subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 3 August 2019 27
SamirBelhamrais a photographerandimageeditorbasedin theSouthof France.Hiscreationsaremadethroughhisownphotographyandstockimages,andhebuildshisvisionsand
landscapes using editing software such as Lightroom and Photoshop. Find out more at http://www.grafi xartphoto.com or follow him on Instagram @Grafi xart_photo.
What is your favourite image from
your collection?
The Moai head is one of my best creations
and is actually my personal favourite. It’s
my most viral post, and I also put lot of
eff ort into creating it.
Who are your biggest infl uences?
Finnish photographer Mikko Lagerstedt,
Russian photographer Daniel Kordan and
Dutch photographer Max Rive are all big
infl uences. Their work also uses a heavy
and stylised editing style. The fi rst time
I saw Mikko Lagerstedt’s pictures,
I swear I wanted to become the French
Mikko Lagerstedt! Even now I look at his
page every week; he’s such a big inspiration.
What motivates you to shoot?
I love that photography and editing gives
us the ability to show what the eyes cannot
see Ð things like the Milky Way, long
exposure times, just to name a couple of
examples. But mostly I love to go outdoors,
discover places, meet new people and get
back to nature.Your images show lots of diff erent
places around the world. Where have
you travelled to?
I just love the freedom that comes with
travelling, meeting people and discovering
new places. From destinations closer to
home in France, to places like Switzerland,
Italy, Algeria, Spain, Portugal andGermany, I’ve been very fortunate to have
travelled to many countries.Where has been your favourite?
Cinque Terre in Italy.Which was the most diffi cult place to
take photographs?
At Valensole lavender fi elds in France. It
was frustrating because there were lots of
people, so composing a shot with nobody
in it was tricky. There are also lots of bees!What gear do you carry in your
backpack?
I have the Nikon D750 and AF-S Nikkor
24-120mm f/4 G ED VR lens. The Sony
Alpha 7 with a Sony 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6
and Samyang 85mm f/1.4 E-Mount lenses.
The Benro Mach3 aluminium tripod with
ballhead, Haida M10 holder kit, and fi lters- ND10 stops, ND6 stops Red Diamonds,
clear night fi lter and polariser fi lter.
Walk us through your processing
techniques...
I always start with Lightroom and add
some of the presets I have created. Then
I go to Photoshop for blending, dodging
and burning, etc. It’s a straightforward
enough process. The hard part is picking
the right look and feel for the image and
knowing what to blend with what.What do you hope to do next?
I really want to put my name on some
big blogs and websites. I want to inspire
people, and create a stronger link between
myself and people who want to learn more
about my processing.Do you have any advice?
The only advice is to be yourself. This may
sound like a cliché, but fi nd your own style.
There is a place between copying and
being inspired that’s important to get
right. Don’t worry about totalling up
the ‘likes’ on social media. People will
come to you if you do what you love!Compositing images
together, Samir uses iconic
locations such as an Easter
Island Moai head to create
an atmospheric resultDreamy scenes like this
are heavily processed at
the editing stage using
Photoshop and Lightroom