13 April
Technique AVOIDING CLICHÉS
Going further afi eld
When travelling further afi eld, the
risks are not just meteorological, they are
also fi nancial. For many photographers,
their successes are snatched on an annual
family holiday or long weekend away,
grabbing photography opportunities
whenever they can. For others, the
adventure becomes specifi c – a
photography trip with good friends, an
experience together for a week, exploring
in the safety of company. Then there is
the photographic workshop – a great place
to experience new and unknown lands,
especially when travelling overseas.
Of course, all travel has a fi nancial
cost and a ‘return on investment’ is
understandable. So being faced with
the ultimate disaster – no good photos –
forces many photographers to congregate
at the honeypots, to make sure any trip is
not all for nothing.
Professional photographers are often the
worst at this. With every expense being a
business cost, the pressure to get saleable
imagery switches the composition
collecting instincts into overdrive.
Most like to ‘warm up’ with some
big-hitting clichés, get a few in the bag
before moving on to capture greater
creative risks. It’s a way of calming the
nerves – a cliché is a keeper. Conversely,
wanderingaroundonlocationwitha
Why it works
OVER the years, I have shot the Crown Mines
in Botallack, Cornwall from the classic view,
one to where many photographers head. After
another round of average results, it suddenly
dawned on me that I had never actually
approached the mines from behind. The
footpath leads to the buildings, but was there
anything else to see? After exploring the cliffs
with little result, I came down onto the path
and found another composition that I had
never seen before: a mine facing towards
the open sea, with a few buildings visible
on the hilltop. All these years I had been
photographing a Cornish cliché, but that day
I felt empowered having walked away with
something that was not only unrecognisable,
but my own take on a popular spot.
(^18 2019) I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
smartphone full of once-in-a lifetime
clichés is not very healthy, yet so many
photographers do this. The need
could be nothing more than drawing
inspiration, but others like myself feel
that this obsessive research has a
detrimental eff ect.
This collection process is often belittled
as photographic trophy hunting, a basic
approach, but let’s think about it – for
those without the time or the room
to pursue creative goals, those at the
beginning of the creative process, this is
the best route by far. There’s certainly
Using long lenses to compress the
long-distance landscape means
you have no idea where you are.
You can be standing at a cliché
and no one will know
Taken at Ireland’s Fanad
Lighthouse while
standing on a wall. This
‘smelly’ image was one
of my favourites from
the trip, the antithesis of
the dramatic lighthouse
I came to shoot