D-Photo USA (2019-07-08)

EXPOSURE | YAN ZHANG

Once at the camping location, he’ll

spend whatever time necessary,

sometimes in darkness, searching for the

right shooting position from which the

light will work best. For him, the frame’s

composition is instinctive; he pays special

attention to subtle details within the

scene, relating them to the overall picture.

“One big difficulty is, once I arrive at a

photography spot, the angle usually is

limited, because the spot is normally

quite exposed, and, for safety reasons I

don’t have much space to move around,”

he says. “In fact, I usually have to be

secured by a rope to that position.”

Correct focus and exposure are critical to

Yan’s signature night-sky images. Always

using a tripod and favouring a wide-angle

lens, he uses the hyperfocal distance

to produce sharply focused shots.

Sometimes in the darkness, however,

there isn’t a subject to focus on, so he will

pre-focus the scene in daylight.

High mountain ranges, like freezing

temperatures, present unique challenges

to photography. Despite this, Yan

maintains his own photography

style, without compromising his core

principles, in the pursuit of beauty

and simplicity.

“I always treat surreality, ethereality, and

mystery as important characteristics

in achieving a striking image,” the

photographer says.

Occasionally, Yan will shoot multiple

LIVERPOOL HUT, MOUNT ASPIRING / TITITEA, NIKON D810, 14MM, 20S (SKY), 300S
(FOREGROUND), F/2.8, ISO 6400 (SKY), ISO 2000 (FOREGROUND)