article - Ian Carlson Photography

fEAturE
IAN CArLSON
LANDSCAPES
LEARNING TO
LOVE
THE
LAND
A former marine biologist, Ian Carlson looks back on his
journey from sometime underwater explorer to fulltime
landscape photographer. Interview by Maya Zahran.
DETAILS
Subject: Lake Oberon, NSW
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 55mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon; Fuji Velvia; 1
sec; f/16; ISO 50
PROFILE
Name: Ian Carlson
Town: Pymble, NSW
Favourite photography:
Landscape and architecture
Dream kit: Phase One IQ
medium format digital back
on a Arca Swiss RMD3 outfit with
a series of Rodenstock digital lenses
Job: Full-time photographer
Website: australiangallery.com,
iancarlsonphotography.com.au
40 | Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy
D
igital Photography: Do you
remember your very first
camera?
Ian Carlson: My father gave
me an old Yashica 35mm when I was a kid
and I used to play around with it, but I
didn’t really pick up on photography until I
was about 19. I’d always had a little bit of an
interest, and then a wedding photographer
introduced me to professional
photography. At the time I was working
for a wedding reception venue with fellow
landscape photographer Dave Evans, and
there was a wedding photographer who
took a shine to us and showed us the
ropes. We started taking our own photos,
and when I finally sold a few I thought,
“I actually really enjoy doing this.”
on what you did wrong and how you could
do it better. I find that with digital it’s a lot
easier to not think about how you shoot. I
developed all the shots through the pro labs.
I couldn’t afford to set up my own lab.
Were you self-taught?
Completely. Self-taught experimentation.
When I first started, digital didn’t exist –
it was all film-based and it was a costly
exercise I suppose. You learned from
your mistakes and it made you really sit
down and concentrate, you had to focus
As a marine biologist, did you have any
interest in underwater photography
before making a real break into the
landscape world?
Surprisingly not. I never really took to
underwater photography. It was an extra
expense and, to be honest, I was working so
much underwater and out on boats, the
last thing I wanted to do was get in again.
Underwater photography takes so much
focus; it’s very hard to take a good photo
just by chance, you really need to devote
a lot of time and money to it.
I couldn’t concentrate on taking photos
while I was working, which meant I’d
have to go out separately and work on
shooting then. Instead, I washed up at the
end of the day, grabbed my camera and
started roaming around the coastline – it
was a different experience altogether.
“I’m always on
the lookout for
different scenes,
then I’ll come back
at the right time”
Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy | 41
fEAturE
IAN CArLSON
LANDSCAPES
DETAILS
they’re not actually ready to shoot at that
time, so I’ll often think, “That’s a sunrise
shot or an evening shot.” I’m always on
the lookout for different scenes, then
I’ll come back at the right time. A lot
of times I get it wrong and I’ve got to
go back again. Instead of a sunrise, it’s
a mid-morning shot or vice versa.
You’re constantly looking at where
the sun’s going to pop up from, or what’s
going to be in its way or what shadows
it’s going to cast on what headland.
Thinking about all of those things quite
consistently makes it easier to shoot
the perfect landscape.
When I was living in South Australia,
shooting sunsets in the winter was
awesome because I had really vibrant
colours to work with – I had the sun
setting over the water and it was
spectacular. It made for some great
photography. Being back in Sydney,
you don’t really get the sun setting
over the water, so I constantly find
myself getting up earlier and earlier
to shoot every morning.
Subject: Mount Hesperus, TAS
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 55mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, Fuji Velvia;
1/2 sec; f/22; ISO 50
“These days I’m
trying to focus
more and more
on a theme or
a body of work ”
What’s your must-have gear for
shooting?
It depends on what the shoot’s for: personal
print work or a client. I use two set-ups;
I have a film set-up and a digital set-up.
Digital set-ups are a lot easier to use than
in the film days. With live-view you’re able
to check your focus, and everything else
for that matter. The digital set-up I’ve got
is a Canon 5DMkII and my favourite lens at
the moment is the 24mm tilt shift – it’s just
incredibly sharp and provides perspective
control. I use that a lot in commercial work
and I’ve become quite accustomed to it.
I also tend to use a 24-70mm f/2.8L
and a 70-200mm f/2.8. For landscape
work, where I’m only looking for single
captures, I tend to use the 24mm – but
for panoramic shots where I’m stitching,
I’ll use the 24-70mm or 70-200mm,
depending on how big the output
has to be or how many captures I need.
When working on behalf of a client,
it can be a bit different depending on the
output they want – sometimes they want
a very high-resolution output, so I end up
hiring medium format digital equipment.
I’m quite partial to the new Pentax 645D
– it’s been great when I’ve had my hands
on that. Sometimes I like to shoot on film
and scan it in, but that only works if I’ve
got time and the client’s not in a rush!
It’s nice to do because it slows me down
and makes me think about my shots a
lot more. That’s what I’ve always enjoyed
about landscape photography – it allows
you to take the time to think about what
you’re doing, but also allows you to really
think about the scene in front of you.
What do you think is the best time to
shoot for landscapes?
I often drive around looking for scenes –
“ I find myself getting up
earlier and earlier to
shoot every morning”
How do you choose where you’re
going to shoot? Does a location have
to meet a certain list of expectations?
It depends on what I’m focusing
on at the time. Sometimes the
commission work takes me to an area,
I’ll shoot a job and spend some time
there doing my own personal work.
These days I’m trying to focus more
and more on a theme or a body of
work – taking the more traditional
“artist approach”, where you focus
on a body of work and present that
in whatever format you choose. At
the moment I’m focusing on Sydney’s
Northern Beaches – there’s a fair bit
out there and it’s so diverse with the
whole Pittwater area as well.
What challenges have you had to
overcome, be it with setting/lighting/
gear restrictions?
Travelling interstate or overseas, it’s
the weight of the gear that’s the issue.
I always tend to take more than I
need. If I’m travelling for my personal
work, I take mainly my film equipment
and my Canon with one lens. The
PRO TIP
DETAILS
Subject: Wailing Wall, Walls of
Jerusalem National Park, TAS
Equipment: Fuji GW690III, 65mm lens
Specs: Fuji Velvia; 2 mins; f/11; ISO 50
42 | Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy
OLD SchOOL
Shooting on film or slides can be a great learning
experience. Try shooting just one roll of film or even
limiting yourself to 24 captures on your next shoot.
DETAILS
Subject: Ethel Wreck, SA
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 55mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, Fuji Velvia; 1
sec; f/16; ISO 50
Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy | 43
fEAturE
IAN CArLSON
LANDSCAPES
DETAILS
Subject: Pearson Island, SA
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 55mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, Fuji
Velvia ISO50, f16, 1 sec length; ISO 200
“I try to lean away
from the postcard
shot and find
something else
that’s beautiful”
WhAT YOu’LL nEED
Cameras and lenses
When shooting privately, Ian
relies on his Canon 5DMkII (and
an Ebony 4x5 film camera when
time permits). When it’s time to
get serious for a client, he’s
partial to the medium format
Pentax 645D.
Lights
Lenses include a 24-70mm and
a 70-200mm, but Ian’s current
favourite for commercial and
landscape work happens to be
his 24mm tilt-shift. “It’s just
incredibly sharp and provides
perspective control.”
PRO TIP
gOLDEn hOuR
Get up and get out shooting before the sun is too high
in the sky. The light won’t be too bright and you might
catch a nice sunrise.
film equipment I use includes the
Ebony 4x5 camera with a range of
lenses, so I’ll shoot 612 or 617 and
also 4x5 film for that.
The problem that I come across
most often when shooting in the
morning is balancing the light out –
you often get very, very bright
backgrounds and heavily shadowed
foregrounds, so trying to even out
light is always a real challenge.
I use a range of graduated
neutral-density filters and, coming
from film, it’s very important for me
to take that technique through to my digital work. I tend to do all that
44 | Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy
filtration in-camera, rather than doing
it afterwards.
In the old film days, film had a dynamic
range of about five stops (up to seven if
you were lucky). What you could capture
on film was quite limited – what you’d
try to do was even out the light across
your scene so it’s within the five stops
of the dynamic range. Now with digital,
and having up to 11 stops of dynamic
range, I find it’s still important because
it means I’m actually doing more work
out in the field, and less work in front
of the computer. It’s still always about
capturing the best digital negative you
can, because the better the file you can
produce, the easier it is to work on.
How often do you change the camera
you’re using and what features are you
looking for?
I tend to upgrade every five years for
a new digital model. I’ll wait until the
second version of a camera comes out
– all the bugs are fixed by then! In the
DSLRs, I’m looking for good auto-focus,
good dynamic range. Because I use the
digital camera for a whole range of
work, I want a camera that can cope
under low light. I’ve been shooting in
full-frame cameras for a while now and
I find them very useful to work with.
The rest is in the lens, really – for me it’s
as important as the sensor is on the
digital camera – the lens is certainly
the core difference.
How would you describe your
photographic style?
This is hard, because it’s something that
photographers ask themselves and it
takes years, if not decades to develop
your own style. I’m not sure if I’ve really
got a style yet. To me it’s something
that’s constantly evolving. I look back
sometimes at my earlier work and cringe.
I’m sure in five years time, I’ll do the
same again.
DETAILS
Subject: Tasman Peninsula, TAS
Equipment: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon
24-70mm
Specs: 2.8L, 6 frame pano stich
DETAILS
Subject: Pink Lake, WA
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 55mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, Fuji
Velvia ISO50; 1/15 sec; f/22; ISO 200
Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy | 45
fEAturE
LANDSCAPES
IAN CArLSON
PRO TIP
bE In IT TO WIn IT
There’s not really much to lose
by entering a photographic
competition and there’s plenty
of them out there, with good
prizes. Search online for local
and international competitions.
You’ve won quite a number of
AIPP awards for your landscape
photography… what do you think
the judges look for?
Competitions are a whole new world
– it’s a whole other level of producing
images. Often you produce images
for a competition, and especially
with the AIPP – which has its judging
open to the public – as an entrant
you can go and see your work being
judged as well. If that’s available
with competitions, it’s often worth
spending the time to see what the
judges look for – and it changes from
year to year. You start to notice, year
by year, that fads come in and out.
A few years ago, in landscape work
it was the HDR look and everyone was
trying it out. Some people did it really
well and it looked great.
Generally with photo competitions,
the more time you spend producing
your prints, the better off you’ll be.
I learnt the hard way. I thought I’d
just put in some of my best work and
it would be fine. Then I realised the
judges are looking at every aspect of
your image – from the technical to the
creative, to the artistic element. They
also look at the print of the photo
– whether it’s printed on the right
paper, whether the quality is good
enough, how it looks under specific
lighting. It’s enjoyable to put your
work up against other peers. It gives
you a bit of an idea of how you sit
amongst your peers.
What sets you aside from other
landscape photographers?
I don’t often try to think of that.
But, at the moment, a lot of the
locations I’ve had access to, especially
DETAILS
Subject: Sunrise at Castle Rock Beach, NSW
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 45mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, Fuji Velvia;
2 mins; f/22; ISO 50
46 | Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy
DETAILS
Subject: Ellery Creek Big Hole, NT
Equipment: Gaerosi 617shift, Rodenstock
90mm
Specs: f/4.5 Grandagon-N, Fuji Velvia; 1/4
sec; f/22; ISO 50
off the South Australian coastline,
other photographers haven’t been able
to get to. My style is still developing,
but I tend to shoot a lot of wild
landscape images, out in remote places.
I’ll also shoot some quite common
landscapes as well. Even if I go to a
classic location, I try and lean away
from the postcard shot and find
something else that’s beautiful.
“You start to notice, year by
year, that fads come in and out”
Do you have a hero/mentor/
photographer you look up to?
Dave Evans and I met when we
were both 18 and it was probably
the same wedding photographer
that mentored us in the beginning.
As far as photographers I’ve admired,
it changes. I started off really enjoying
Peter Dombrovskis’ work and, at
the moment, I’m really enjoying
Murray Fredericks’ work. I enjoy
the fact that both photographers are
wildlife photographers – they enjoy
photographing landscapes that are
predominantly untouched, the real
wilderness areas. I admire that type
of work because they’re very good at
capturing the essence of an area.
What inspires your work? Do you
have a particular vision you work
to include or achieve?
I used to travel around a lot and find
beautiful scenes and photograph
them – so my portfolio is quite broad
as far as the areas I’ve been to and
the scenes I’ve photographed. At the
moment, settling back into Sydney and
finding a local project is what’s driving
me – that’s why I’m really looking at the
Northern Beaches closely. I’m coming
back to these places time and time
DETAILS
Subject: Wentworth Falls, NSW
Equipment: Horseman SW612PRO,
Rodenstock 55mm
Specs: f/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, Fuji
Velvia; 4 sec; f/16; ISO 50
again. The more time you spend in area,
the better you get to know it, the better
you get to know the weather patterns and
can understand what’s going to light up
and what’s not.
What advice do you have for a budding
landscape photographer in the making?
You really have to have a passion for
landscape photography. There are very
few landscape photographers, I think,
that have started and quit their day job
and have said: “That’s what I want to
do and I’ve made it.” It’s always an
evolving process. Start out taking
beautiful photos, practice and learn
from your mistakes, and then when
you’re producing beautiful images,
they should really start speaking for themselves.
To see more of Ian Carlson’s
work, see australiangallery.com,
iancarlsonphotography.com.au
Your guide to LANDSCAPE PhOtOgrAPhy | 47