you could give 3 pieces of advice to someone starting out in photography or looking for inspiration, what would they be?
Firstly, don’t worry about having the latest or most fancy equipment. Any camera will do, just get out taking photographs and find out what type of subject inspires you. Returning home with a great shot is all the inspiration you need to keep shooting. If you get too bogged down with settings and equipment early on it can get overwhelming and the motivation can fall away before you’ve really got going.
Secondly, read books, magazines and websites for advice and ideas. Step-by-step guides are really useful when you’re starting out as they’re usually written in plain English and you can learn a lot very quickly.
Thirdly, join and upload your images to a photography community site such as Flickr, DeviantART or Redbubble. You’ll get valuable feedback on your work, critiques (if you ask for them) and it’s a great confidence boost when people leave positive comments. Viewing and commenting on other people’s images will also give you ideas and draw you further into photography.
Is photography your livelihood or do you have a ‘day job’?
It’s a bit of both. I’ve been self-employed for several years but I’m now at the starting point of concentrating on photography full-time. It’s a scary road to go down and a very difficult way to try and make a living, but spending my days doing something I’m passionate about is all I could really ask for, so I feel it’s worth taking the chance.
Which photographers inspire you?
As with most black and white landscape photographers the obvious answer is Ansel Adams. He pushed boundaries in composition and processing that now seem commonplace, and took landscape photography onto another level of artform. What most interested me about his work was the heavy use of dodging and burning in the darkroom, to create high contrast areas in his images. I follow the same dodging/burning techniques, the main difference being that nowadays this is done in Photoshop rather than the traditional darkroom.
Whats in your camera bag?
I carry as little as possible as I don’t like lugging around a lot of equipment. On a landscape/seascape shoot I’ll have a digital SLR and just a couple of lenses. For now my preference is the Canon 40D, I’ve used better SLR’s but the Liveview on-screen composition facility makes this a great camera for shooting landscapes. With that I’ll take a Canon 17-40mm f4L or 17-85mm f4, and 70-200mm f2.8L, which covers most wide angle and zoom options. The 70-200 is an amazing lens and at certain times recently I’ve been forcing myself to use just this one, as it makes you consider the composition of a landscape/seascape shot more carefully than you might do with a wide lens.
What’s the most important piece of equipment in your camera bag?
As mentioned previously, ND filters are key for shooting long exposures so aside from the camera itself they’re certainly the most useful items in my bag.
Do you have a favourite location that keeps you coming back for more photos?
I enjoy any visit to the coast, a lungful of fresh sea air and just the ocean for company really beats sitting at a desk anyday! Specifically though, there is a wonderful beach at Auchmithie on the East Coast of Scotland that I keep returning to. From a coastal photography perspective it’s got everything – a stunning pebbled beach, dramatic cliffs, caves and an old harbour amongst other things. I used to grow up nearby so returning here and hearing the waves lapping against the pebbles brings back a lot of childhood memories.
Can you describe your photography in 3 words?
Dark, ethereal, isolation
If/when you have inspiration blocks, how do you overcome these?
I wouldn’t say this happens to me a great deal as I rarely plan in great detail what or where I’m going to be shooting. Photographing outdoors in Scotland is very unpredictable in terms of weather and lighting, so that I prefer to just work with the conditions as I find them. Whatever location I end up in I’ll always find something which catches the eye, and I find the coast constantly inspiring so I’m rarely out of ideas. As I don’t plan shoots in great detail there’s always an element of surprise, and sometimes the best shots are the ones you least expect.
What post processing software do you use, do you have a set process to ‘touch up’ your shots?
As all my work is digital, I use Photoshop to process my images. I shoot mainly in colour and then convert to black and white, as I find the in-camera black and white modes produce less appealing results. There’s no set process or great secret to the images, the processing mainly comes from desaturating, adjusting levels and then dodging/burning selective areas of the image to bring out contrast. Much like how I shoot, I don’t plan the processing too much as I prefer to just work on each image and see how it unfolds.
If you had to pick 3 of your photographs to showcase your work, which would you choose?
I chose these as they represent the style of image I tend to produce, and are 3 of my personal favourites.
How often do you venture out on ’shoots’, how long will you typically spend on a shoot and how many shots would you expect to get from the session?
I venture out a couple of times each week, and tend to spend a full day shooting in various places around a particular area. When shooting long exposures I don’t often come back with a lot of images, and certainly I take less images now than when I started as I have more experience to know when I’ve got the shot. A full day shoot will result in perhaps 30-40 images at various exposure lengths, and from that I’d narrow it down to 2 or 3 of the best ones to work on.
What is your opinion on HDR photography as this appears to be a ‘hot topic’ for debate in most online forums?
I think HDR can be incredibly effective but it’s also very difficult to get right. I tried it a few times but the results weren’t to my tastes, so it’s not a subject I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know better. However, by far the best example of HDR I’ve come across is by Zsolt Zsigmond (RealityDream) whose landscape work is truly incredible, he shows that HDR is not only a legitimate form of photography but in the right hands can also be dramatic and inspirational - http://realitydream.extra.hu
Do you ever try your hand at other genres of photography such as portrait or candid?
Seascape photography is my strongest field and is what I have a real passion for, so I mostly stay within that genre. Occasionally I have done a portrait shoot on request, but I would try and work the land or sea into that so it stays broadly within my genre.
Where would you like to see your photography in 5 years (aspirations, exhibitions etc).
I have had work in a couple of galleries to date and one of my aims is to be represented in further galleries over the next few years. I also write poetry and one of my other main ambitions is to have a first book of my work published, combining the poetry along with my images.
Finally, feel free to plug your website and your photography!
Thanks, my website address is Monophotography.co.uk . As well as the image galleries, on the Bio page of the site you can view a seascape slideshow of my images set to music.
A massive thank you to Donald for taking the time to answer my questions. I cant recommend his website and photography highly enough, cheers Donald!! ;0)
Please note – ALL image contained in this article are the sole property of Donald Cameron.
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