32 7 March 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Andiis a landscape
photographerbasedin
Devon.‘Mypassionis
capturinga momentof
timeandturningthatinto
art,’hesays.TheSouth
Westof Englandplaysa
majorpartin hisportfolio
of work.Youcansee
moreof Andi’sworkat
andrewcampbell.co.ukWEX PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Right:‘Coastal
Dream’,Devon
SonyAlpha7RIII,24mm,
20sec at f/2.8, ISO 2500Below:‘Electric
Skies’,Iceland
SonyAlpha7R,16-35mm,
5sec at f/2.8, ISO 2000Howto do wellinWex POTY
‘Becausethiscontestis judgedbyso
manypeople,youhavetoappealtoa
lotof differenteyes,’saysAndi.‘Make
sureyourimagesaretechnically
sound– youneedtounderstandthe
rulesof photographybeforeyou
breakthem– andplanin advance.
I entered 40 timesin theyear,and
hadmorefailuresthanwinners,but
enteringmademea better
photographer.’Andireckonsthereis
a greatonlinecommunityaroundthe
competition.‘A fewof theother
entrantshavebecomefriends,and
theTwittercommunityis really
helpfulandencouraging.Twitter
worksbetterformeforthanother
socialmediaasyougetpeer
feedback.’Seewww.wexphotovideo.
com/blog/competitions/wex-
photographer-of-the-year.boatswereilluminatedso
brightlythatI hadtousea
graduatedfilterinreverseto
capturethescene.I useda medium-
edgegradupsidedownsoI could
exposefortheboatandthestarsat
thesametime.’
Gearaside,Andialsostresses
theimportanceoflocationwhen
tryingtoperfecthisstyleof
astrophotography.‘Beingbasedin
Devonis a bigadvantage,’henotes.
‘InMayonwards,thesouthDevon
coastlineis lookingouttowardsthe
MilkyWaywithnothinguntilyou
gettoFrance,sothereis notmuch
lightpollution.Youneedvirtually
clearskiesforthiskindof
phototography,asdarkasyoucan
get.IntheUKthebestlocationsfor
naturallydarkskiesincludethe
SouthWest,Snowdonia,theBrecon
Beacons,theScottishHighlandsand
KielderForestinNorthumberland.’
Morelight,lessnoise
Returningtotechnicaltips,Andi
reckonsthebiggestchallengeinhis
kindofscenicastrophotographyis
capturingenoughlightandfighting
againstnoise.‘Youhavetobalance
thetwo.Becauseoftheruleof 500
youknowthemaximumtimeyou
canexposetheimageforbeforethe
starsstarttotrail.ThenI tryto
balancehowmuchlightI can
capturefortheshortestpossible
time,atthelowestpossibleISO.I
tendtouseISO2500,whichis as
farasI liketopushit onlarger
full-framecamerasnotspecifically
designedforastrophotography.I
havetakengoodimagesatISO
3200,however.Themorelightthe
starsgenerate,theeasierit is.’
Whenit comesaperture,Andi
tendstoworkbetweenf/1.8and
f/2.8,againtosuckinasmuchlight
fromthenocturnalsceneaspossible.
‘I alsoshootinmanualfocusand
turnoffimagestabilisation– I shoot
on a tripod, so I don’t need it.’
Abigmistakebeginnersmake
withthiskindofphotographyis to
trytocapturetoomuchandforget
aboutforegroundinterest.‘They
willseetheMilkyWayinthesky
butforgetthatthewayourbrains
areprogrammedis tolookatan
imagefromthebottomup,soyou
needanelementtoleadyouintothe
image.AllthebestMilkyWay
imageswillhavea mountainin,ora
singletree,toprovidecontextand
extravisualinterest.Youcanhavea
technicallysuccessfulimageofthe
MilkyWaythatjustisn’tvery
interestingtolookat.’
Andialwaysshootsinrawtogive
maximumlatitudeattheediting
stage,makingsuretheforeground
interestis perfectandthecoreof
theMilkyWayreally‘pops’outof
theframe.Asforthefuture,heis
keentovisitPeru,Turkeyand
Oregon.‘Mydreamlocationis Easter
Island,asyouhavethestatues
and there is no light pollution.’