Who were the photographers that
inspired you when you were
starting out?
Carsten Peter. He was the National
Geographic photographer I was cooking
for in Vanuatu. He is a giant inspiration
and I am very grateful that he allowed me
a view of what it takes to be a professional
photographer. Yann Arthus-Bertrand
- I was very fortunate to work with him
several times. He’s not just photographing
the earth from above, he also wants to
know what people on locations think.
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Billion Others, and I was sent all over the
world to ask people the same question.
This taught me how to approach people
and how to listen to people.
Anyone else?
I love Christian Ziegler’s work. We grew
up in the same village, in Kaiserslautern
in Germany, and hung out together when
we were kids and we both went into
photography. Brent Stirton is a big
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and, of course, with his thorough
approach – he is just so knowledgeable.
That’s an impressive group of
photographers. Speaking of Brent
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photographic instances do you
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Firstly, I only shot with natural light, then
I realized it’s not enough to master
natural light, you have to create the light
yourself. I looked a lot at Brent’s work,
how it’s lit and how it could be lit. I talked
to other people and then I started to do
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in countries with harsh lighting, like
Vanuatu and Indonesia, I shoot a lot with
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naturally lit, but the reality is that it’s
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It gives me a lot more range, especially
on assignments when the time is tight, or
at the volcano when you can’t tell him to
erupt at the golden hour! It’s really
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Every photographer who wants to take
their photography to the next level, they
should look learning how they can best
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in these instances?
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I have two Speedlites and that’s it. It
depends on the job; one is less obtrusive
but always with the transmitter. I shoot
UHPRWHÁDVKQHYHUGLUHFWÁDVKWhat do you use when you’re
shooting video?
For video, I shoot with the 5D Mark IV
or with the EOS R. I don’t have an extra
video camera with me, it would be too
bulky and too much gear. With the R, it
takes a while to get used to it but it has
some really big advantages. As much
as I love my 5D Mark IV, I’m honestly
considering a change sooner or later,
because you don’t need the mirror
anymore so it makes sense to switch to
mirrorless. I’m not ready to switch right
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has a lot of advantages right now.What are those some of those
advantages?
The stabilization is a big plus. The
tracking focus works really well too.
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bit in the picture, so turning the screen
is great for that and for when you’reIn countries with
harsh lighting, like
Vanuatu and Indonesia,
I shoot a lot with flash
07The Canon Magazine 69
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