Tuesday 14 April 2009

The Photos that bring Tourists to Britain


103 - Bank Holiday Beach, originally uploaded by North Light.

I've just watched a short film on the BBC News website, "The men who photograph Britain, about two of the most respected British landscape photographers, and how their photographs are bringing people from abroad to the UK to holiday, excellent, exactly what I'm trying to do with my own photography, but my focus is on the north of Scotland.
An interesting short film, and I'm glad that their work is being appreciated outside the UK and that the value of photography is being understood, but I do have a complaint , the last part of the film, describes the two photographers as using "Victorian Technology", and "artists who have stuck with traditional film to keep the details of our landscape true". Er, well, the technology they are using might have been developed from "Victorian Technology", but I would argue that so is digital photography, what winds me up most though is the idea that to present a landscape in a way that is true. The suggestion that you have to use film to portray a landscape in it's true form is not correct, it's a bit like the wonderful old statement, "The Camera Doesn't Lie".
These are two outstanding photographers, who use large format film cameras because of the resolution they offer, and the "Movements" that allow you alter depth of focus and perspective, can you do the same with digital technology, yes of course you can, but the cost of a full frame digital back for a 5" x 4" plate camera is huge, and only designed for studio work, so at the moment the most practical technology is still film if you want to use large format cameras on location.
Having got that off my chest, do look at the work of these two guys, Joe Cornish and David Ward, I would list them amongst the most influential British photographers in my own work, and in my opinion amongst the finest living landscape photographers.

Now how do I get more publicity for my images and the far north of Scotland?

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