ecently I led a workshop
for the Royal Photographic
Society in the wild and wet
mountains of Snowdonia.
It’s probably my favourite
location anywhere on
Earth – despite the incessant rain!
The emphasis of the workshop focused
on capturing the ‘spirit’ of place. The
musings of the great Robert Adams were
central to the agenda. Adams suggests
that ‘geography’ is the simple, visual
record of a location’s topography, the
meteorological conditions, the light and
so on; that ‘autobiography’ introduces an
element of personal expression and how
the photographer feels about a place; and
that ‘metaphor’ can be used to imply an
alternative meaning or message. He goes
on to suggest that individually these ideas
can be a bit limp, but when all three
elements come together, landscape
photographs start to become more
interesting. It’s a notion that resonates
with my own photographic aspirations.
To be honest, this image isn’t a profound
epiphany after meditating under a lone tree
for hours. I was simply demonstrating in
the workshop how slow shutter speed can
be used to add (sometimes) interesting
intentional camera movement. This
can be a way of using the language
of photography as an expressive tool.
While reviewing my images at home
later, I found that this image hit a chord,
and quite possibly all three of Adams’
elements came together – for me. I’ll
leave it to you to find your own meanings...
It’s fair to say that my enforced whatever-
the-weather policy during the workshop
meant we were mostly wet. However,
I think it’s also fair to say we all discovered
that some of the more interesting images
were taken in the worst conditions. So
if nothing else, don’t be deterred by bad
weather. Wear the right clothing, keep
warm and dry, and protect your kit – but
make sure you get out there and do it!Benedict Brain explores mountains
and metaphors in North Wales
The art
of seeing
R
Benedict Brain
PhotographerCamera: Fujifilm GFX 50R
Lens: Fujinon GF63mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/18 sec at f/32, ISO 100http://www.benedictbrain.comhttp://www.digitalcameraworld.com AUGUST 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^55
The art of seeing