Digital Camera - Ken Gilbert

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My Life in Focus
joecornish:landscape grandmaster
Joe Cornish
The landscape grandmaster reflects
on a lifetime’s fascination with the
light and the land
You’re responsible
for everything
When I first started, my
pictures boreverylittle
resemblance to what I had actually
seen, or to what I hoped to achieve.
I processed my own black-and-white
films so I learned early on to take
responsibilityfor everything. All the
technical errorsweremyown, and I
learned that only I could correct them.
Learn from your biggest influences
John Blakemore’s photography
made me understand thatart and
photographyare not separated by
some unbridgeable cultural divide.
From Mike Mitchell, who I worked
with in the 80s, Ilearned that‘if you
can imagine it, you can shoot it’,
amonumental work ethic, and an
understanding of the art of lighting.
DigitalCamera july2010
Always be yourself
Forafew yearsIwas able to follow
in Charlie Waite’sfootsteps as atravel
book photographer. There came a
point whereIrealised thatbeing in
Charlie’s shadow was affecting my
approach negatively,and thatIneeded
to be myself in my photography.
Photos are everywhere
An interesting photograph can be
made justabout anywhereand at any
time if you have enough imagination,
asense of light, and akeen eye for
effective composition.
Light is the key to great landscapes...
...so we have to dance to the tune of
the weather. But there are many tunes,
and manyways to dance. Learning to
matchour approach to the potential
and mood of the weather is a key skill.
“Our photographs should
reflect what we feel, believe,
think, care about and see”
profile
* Born in exeter in
1958,Joe Cornish
is nowone of the
UK’s finest and
most respected
landscape/nature
photographers.
* His work has
appeared in
numerous
exhibitions and
books, including
anumber of
National Trust
publications.
* Since 1993 he’s
been based in
Northallerton,
North Yorkshire,
from where he
runs agallery,
exhibition space
and workshops
designed to help
participants enjoy
and improve on
their landscape
photography.
Study Eastern philosophy
Let go of expectation and develop
an approach of mindful awareness.
Seeing is being. Discoverthe world
free from words or labels. Stay in
the moment. Seek to connect with,
respect and honour the subject.
If you study yoga, Zen Buddhism,
or almost any oriental martial art,
you will be well equipped to take
landscape photographs!
Don’t take on too much
Don’t assume that atask or job will
take acertain amount of time based
on normal weather conditions and
workflows.In practice, most jobs
take twice as long and cost twice
as much as you expect them to. My
biggest problem remains so –too
much to do, too little time.
Look inside
Our photographs should reflect what
we feel, believe, think, care about and
see.Thatdoesn’tmeantheyhave
to be deeply introspective. But if by
looking outside we can also reflect
our feelings from within, through our
use of light, time and composition,
then we will have begun the journey
of photography.
Visit www.joecornish.com.