Blog on Photoblogs

Being partial to landscape photography, its my honour to have had a chance to talk to Tristan Campbell about his great landscape word, and his blog. For more images, be sure to check out Tristan’s blog at Absolutely Nothing.

BOPB: How did you get started in photography and when did your photography get more serious?

Tristan: Rather predictably photography has been an interest from a very young age but I started to get seriously into it from about the age of 15. My grandfather was a very talented amateur photographer so I didn’t need to look far for encouragement or inspiration.

However photography always came second to drawing and painting which was, and in a way still is, my real passion. In my late teens I got a job working in a newspaper darkroom where I learned how to develop and print my own films. At this point photography began to overtake painting as my primary interest. Having full control over the process allowed for lots of experimentation and I also learned a huge amount from some of the press photographers.

BOPB: What was your first camera? What camera are you currently using.

Tristan: My first SLR camera was a Praktica with a 50mm lens, which I got when I was about 10 years old. In my late teens I bought an EOS 5 film camera which is an absolutely fantastic camera and still gets occasional use today. I went digital in 2003 with a Canon 10D and in 2006 upgraded to the 5D which is just brilliant. However I often return to film for black and white, infra-red and recently I’ve been experimenting with a 5×4” sheet film camera.

BOPB: The obligatory gear question – can you tell us what’s currently in your camera bag, and what single piece of equipment you couldn’t live without?

Tristan:
*Digital:*
Canon EOS 5D
Canon 17-40 f/4
Canon 70-200 f/4

*Film:*
EOS 5, EOS 1N
Ebony RSW 5×4” field camera
Nikon 65mm f/4 (approximately a 20mm lens in 35mm terms)

*Other things:*
Gitzo tripod
Lee ND grads & polarizer
Cable release
Light meter
Film (Portra VC, T-MAX 100 and Delta 100).
Hat and gloves

The one piece of gear I couldn’t be without just has to be my tripod. Recently I forgot to take it out on a pre-dawn excursion and despite the promising conditions I went home.

BOPB: What drew you to landscape photography?

Tristan: I love vast empty spaces, unpredictable weather, the play of light on the land and endless combinations of tones and colours. Hiking, camping and exploring the moors or coastline are a great contrast to working at the computer and for me there is just nothing more inspiring than being out in the middle of nowhere all on your own to witness it.

BOPB: Your images have what I can only describe as a “surreal” effect to them. How much of that feeling is created in camera and how much of it is achieved via post-processing?

Tristan: I always aim to get as much as possible done in camera but there is usually some Photoshop processing on my images. 95% of the time this is simply a little bit of selective dodging and burning to make any grad lines less obvious and perhaps give more emphasis to a particular area of the image through adjusting the brightness and contrast.

In Photoshop I very much approach each image as I would in a traditional darkroom.

Recently I have started to look at blending exposures and if I can master the technique then in the future I may use this method of controlling the exposure more often. I’m always breaking or scratching filters which are expensive to replace.

BOPB: Every type of photography has it own unique challenges, which challenges standout for you when taking landscape images.

Tristan: Personally I find my biggest challenge with landscape photography is simply getting enough time out there taking photographs due to the time constraints of having a very young family. Landscape photography requires patience, dedication and persistence.

Both the weather and time of day are extremely important so I try to keep an eye out for interesting weather, which for me usually means unsettled and unpredictable. I head out very early or late in the day to catch the most interesting light, which often means trekking across the moors or through forests in total darkness in order be at the location at the right time. In the last year I’ve found myself half way up mountains ready to catch a 4am dawn and also endured freezing nights, so cold that ice was forming inside the tent. I’ve also had pleurisy, probably from being out in adverse conditions for too long!

There is always something new to discover in the landscape no matter what the weather - you just have to see it.

BOPB: Are there any photographers/artists out there that influence your work?

Tristan: My grandfather has to be my biggest influence but also a number of painters that I studied at school such as Constable, Turner, Jacob Van Ruisedale and Salvador Dali to name just a few.

BOPB: If there was one piece of advice that you could give a photographer who is considering starting up a photoblog, what would it be?

Tristan: Setting the goal of updating your website daily can really force you to push yourself creatively. Though I don’t update daily anymore, I found my photography really improved quickly when I started out doing so. Also photograph what inspires you most, because being passionate about your subject matter will really shine through in your images.

BOPB: What platform is your photoblog currently running on (i.e. pixel post, wordpress, etc.)

Tristan: My photoblog is not running on any known system as it was custom built from scratch by myself.

BOPB: I have been doing a lot of research around the feasibility of monetizing a photoblog. Without giving us any numbers how successful have you been selling images via your photoblog?

Tristan: Only recently have I started to offer images for sale as prints and luckily I have had a good response so far. Sales are currently doing better than I anticipated which I think this is due to having a large throughput of traffic on the site and also recent offline publicity for an exhibition I held of my photographs which generated a lot of local interest.

BOPB: Do you print your own work, or do you use a lab?

Tristan: From my personal experience of home printers they are expensive to run and can be inconsistent. Perhaps I’ve just not used a good modern desktop printer but I always get my images printed at a professional lab. The results are consistent and I always get the highest quality print without having to invest a large amount of money in a printer, paper and inks.

BOPB: Where do you see your photoblog in say 3-5 years?

Hopefully I will have got around to redesigning it by then - something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while now. The subject matter will almost certainly stay consistent but hopefully my photography will have evolved somewhat.

In the shorter term I have lots of plans for my recent exhibition website – Light and Darkness – which will involve the work of some exceptional landscape photographers. Hopefully this will be up and running by the end of the year.

Tags:   photoblog profile · Tristan Campbell3 Comments

Related posts:

• No related posts