Outdoor Photography

40 Outdoor Photography February 2018

Nick Smith: How did you get started?

Ruth Fairbrother: Like everybody, I’ve

always taken holiday snaps. I got my

fi rst compact digital camera a decade

ago. At the time I was living on a

farm, without much outlet for self-

expression, so photography came as

a bit of an escape. I then started going

on workshops given by Steve Gosling.

NS: What eff ect did the workshops

have on your photography?

RF: I was apprehensive about going

on a workshop with a compact camera

and not really knowing anything, but

I thought I’d wing it. Steve showed me

things that I’d not come across, such

as intentional camera movement and

other creative techniques. It totally

suited my way of working and from

there I just took off.

NS: Is it true that 10 years later you

still have minimal gear?

RF: Yes, I like to travel light and I’m

allergic to tripods. Although I did

some night classes on post-processing

and stuff like that, I’m not driven

by technical knowledge and I’m

not into gear. I’m more motivated

by the creative and artistic side of

photography. If I could paint, I’d paint.

NS: So what was it about photography?

RF: On the farm I had little time to

myself and photography seemed to

be something that I could combine

relatively easily with farm life. I’m

also very keen on gardening and

am interested in various plant

combinations, so it was a way of

bringing this all together.

NS: And this expresses itself in quite

an abstract way...

Ruth Fairbrother is a Yorkshire-based abstract photographer with an unconventional

approach. Her creative dreamscapes are all about capturing the spirit and emotion

of a place, using a minimal amount of equipment. Nick Smith puts her in the spotlight

Above

Harris Dreams.

Autumn, Isle

of Harris, Outer

Hebrides.

Olympus OM-D

E-M5 with 40-

150mm lens at

40mm, ISO 200,

1/1250sec at f/4.5

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Ruth Fairbrother

40-41 In the spotlight_227_SW.indd 40 18/12/2017 15:13