Reviewed by Michéla Griffith

We have a visitor to Joe’s gallery in North Allerton last year to thank for Joe’s appearance for one of the talks at the annual Buxton Festival.  Many of us have a book or two or more by Joe on our shelves and possibly an equal number have dreamed “one day….,” so the chance to hear Joe talk on this subject just “up t’ road” was not to be missed.

Half an hour before the advertised start, there were already brisk sales of Joe’s books in the foyer.  Fortunately Joe was on hand to clarify that the box of books under the table were not for sale, but his personal archive – a back-up in case of tech gremlins and an aide-memoire.  Laid out, they filled the width of the stage, a reminder that as well as his well-known landscape photography books, Joe has contributed to many travel books too.

On a weekend when the sun returned, Joe managed to entice around 200 people to sit in a darkened room.  Perhaps he brought the sun back with him, or maybe as he joked Buxton really is the Verona of the North.  As one of the literature events for the festival, there was perhaps a question of whether those present were interested in books, or photography, or both, and this must have made it a little difficult to judge the ‘pitch’ for Joe’s first talk about landscape photography books, rather than landscape photography per se.  It was interesting to note that for a genre that is often dominated, at least in the media, by men, there was a balance between men and women in the audience.  As Joe waited at the side of the stage to start, I heard a lady behind me ask her companion “Is that him? He doesn’t look old enough to be a photographer.”  Joe will doubtless modestly say that the lights were low, but he does look well on it, and exudes enthusiasm for his subject.

For anyone serious about their photography, at least in the days before everything went World Wide Web, books quickly became an important source of knowledge and inspiration.  Somewhere between the landscape photography books I bought as a sixteen year old and my reconnection with the subject in the ‘noughties’ a step change had taken place in the quality of photographic books, and Charlie Waite, Joe and David Ward were prominent in this.  So Joe’s first slide – to the effect that he had learnt about landscape photography through books – had a particular resonance for me.

Joe spoke of his early influences including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and John Blakemore – important not just for their pictures, but for their way of thinking about photographs.  Others included W Eugene Smith, Eliot Porter, Galen Rowell and Peter Dombrovskis.  On one occasion he spent a whole week’s wages on an Eliot Porter book, and I think we sometimes overlook the now relatively modest cost of many photography books.

We perhaps also fail to appreciate the groundwork that Joe put in as a photographer’s assistant, commercial and travel photographer.  Early on, he noted that the most important thing that he learned was where to stand.  Joe touched on key stages in his career as a photographer and as a writer, which he admits was not initially on his radar.  He noted that of photographers’ propensity to grumble when they meet up, the topic that they most complain about is authors.  I have met others who have said that the ability to write good copy is as important as the ability to make good images.

Joe received the sum of £600, excluding expenses, for his first, largely black and white, photography book which was published in 1986.  Then followed a series of travel books, mostly of European destinations;  each took many weeks and while finances were very tight, these were important to his development, though Joe expressed some guilt about the associated carbon footprint.

A meeting with Eddie Ephraum’s, then a publishers’ assistant, was clearly fortuitous and led to his first landscape photography book in 2002 – “First Light” – which drew on his portfolio of work.  Joe is right to still feel fairly happy about this and it definitely bears re-reading.  Joe emphasised the importance of working as part of a creative team, in contrast to an often solitary presence on the field, but noted with some regret that this was the last book of his to be printed using offset reprography and with what now seems like the luxury of an expert scanner and Photoshop operator.  Subsequently, the flexibility that computers brought led publishers to make their photographers responsible for image reproduction and colour management which as well as being very time consuming could be particularly challenging when the printer was overseas (“Scotland’s Coast”).  This was an experience that Joe was keen not to repeat, and for “Scotland’s Mountains” he undertook colour management training.

Taking the images for “Scotland’s Coast” involved 18,000 miles of travel to do justice to a 4,000 mile coastline.  For “Scotland’s Mountains” the images were taken during the course of 2 years with the 5 x 4 camera alone contributing 16kg to pack weight.  So we should not underestimate either the time or the physical effort involved in producing the images for these.

Joe touched on the pros and cons of publishers and self-publishing.  He then talked about how digital readers had revolutionised the book world, commenting that it was not yet clear if this was a challenge or an opportunity.  He hoped for an outcome similar to the reinvigoration that photography gave to painting, by freeing fine arts from their traditions, but admitted some concern.  While digital media and self-publishing now allow us all to become publishers, there is a significant difference between this limited print route (and challenge in marketing) in comparison to a typical publisher’s run of between 2,000-4,000 but with the reassurance of their publicity and marketing machine.

Joe ended his talk by expressing a hope that there will not be an end to ‘real’ books, rightly noting that physical and sensory interaction is an important part of the joy of reading.

Overall it was an enjoyable hour, illustrated with images from throughout Joe’s career, including some from his degree show.  It was interesting to see that these already hinted at the style for which Joe has become well known, with an emphasis on foreground interest.  The talk perhaps only touched on the wealth of knowledge that Joe has built up on the subject which I am sure would make a fascinating workshop specifically for landscape photographers.  It was delivered with good humour and considerable enthusiasm for his subject, and offered insights into his way of working.  I took away a better understanding of how much work goes into producing a book;  that if we wish to follow we should have a very clear idea of who will buy it; and that if we value books, we should keep buying them.

Below are my latest eddition to my project… Shot at Boscombe Pier and Lulworth Cove, enjoy!

As Paradises go, Busselton is rather too touristy to make it to the top rungs of my personal ladder of favourites.

But a walk along the Jetty is still an obligatory stop whenever I’m fortunate enough to be around. Here’s why.

The Jetty reaches out two kilometers into the Indian Ocean and is a popular snorkelling venue as many exotic species flock around the 8m deep pillars.

Divers and bathers aren’t the only ones enjoying quiet sea and sail boat, sea kayaks and other forms of locomotion abount. Some lucky bleeders just anchor their small boats on the sand and loaf around under a tarp with a can of something bubbly and fresh, just enjoying watching time go by.

Some walk to the end, and can use a little bench to rest. Others can use a small tourist train with a half way stop under a welcome canopy. Lazy tikes.

At the end, you find a few pillars left over from the old Jetty that burnt down. The birds seem to enjoy the perch and the view. Who wouldn’t.

On the way back, some stop off at the (tacky ?) amusement park.

I just prefer to walk strait into town to take in the brightest coloured walls this side of Mexico

Bright enough ?

I remember reading one of CHarlie Waite’s photography books in why he states “a little red goes a long way”. In other words, a bit of restraint work well when dealing with primary colours. ‘this restrained enough for you ? That’s just the Aussie way. Bright and bold. I love it.

I’ll be back !

A while ago, I wrote a review of the LX-5, in which I tried to be fair in my assessments of whether it really stands up in the world of cameras we have today. After 1 1/2 years, I am still keenly using it, perhaps more than ever, as a take-around camera that fits nicely into my bag, certainly the best such camera I’ve ever had and probably one of the best in it’s class to this day. My first review was about six months ago and writing it got me to consider how I really feel about it as an ‘imaging machine’, that is, a vehicle for the sensor it contains. As you use a camera for longer, you get to know it a lot better and it tends to grow on you, (or not, as the case may be). In this case, my feelings about it have pretty much stayed the same, in that generally the sensor and imaging engine are some way behind the camera body itself, with all it’s useful dials, but that you do get a good enough image to work on later and really bring out it’s qualities. In a sense, a digital camera will never be ‘good enough’ for long. That being said, since the cameras of tomorrow will be replaced too, it is worth making the most of the camera you have today.

Sensor/processing limitations are handicaps unique to digital cameras, as all film cameras could be the same at the ‘imaging’ level just by changing film, lens quality aside. Yet then again thanks to post-processing, whether done in the camera or externally, many aberrations can be corrected for and new effects obtained. For this every reason, I prefer digital. Meanwhile, despite the need to often post-process with this camera, which I consider a Raw camera and not much of a ‘Jpeg camera’, as people say Olympus models especially are, I’ve gotten more and more use out of it simply because of its convenience.

The best camera is the one you have with you

Thanks to the lens, I am often surprised by its sharpness. The ability to change aspect modes and picture styles (creative styles, as Panasonic calls them) make for some creative possibilities, including a well-implemented bracketing function opening the way for HDRs. After being through a range of compacts, none of them having this combination of manual controls, wide, bright lens and decently large sensor (for a compact!), it is still an enjoyable camera to use. On the street it’s almost unnoticeable. Whilst people tended to notice me more with a DSLR, it certainly looks more like I am taking snaps with this one. People would pose, too, in a playful manner, rather than just trying to ‘look their best’ when faced with the relative heaviness of a DSLR. There is something to be said for light-hearted photography and sensors aside, the smaller cameras will definitely always have their place (though better sensors will make their IQ more equal in time). Bending the camera down to the smallest details for an almost-touching macro is no trouble at all here and you can shrink the DOF, especially at the maximum f/2, whilst still retaining much more in focus than on a larger sensor. Conversely, despite the diffraction issues when stopping down (I wouldn’t go above f/5.6 with this), for landscapes, the sharpness of a small sensor paired with a good lens can produce some memorable results, as anyone with a good compact will know.

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Small World

Still, with all the convenience of having this small size, you do pay another price, which conventional reviews of such ‘high end compacts’ tend to disguise under the proviso that you shouldn’t expect too much from their relatively tiny sensors. High ISO above 400 is a bit of a joke, though especially in B&W you can get some usable results at 640-800, especially if you shoot in Raw. Well, Jpeg at this point is so bad in this camera, with smudgy-wudgy noise-reduction, that really you should only shoot Raw at 400 and above of you don’t want to drown in the smudginess. I prefer to shoot at 200 and under, letting the stabilisation take care of camera shake (as much as it can, it’s not so powerful as the name would suggest).

I suspect that Canon does better in this point, samples certainly suggest that, but here’s the thing. The LX5 has been around for about a year and a half and is still going strong, if not quite as strong as Panasonic may have hoped. In that time, Canon has been through the S90, S95 and now the S100, meanwhile Nikon has had the P7000, incrementally updated with the P7100, which mostly  fixed some problems of slow operation speed in the former model. Whilst the S100 is probably the most advanced of the selection, you have to hand it to Panasonic for producing a design that would last so long in a competitive marketplace. Had I opted for one of  her rivals back in 2010, I would have either upgraded by now or be missing out on more ‘complet’ models. So even if I’ll never know if I made the best choice, I’m sure glad I made a good one.

I’m still learning how to get the most out of the LX5 and if it’s most serious competition right now is the S100, it still has some advantages. The lens is generally regarded as sharper across the frame, despite a shorter reach (I do find 90mm a bit short in many cases, though no more so than on a DSLR kit lens) and as you zoom in, it is much brighter. The S100 has 1080p video, a big advance in my book and also much better high ISO from the camera. Knowing Canon vs Panasonic colours, I am pretty sure Canon will do a better job here and that in fact it always has done, right back to the S90 and before, yet to an extent if you shoot in Raw this can be solved, as I mostly do anyway. I even got a ‘custom colour’ pack from Kiss, which allows my LX5 Raws to be colour interpreted like any camera out there, from Leica to Nikon, which I do tend to use, despite the extra trouble. I wish the LX5 didn’t need so much processing to look ‘right’ to me and I know I’m not alone here.  Still, it is good to know the files can take the transformation without posterising, or falling apart.

Conclusion

Although the LX5 is small, since I bought it, CSC have improved a lot, in features, speed and quality. with a zoom lens mounted, they are all a lot bigger than this, but their image quality, especially in worse light, is worlds ahead. Even Panasonic wonders if it is worth making a similar LX6. I feel that there is still a place for the high-end compact, though would prefer a CSC overall. The sensor is a major limitation, yet with careful post-processing, a lot can be made up for and it is brilliantly designed. The problem I have with CSC’s is actually picking one. I have narrowed my choices down a bit, but they iterate a lot and improve quickly. It is hard to know when to ‘jump on board’. So for now, the LX5 is my carry-around, or at times even pocket camera, which it works excellently at. and I am still learning my way around it.
So the LX5 may be getting longer in the tooth in the fast-changing world of compacts, but it’s still going strong, still in my bag and still out shooting. So there! I’ll close with a couple of  wonderful videos from renowned pro Charlie Waite taking it for a spin. It may be a bit of an advertisement, but the inspiration offered here can help whatever the camera and it does show some of the flexibility the small form factor brings. Despite the poor high ISO performance, I like using it for street and walkabout photography for just this reason. Take it away, Charlie!

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There are too many amazing features in this camera to go through, but with digital SLR quality photos in a compact, with HD video included, this is my ideal ‘take everywhere’ camera.

I should balance this post with a mention of the Canon S95, which I have just seen in a review video being compared with the LX5. Both have very similar features but the S95 is more compact and sleek.

Great reviews on the Amazon site and this camera is now around £220, which is £100 LESS than the LX5, with a smaller profile. This camera was £399 a couple of months ago (now £230), but has priced dropped due to the S100 being released (12 MP instead of 10 MP). I already own a Canon 400D SLR which produces very good results, but is a bit bulky for carrying around all the time. The S95 could be the solution.

out

In the thicket winter: Robert Fulton’s image of frost-covered trees in a snowy field in Stirling-shire has won him first prize in the contest (Pictures: PA)

Robert Fulton’s picture was chosen from thousands of entries showing scenic views from across Britain.

‘I know lots of landscape photographers, both amateur and professional, who regard this competition as being the big one, so to be overall winner is a tremendous accolade,’ said Mr Fulton, of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

Tim Harvey won the ‘classic view’ category for his image of storm waves crashing against a sea wall in Guernsey, while Baxter Bradford, from Hampshire, came first in the ‘living the view’ section for his photograph of sailing boats near the Isle of Wight.

Shahbaz Majeed’s image of a train speeding over the Tay Bridge in Dundee won the Network Rail-sponsored category. The young photographer of the year award went to 14-year-old Oscar Stewart-Packe, from London.

The awards, now in their fifth year, were set up by landscape photographer Charlie Waite.

They are collected in a book with a cover  photograph of Porth Nanven in Cornwall by Adam Burton (AA Publishing, £25).

Loch Indaal © Charlie Waite

Amiens Trees by Charlie Waite

Thames Barge by Charlie Waite

Large format to Lumix.

Who can get any good pictures whilst being weighed down by tons of annoying equipment?

The change will mean a lot of work as I will need to upload a revised set of images. I’m going to change the gallery headers again too and delete some of stuff which I don’t feel is representative of my style…

I look around for inspiration a lot and I noticed that the images that people like Joe Cornish and Charlie Waite put up on their sites are simply tiny. While they have good reason to be a lot more paranoid than people like me when it comes to image theft, it does make me wonder why they bother at all. I have been HUGELY disappointed when looking at their websites – I guess they just want everyone to buy their books. Personally I like to share a bit more than that….

Another feature selection by Practical Photography when they displayed The Stranger across page 98 and 99 amongst the results of the Photographer Of The Year 2010 Landscape Round. My shot is short-listed from a couple of thousand or so..

How could I fail to be interested in a photography competition which supports The Lavender Trust at Breast Cancer Care, a charity which helps younger women affected by breast cancer?

My mother was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer before Christmas last year, and my godmother’s daughter Lou Gish died on 20 February 2006, aged 38, as a  result of breast cancer. It seems entirely fitting that I should want to support such a cause. I met the founder Fiona Gifford on Saturday at photomonth, as the Hotshoe stall was sandwiched between hers and the press desk. The book of finalists’ work from last year was on sale and, flicking through the images, I was pleasantly surprised; open competitions can result in wildly varying standards of work, but the photos making the final cut in this competition are of a genuinely high standard. Also, if you ever wonder where your competition entry money goes to (and who doesn’t? especially considering that some competitions also get sponsors to provide the prizes for free, such as photo equipment), then wonder no longer: all proceeds go to The Lavender Trust.

The open photo competition launched yesterday and the deadline for entries is not until 10 January, so you have three months to enter. In fact, I may even give it a whirl.

First Prize 2009 - Emotions category: © Peter Puklus, (Hungary), Melinda after hair washing, Paris 2005

The Renaissance Photography Prize – now in its third year – invites amateur and professional photographers “to have their photographs judged by some of the most acclaimed photographers in the industry. All proceeds from the competition go to The Lavender Trust.

“It is an international competition after two years. I’m staggered.”
Eamonn McCabe, former Guardian picture editor and four times Sports Photographer of the Year

“Renowned gallery owner Michael Hoppen, former Guardian picture editor Eamonn McCabe, landscape expert Charlie Waite and Magnum Magnum editor Brigitte Lardinois will judge the Renaissance Photography Prize. They will award over £5,000 in prizes to the winners in this year’s categories: (Landscapes, People, Movement, Reflections) and the overall Renaissance prize. These images, plus 75 shortlisted images, will be displayed at a two- day exhibition in central London and at a celebrity Private View at the exclusive Hospital Private Members Club in Covent Garden. They will also appear in a hardback book of the event”.

The competition is the brainchild of Fiona Gifford, a 36 year-old lawyer and keen amateur photographer who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006:

“I have been overwhelmed by the success of Renaissance and the quality of the photographs that we have seen since the competition started. The competition is a great way for photographers to have their work judged by some of the best names in the photography world while raising money for younger women with breast cancer. What better way to celebrate life and the world around us than through photography? Photographs allow us capture and connect with the world, and can be a source of inspiration during times of adversity”.

DEADLINE
10 January 2010

WHAT TO DO
Read the Terms and Conditions. The website says: “You keep copyright of all your work, and get a nice warm glow from knowing your entry fee will be used to support younger people with breast cancer,”

There are four catergories for photographs: Landscapes; People; Movement; Reflections. You can enter as many categories as you like, and you can enter as many images as you like.

All entries should be in JPG format 800 pixels, maximum, on the longest side, and not more than 300 KB in file size.

Sign up to the site and upload your photographs.

COST
£15 for a one photo or £25 for up to four photos. The entry fee goes to The Lavender Trust to support younger people with breast cancer.

PRIZE
“The overall winner of the competition receives £3,000. The winner in each category will receive the category prize of £500. Winners and highly-commended entries will receive a free double ticket to the Celebrity Private View. For 80 finalists, there is an additional benefit of getting real exposure with an exhibition in a leading London gallery where your work will be sold. You’ll even get a share of the proceeds.”

I have never been the type of person who will take a lot of care with my photography; my philosophy was to take as many as possible. After learning how to properly take a picture, I have begun to understand the difference in quality of photos. It is worth the time to play around with angles, different viewpoint, and really paying attention to the subject. I started to understand this during my travels in Europe. I visited places that I had seen photographed hundreds of times, and I started to take in these amazing places and pay attention to the picture I was taking.

I think I appreciate landscape photography the best, after taking so many landscape photos. One of my favorite landscape photographers is Charlie Waite; out of all the million landscape pictures, his really stand out to me. A common theme I notice throughout his photos is line. He likes to take pictures of long walkways or roads. It is a neat perspective to catch in a photograph. These pictures have a “never-ending” effect on me, I feel like the pathway will continue forever. Every one of these pictures is so striking to me, and I can really appreciate how well he uses lines throughout his pictures. Many of his pictures are in Italy, and I spent a lot of time in Italy, so I can really understand the beauty of the pictures because I have been there. One of my favorite pictures of his is located in Lucca, which is in the Tuscany part of Italy, one of my all-time favorite places. Obviously, I will never be able to perfectly duplicate his pictures because it is slightly difficult to find the long roads and walkways of which he likes to take pictures. I am always inspired when I look at one of his pictures, they are so strikingly beautiful.

To view more on this photographer visit this website:

http://www.charliewaite.com/

When I got to the gallery, it seemed to be covered by landscape photography. I was surprised when I recognized many of these pieces; I had seen many of these landscape images before in photography magazines that I read so I was glad to finally discover who this landscape photographer was.

His name is Charlie Waite and he was recently named as the ‘world’s greatest living landscape photographer of his generation’ by Hewlett Packard.  I was also happy that I got to meet Charlie Waite landscape photographer in person to discuss photographer with him.

I would highly recommend Charlie Waite’s Landscape Photography but there seems to be very few places in the UK to buy Charlie Waite Landscape Photography which is a shame. Here’s his web site www.charliewaite.co.uk, check it out and here is some text I found from the press release of the event.

World’s greatest landscape photographer launches gallery in Tunbridge Wells 

At 5pm on November 29th, globally renowned Charlie Waite landscape photographer – recently named as the ‘world’s greatest living landscape photographer of his generation’ by Hewlett Packard –will be signing photographs to celebrate the official launch of Trowbridge Gallery in Ely Court at the Royal Victoria Place Shopping Centre. At the launch, Waite will be talking about his work and answering questions from visitors. The Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, councillor Barbara Cobbold, will also be attending the event. 

Charlie Waite, who is today revered as a leading figure in the global renaissance of landscape photography, with past exhibitions held in London, Tokyo, New York and Melbourne, says: “I’m delighted to be at the launch of the new gallery and have the opportunity to talk to the people of Kent about my images. A landscape image cuts across all political and national boundaries, and transcends the constraints of language and culture, which is why I enjoy evangelsing on the subject so much.” 

Trowbridge Gallery, which opened its first outlet on Kings Road London in 1992, and which has had a longstanding affinity with Waite, chose Tunbridge Wells as its second location because of the inherent natural beauty of the area, along with its deep historical and cultural heritage. 

Says Trowbridge’s Managing Director, Rob Cork: “Tunbridge Wells really is the perfect location for our second gallery; it’s close to our head office in East Sussex, and the surrounding areas also proffer wonderful, quintessentially English landscapes that echo throughout much of the work we exhibit and sell – including Charlie Waite’s landscape photography. Also, because Ely Court is populated with a number of high quality boutique-style outlets, our new gallery is situated in an ideal location.”

Visitors to the gallery on the evening of the launch will receive a warm welcomed, and be served with light refreshments. As well as meeting and speaking with Charlie Waite and Mayor Barbara Cobbold, visitors will also be able to view and purchase the very finest examples of reproduction fine art prints, antique prints, black and white photography, textiles and original works of art all in exquisite handmade frames.