Working methods | Equipment and processing

Vintage Box Brownie Camera designed by Walter Dorwin Teague

Kodak Beau Brownie designed by Walter Dorwin Teague

Printing
I proof and print all of my work on an Epsom Stylus Pro 7800 injet, using the Epsom UltraChrome eight-colour ink set with a matt black. This gives me the fine control of the output that I am looking for, and produces a very high quality print with the fully saturated coloours that can bring the detail of landscapes to life.

I have a fully calibrated system and print almost exclusively on matt papers as gloss prints look unnatural under glass. I have settled on ‘High White Smooth’ paper from FotoSpeed, for its excellent gamut, texture and weight. I also use James Cropper ‘Fine Art Photo Smooth Board’ – a high-quality acid-free paper pre-mounted on conservation-quality board – as it gives added stability and meets the conservation standard set by the Fine Art Trade Guild.



Working methods \| Equipment and processing
Working landscapes Exhibitions My approach Working methods Time and place New projects Buying prints Commissions About myself	Cameras and lenses – film I have used cameras for a long time and shot on film until recently, learning how to develop and print in B&W film. For many years my favourite 35mm camera was an Olympus OM1, which I used with a selection of prime lenses, shooting mainly on slide film for immediacy and record. Later I added a medium format Mamiya C330 twin-lens reflex camera and very much enjoyed the more contemplative approach and exacting technique this camera required. Film and digital These two cameras very effectively framed my basic approach, using the Olympus for rapid surveys captured on slides, followed up with the Mamiya for more selective work. Where I encountered problems and frustrations was in the delays involved in scanning and the consequent lack of immediacy. Also adjusting and cleaning up scans was time consuming and limited, compared with the freedom that good digital cameras and the RAW file format could offer. More recently, things have moved on considerably and now I work exclusively with digital processes from capture to print, using Adobe Lightroom and Capture One. Current equipment I use a Canon 5D and a 24-105mm zoom, which is light and has a perfect range for my purposes. The Mamiya C330 has been replaced with a Mamiya 645AFD and a Phase One P30 back, which I use with a Mamiya 55-110mm zoom. I have recently added an Arca Swiss 6x9 F-line and Schnieder digital lenses, to get the very most out of my P30 back, and a Canon G9 for surveys, as it gives excellent results if used with care and fits in my pocket. Processing I shoot in RAW format – digital negative– as these files are what the camera actually records before it makes any decisions for you. This allows me to get as close to what I actually 'saw' as possible. It also allows for reinterpreting files and benefitting from future improvements in software, and for this reason I am pleased to see that Phase One has now introduced DNG compatibility in the latest version of its Capture One software.	Kodak Beau Brownie designed by Walter Dorwin Teague Printing I proof and print all of my work on an Epsom Stylus Pro 7800 injet, using the Epsom UltraChrome eight-colour ink set with a matt black. This gives me the fine control of the output that I am looking for, and produces a very high quality print with the fully saturated coloours that can bring the detail of landscapes to life. I have a fully calibrated system and print almost exclusively on matt papers as gloss prints look unnatural under glass. I have settled on ‘High White Smooth’ paper from FotoSpeed, for its excellent gamut, texture and weight. I also use James Cropper ‘Fine Art Photo Smooth Board’ – a high-quality acid-free paper pre-mounted on conservation-quality board – as it gives added stability and meets the conservation standard set by the Fine Art Trade Guild.

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