Australian Camera – September-October 2019

astrayorbedamagedin thedrum

scanningprocess.

Todaycompilinga storyis so

mucheasier– ‘cut-and-paste’is a

quickclick-and-dragprocess,a spell

checkimmediatelyhighlightserrors,

andmakinga finalwordcounttakes

justseconds.

Printing

I’velostcountofthenumberof

inkjetprintersI’vereviewedin

thepagesofCameraandsister

people about. Now, so much of this
spectacular landscape and scenery
have become overly-commercialised
to a point where I prefer to seek out
secluded spots.
My photo journey began at
around age 21. No formal training
was involved, instead I learnt
the technicalities from books,
magazines, other photographers
and by simple trial-and-error. I
entered the realm of colour for
commercial reasons and, after
a brief flirtation with weddings
and a long association with
magazines and books, I settled
with landscapes because I felt that
was my “raison d’etre”.
I have never been a full-
time photographer. As a survey
draftsman I had a profession
providing regular income to pay the
bills and raise a family. Being a part-
time photographer and writer meant
I had the advantage of undertaking
the photo projects of my choice.
After marriage to a Kiwi, Anna,
we undertook many trips to New
Zealand, the longest occupying
four months of long-service leave
in a campervan with a one-year-old
daughter, 300 rolls of Kodachrome
and numerous rolls of 120 film.
Illustrated articles for Geo magazine
were then the prime motivation,
but stock agency photography also
played a significant role.
More often than not, it was
a caseofoneshotformeand
oneeachforagenciesin Sydney,
Melbourne,AucklandandMilan.
Thiswasaninvestmentroutine
basedonmyassessmentofwhat
mightbea saleableitem.Someof
it seemedratherordinary,suchas
a ‘jollysnap’fromthenorthside
oftheSydneyHarbourBridgethat
endedupin onemassivesale.Then
therewasanaverageclichéshotof
Uluruthatkeptonsellingforyears.
Altogether,a balancingactbetween
agencieswhowantedgeneric
illustrativepicturesandmypersonal
“arty”takeofthesubject.
ApartfromGeo, therewere
articlespublishedin Qantas’sin-
flightmagazine,Overlander(a 4WD
magazine),Outdoors,Horizon(NZ),
CreativePhotography(SouthAfrica)
andNature& Health, andevena
dozenorsoin Italianmagazines

via the photo agency in Milan.

After retirement in 1999 and

the surrender of an ABN, my

photography became a full-time

hobby where the need to effectively

illustrate or record a situation

for broader markets gave way to

concepts that were essentially

pursued for my own enjoyment.

Film To Digital

When digital camera and inkjet

printing reached an acceptable

quality and price point, most

photographers made the change

from film and the darkroom and

carried on. My turning-point

occurred when I had the use of a

Canon EOS-1D for a few weeks. I

ran parallel tests with my Pentax

6x7cm film gear, prepared an article

for Camera, and realised it was time

to embrace the new technology.

My darkroom, set up in our

house and fully equipped with a

several enlargers and a Jobo film

processor for E-6 chemistry, was

soon de-commissioned. In adopting

digital I was simply moving with the

times, well aware that my capacity

to ‘see’ a picture wasn’t going

to alter, just the means of image

capture and print production.

Familiarity with computers via my

employment ensured the change

was easy to make. Photoshop was

magic, as so much of what I’d done

in the darkroom could be accurately

achievedonscreenin thecomfort

ofthestudy.A fewofmyassociates

haveremainedwithfilmtothisday;

I respectthatapproachbecause

I knowtheyarecomfortableand

continuetoenjoywhattheydo.

ArticleSubmission

Inanerasometimesdescribedas

B.C.(i.e.BeforeComputers),my

articleswereinitiallyhand-written.

MyfirstarticlesforCameraCraft,

backin 1979,wereonseascapes

andE-6filmprocessing.

Ideasandparagraphswere

literallyjuggledviathe‘cut-and-

paste’methodintofinalorder.This

processcouldtakeseveralhours.

Everythingwasthentypedupon

foolscap-sizepaperwithdouble-

linespacingusingcarbonsheets

behindeachpageforthe‘carbon

copy’duplicate.Accompanying

illustrationswereblackandwhite

printson8x10-inchglossypaper

(imperialsizeshavealwaysbeen

usedfordarkroompapers)and/

ororiginaltransparencies.As

strictlyone-offitems,weallhoped

thetransparencieswouldnotgo

“My landscape

photography

journeys are

undertaken as a

personal challenge

• a kind of contest

betweenthe land

and the camera.”



Above: Punakaiki, New Zealand –
crashing waves in the surge pool
struck by low-level light at sunset.
Below: Stirling Falls, New Zealand –
mystic water play.

publicationProPhoto. Overthe

yearsI haveownedquitea

selectionofHP,CanonandEpson

modelsupto24-inchin format.

Theopportunitytofollowthe

advanceswithhands-onexperience

hasbeenthoroughlyenjoyable,

alongwithpreparationofthe

‘DigitalPrintMaker’seriesof

articlesthatwerea regularfeature

in thismagazineformanyyears.

I nowwonderif inkjettechnology

hasreacheda pointwherethe

onlyadvanceswillbeprice

reductionsandtheintroduction

ofbulk,highlypermanentinksfor

prosumer-levelprinters.

ThesedaysI limitmyprinting

toA2displayprintsandD-I-Y

photobooksusinganEpson

StylusPro 3880 anda Canon

imagePROGRAFPro-1000.There’s

noparticularfavouritehere,asthey

arebothfineprinters.

Landscaping

Mytechnicaladviceforthose

lookingtoenterthelandscape

Brachina Gorge face –

haunting faces in trees.

CAMERA 4O

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