Since I first bought my current DSLR my main focus has been on wildlife photography; birds and bugs mostly I guess. There are a few reasons for this, which I’ll come to shortly, but over the last few months I’ve come to a realisation. I’m not sure why I didn’t pick up on it before, but for someone like me who’s no more than a hobbyist, wildlife photography is possibly one of the most difficult areas of photography, in my humble and no doubt ill-informed opinion; it’s certainly one of the most difficult to get consistently right. There are just too many variables which are beyond the photographer’s control, especially when you consider that shooting wildlife is largely an opportunistic pursuit. Too much of it is about luck – just happening to be in the right place at the right time – and there’s not enough that you can plan. Of course, professionals would no doubt disagree with me, but this is what I’ve found.
I guess one of the reasons for my initial and ongoing leaning towards shooting wildlife has been that it’s kind of on my doorstep. I’m lucky enough to live in a small Georgian market town in Worcestershire, my living room looks out over the mighty River Severn, and the beautiful Wyre Forest is just 15 minutes away by foot. It’s very quick and easy to find myself a spot where there’s any number of birds, mammals and countless other critters surrounding me, if I’m both stealthy and patient enough… and lucky. The second reason is that I’ve always had an interest, and photography has been less about capturing a great image and more about being able to get closer to the subject. I love wildlife and the natural world, and to get a great shot of stonechat or a redstart, or even a banded demoiselle, is to get a closer look, to study and examine in fine detail; something you’d rarely be able to do without the aid of a camera.
But (and here’s the rub) I’ve come to the realisation that in terms of the shots that I’ve taken, wildlife photography is always a bit hit and miss. Given my mediocre talents, I can never get that really awesome shot with tack-sharp focus and perfect composition and lighting, or if I do it’s been down to good fortune rather than good judgement. But I’m not disheartened by this epiphany at all. I still enjoy it, and I can still get a decent shot now and then.
However, lately I’ve come round to the idea that my real interest in photography lies elsewhere. I want to be more thoughtful about lighting and composition. I want to be thinking about things like the rule of thirds and the golden ratio, the golden hour and the blue hour. I want to take shots that are beautiful, rather than just documentary… poetry rather than prose, if you like.
Project 1: Landscape
Just so that it’s clear, I’m not referring to the orientation of the image, but the subject. More and more I feel an urge to be taking photographs of beautiful scenes in far-flung places. Well, the far-flung places will have to wait for the time being thanks to lockdown, yet the inclination and appetite remain. I have a few places in mind that I’d like to start with, which aren’t so far-flung, but are no less beautiful or arresting for it (I’ll come back to these in another post).
Project 1 therefore, is pretty simple: I’m setting myself a modest target of taking a series of six landscape photos, they could be of the natural landscape or man-made/architectural. I’m not imposing a timescale on this project, mostly because freedom is obviously limited at the moment, as at the time of writing we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic. Anyway, the point is, in capturing these scenes I don’t want to be just firing off a whole bunch of shots because it’s all digital and therefore it’s all free, I want the photographs that I take to be considered, and I want to be careful and thoughtful about them. Which leads me rather neatly on to Project 2.
Project 2: Film
Yep… film. I really, really want to try shooting film again, after all these years! My first film SLR was a 35mm Praktica MTL 50, which I bought back in college, when Methuselah was still on Farley’s Rusks. I was studying photography as part of my art A-level, and we were developing our own negatives and exposing our own prints, I mean it was so much fun. I continued using the MTL 50 for years afterwards, and got a lot out of it; I felt like I knew the camera inside out. However, I gradually got into more compact cameras, which were just a lot more convenient, and then eventually digital cameras started to become a thing, and well… you know how it goes.
But recently I’ve been following a couple of professional photographers on YouTube, one of whom is primarily a digital photographer who’s started to dabble in film photography of late, and the other who shoots in film almost exclusively. And I’ve really got the bug… I mean really, and not only that, I’m dead set on switching up and trying out medium format, too. I’m desperate to get my grubby little paws on a Bronica or a Rolleiflex… or maybe a cheeky little Mamiya. What I’d really love however, is a Hasselblad. So if anyone’s stuck for ideas of what to get me for my birthday, a Hasselblad would be much appreciated, thanks very much. Of course none of these are cheap, no siree Bob, especially the latter two, but I’m pretty determined. And hey, I’ve been saving all this money during lockdown, by not having to commute to work and back every day, what else am I going to spend it on? Answer me that!
Any-hoo… at the moment there’s no particular substance to this project, I’m kind of just spit-balling really. I have to get the camera first, and I think there’ll need to be a period of familiarisation and experimentation but once I’ve got the kit, and I’m feeling comfortable enough using it, I’ll elucidate. Maybe projects 1 and 2 could combine, who knows? I’ll keep you posted.