NZPhotographer Issue 55, May 2022

Toe Toe Lines
Canon 6D, Canon EF 24-105mm lens @ F22, 1/15s, ISO50
In 2020, after much encouragement from a friend over
several years, I entered the NZIPP IRIS Awards for the first
time and came away with three bronze awards. In 2021
I entered again and was fortunate to attend the awards
in Nelson and came away with three bronze and a
silver award. ‘Toe Toe Lines’ is the first image where I
successfully incorporated ICM and in-camera multiple
exposures. It opened my eyes to the creative potential
of these techniques, which I am now exploring further.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR LANDSCAPE
PHOTOGRAPHY?
The first thing that helps is being familiar with your
equipment and tools; otherwise, it acts as a barrier
to creating the images you want to create. There’s
nothing worse than watching a sunrise and wanting
to capture the changing light only to fumble with your
camera settings and miss the shot. Once you have your
tools dialled, I think nothing beats spending time in the
landscape, observing the location, seeing what happens
there. Take time to notice how it feels and what grabs
your attention, and then start working with that.
HOW DO YOU CONTINUE TO PUSH YOURSELF
TO IMPROVE YOUR WORK?
I am inspired by other photographers and artists,
seeing and learning how they choose to respond to
and express feelings, thoughts and emotions in the
landscape and art. If I see an approach or technique
that resonates with me, I will see how I can integrate it
into my creative process. I also spend time looking at art
books and reading and visiting art galleries, all of which
help activate the creative cogs and keep me moving.
In recent years I have found that watching the judging
of the NZIPP IRIS Awards is extremely valuable and a
tremendous learning experience. Listening to the judges
discuss, agree and disagree about the merits of a
particular photograph is insightful, and you begin to see
and learn what actually makes a compelling image.
At the moment, I am captivated by the work of Valda
Bailey (https://valdabailey.com/). I love her abstract
and semi-abstract imagery. Michael Kenna (https://
www.michaelkenna.com/) is a firm favourite, as is
Ansel Adams. Guy Tal (https://guytal.com/) and David
duChemin (https://davidduchemin.com/) are my goto’s
for insight into the creative process and creative
encouragement when the muse is a little slow to
appear. Having studied art history, I am also inspired
by the work of Monet, Turner, Kandinsky, and van
Gogh.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PHOTO?
My favourite shot changes all the time depending on my
moods, what I am trying to achieve and what I am into at
the time, hour or minute! However, I think I could say that
I get great satisfaction and enjoyment from my Soulful
Squares series, which is ongoing. I love the balance of the
square format, the black and white treatment and the
focus on the more intimate details, reminding me to look
for the less obvious in the landscape.