Greetings from Hokkaido

Just almost finishing up a tour in Hokkaido this Autumn with a very nice group. We’ve had a mixture of cloudy / sunny weather and hints of winter fast approaching. I am so glad I chose to come back to Hokkaido in the autumn time: this year some places that had beautiful colours peaked earlier than expected but other places that were still green last year are just blossoming so beautifully that I am excited. Feel I got some very beautiful shots around the beautiful lake Kussharo, that I am hoping to have some time to process the films this winter… when I have some free time from working on images for a new book.

As always on my Hokkaido tour, my amazing guide and friend Tsuyoshi (far left) always arranges very nice meals for us and is a great ambassador for his country, showing us his passion for Japanese food and the subtle but beautiful landscape of Hokkaido.

I hope to publish new photos from Hokkaido later in the year, but alas, I think it may have to be some time in 2025 due to work commitments for my new book and a few other workshop tours to still complete before 2024 is done.

Greetings from Japan.

Going to the Edge (Podcast Episode 5)

I shall miss my dear friend Trym Bergsmo

I just learned today that my dear friend Trym Bergsmo passed away last Saturday.

I first met Trym at the On Landscape Meeting of Minds conference around 2016. We shared a mutual friend in Lofoten. Trym was such a lovely guy to hang out with, always positive, always thinking of the better things in life, optimistic, and a really friendly sense of humour.

I have fond memories of visiting him in Norway at his country house, and both of us being so ill with the flu that we sat around discussing art, photography and all the other things in life that one has to encounter. In a way, it was possibly one of the best ways to get to know a new friend.

Since then, we often zoom called, and he was always keen to come to Scotland to do some photography.

I’m going to miss him terribly.

the ellipse of a dune

When considering composition, one has to wonder if the light shaded pink ellipse of the central small dune plays second fiddle to that of the black volcano?

Or, maybe it’s the other way around?

Perhaps the small central ellipse of pink dune is an intended easter egg - a subject that is noticed last, or at least is never first.

But even though the small ellipse has been composed to be an intended surprise, perhaps I had always meant it to be the main point of the picture?

Sometimes, it is the smaller details that are the reason for the photo. As in this case, I truly believe that my intention was to compose for the small ellipse. Even though the dark volcano on the lefthand side of the picture is more obviously dominant, I think it fulfils the role of a supporting actor, rather than the main one.

We all see differently, and interpret images differently. So this post is really more about considering how or why the image works, if it works at all for you.

The Limiting Factor is Me (Episode 4)

Nocturnal Labyrinth

The Labyrinth or ‘los colorados’ (the colours) is a fascinating part of the Puna landscape in Argentina. I have been promising myself that I should dedicate a week or so to this place alone. And I have made plans to do so several times. But it’s an extremely difficult place to photograph well.

The location does not suit soft light as it really requires shadows to help set out and define the contours of the terrain. When the sun goes down, I often feel that I’m waiting for the light to get better, but once it flattens down to an extremely soft light, the contrasts that are required to set the scene up just aren’t there any more.

From Dusk to Daylight

I’ve just completed work on some new images from the Puna de Atacama. I was a bit surprised to find that the final work has a more nocturnal feel to it. It isn’t what I had imagined (I gave up planning anything long ago).

I’ve been coming to the Puna de Atacama now for just a little under a decade. Not every year but maybe around six or seven times now. It has been a continuing relationship of reveal, wonder, and strengthening of approach.

Our time with a landscape is a relationship. Perhaps this is something that you have not considered, but that is what our time with a landscape is.  

Like all relationships, there is usually a lot of interest and growth at the beginning as things are new. Then as the relationship matures, a sense of established approach and recognition to what it is you’re doing with the place comes into play.

I think the reason why I settled on a more monochromatic feel this time, is probably twofold: having photographed the place so many times, I think I’m over the idea of trying to convey how colourful it is, and I think I would much rather focus on what I think its strengths are: namely that of form.

Secondly, there is just simply the case of ‘where I’m at’ in terms of being an artist. I think I’ve developed a style to my work over the past while that I am incorporating more and more to any place I visit. It’s as though I am looking for what fits my style, rather than photographing good compositions. There is a difference, and perhaps it is routed in a sense of better understanding and confidence as to what it is that I’m doing, and where I need to go with my art.

We all go through phases of trying different themes and styles. We hopefully evolve and mature. I think the longer I make photographs, the more I understand now that I tend to fluctuate.

I go with my moods and feelings more than with any plan. But there is a lot of precedence: of knowing certain things work, and of knowing what it is that I seem to work best with.

I give myself permission to be as fluid as I am. I cannot fight it, because if I did, I would simply get stuck. So, I have resigned myself to acknowledging that I am simply floating down a river of creativity and if I work with the river, then the passage is much easier. If I try to steer or navigate away through preconceptions about what I think the work should be, then the journey becomes more troublesome and harder.

Creativity is always about positive flow. Find your groove and you’re all set. Think too much or try to force the work to be something it doesn’t want to be, and you end up either stuck or in a difficult place.

I think I’m beyond looking for good photographs. I know what works and what doesn’t, but more importantly, I know what works for me, and I trust the inner confidence that I have gained (like all artists should, over many years of making art and finding out who they really are).