3434 9 November 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Photo Stories
ALL IMAGES © STEVE GOSLING
W
hen is a landscape
photographer not a
landscape photographer?
When they agree to go on
a safari to Botswana, in the hope of witnessing
some of the planet’s fi nest creatures, that’s
when. However, for Steve Gosling, while the
environment may have been entirely new to
him, his approach to making images ended
up changing very little from his usual approach.
‘I’m a great believer in working outside of your
comfort zone,’ he asserts. ‘And I was determined
to see the wildlife from my perspective.’
Spending three nights in three locations, he
stuck to his tried-and-tested approach of taking
only two or three images at a time. ‘I tried to
pre-visualise as I would with a landscape,’ he
explains. ‘I always ask myself what it is I’m
after, what I’m trying to say and what I need
to happen in order to communicate that.’
He knew he wanted the images he took to
end up either as framed prints or in a book,
so he shot with that in mind. Hence when
they encountered a cheetah that had killed an
impala, he took a few images for himself, but
knew they would never end up on somebody’s
wall. ‘The vision I had in mind affected what,
when and how I photographed,’ he says. ‘I
wasn’t sitting in the truck ticking off species.
Sometimes I saw things and was amazed,
but I didn’t always photograph them.’
Going with the fl ow
The nature of the environment they were in
meant there was little point in planning a shoot,
which Steve found freeing. He was in the hands
of the guides who were following the animal
tracks they spotted, and responding to the
radio communications from other guides in the
area. ‘It was way more reactive than usual,’ he
recalls, citing the example of the image he calls
The Last Lion (above right). ‘When we saw him,
our guide was trying to manoeuvre the truck
to get us in front of him. As we crossed behind
him, I saw him walking down the track and
knew that’s what I wanted to photograph –
almost as if to suggest it could be the last-ever
lion on the planet, and I deliberately chose my
framing and aperture to communicate that. I
did spend a lot of time photographing animals’
bums – it became a bit of a standing joke.’
One thing Steve wanted to do was include
a little more of the animals’ context and
environment, rather than simply fi ll the frame
and have little in the way of background.
‘A good example is the photograph of the
elephant’s trunk sticking out of the water,’
[below, far right] he says. ‘We were on the
water in a small boat and two young males
were playing. I couldn’t believe how mobile
and nimble they were – it was both humorous
and incredibly moving.’
Being unable to shift from his side of the
boat, and only having telephoto lenses on him,
meant he had to sit and wait. ‘Then, one of
the elephants went underwater and his trunk
popped up,’ he says. ‘I realised that was my
shot, and all I needed to capture to tell a story
about these creatures in the water.’Life in mono
It was always Steve’s intention to stay true to
his roots and process the images in black &
white. ‘For me,’ he says, ‘shooting in black &
white is about shape, texture, form and light,
whatever I’m photographing.’
The style of processing, however, came
about as the result of an experiment, and it
was only once he’d attempted a form of split
toning in Silver Efex Pro – with more blue in
the shadows and yellow in the highlights – that
he realised it would suit the body of work as
a whole, as did the increased contrast. Now,
it looks as if the fi nished project may result in
a book and exhibition at London’s Olympus
Gallery next year, so watch this space. As an
Olympus ambassador, Steve took three OM-D
E-M1 Mark II bodies with him, one with a
12-100mm lens, another with a 40-150mm
and the last with a 300mm f/4. The last of
these turned out to be his most-used lens on
the trip, while he reckons he only took one
image with the 12-100mm. By taking three
bodies, he didn’t need to change lenses at any
time and risk dust getting on the sensor. ‘I also
wanted to have three identical bodies so when
I swapped from one to the other I’d know
where the buttons were. Once I’d weighed
my kit, the rest of my allowance was clothing.’
He concludes, ‘Before I went to Antarctica
and South Georgia in 2016, I used to say, “If it
breathes, I don’t photograph it”, but that trip
broke me of that. And it’s now extended to
Botswana. Someone once told me I would
never be satisfi ed with one trip to Africa,
and I’d have to go back. They were right.’Animal instinct
When Steve Gosling booked a safari, he didn’t
have the usual in mind. He tells Ailsa McWhinnie
why colour was never going to work for him