The Flower Market
Calcutta's crowded and chaotic flower market is a great place to watch people go about their daily business. Seeing scenes like this for the first time is a huge eye-opener as to how the other half of the world lives.
About the Photographer
I've had an interest in photography from the age of 16 and it's all I've ever wanted to do professionally. Trouble is, you don't get a job as a photographer, you just have to become one. I've done many different jobs in between now and then but, for the last 8 years, my primary focus has been to earn enough money to enable me to invest in my true passion and thankfully I've been able to do just that.
About the Camera
I'm a completly self-taught photographer and have gradually developed my own style over the years and have been obsessed with wide-angle lenses for a while, so switching to the panoramic format was a natural progression. The majority of my photographs are taken with a Linhof Technorama 617S III with a Schneider 72mm lens which is the equivalent of a 15mm lens on a conventional camera. The mighty Linhof uses film and uses three exposures to take one photograph and as a result I only get four shots for every roll of film that use. I do own two digital cameras and switching back to film has really honed my skills as a photographer. With digital you can just shoot and shoot but when you've only got 4 shots on a roll of expensive film you have to make every frame count.
On the Road - The Life of a Landscape Photographer
16-hour days, they're tough and very tiring, but this is my passion and it's not too hard to motivate myself, especially if the 'office' is somewhere like New Zealand.
Things can and do frequently go wrong, the weather can be your friend and your enemy and it can change in an instant, that amazing sunset that I thought I was going to get can quickly turn to nothing. Frustrating, especially if you've hiked uphill for an hour with 15 kilo's of equipment on your back.
How do I choose what to shoot? It's a long process, I'm very selective as to what I'll photograph; I like my pictures to have depth and spend many hours looking for the perfect location and when I find it I will wait until the light is just right. If I take 8 photographs in one day, that's a very good day.
It's all about quality, not quantity.