Sarah, tell us about you and your journey into photography...
I live in Canterbury with my partner and our two black and white cats, Barbie and Ken. I work remotely from home as a Learning and Teaching Specialist for a polytechnic here in New Zealand.
I grew up and went to school, university and teachers’ college in Dunedin. After leaving school, I graduated from university with an Art History degree and headed overseas. I returned to New Zealand and began a career in education which is my main income. Most recently, I have started to focus more on photography and last year achieved Licentiate honours with the Photographic Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) and a Diploma in Professional Photography.
My family introduced me to travel at a young age, and I have been lucky enough to travel to the USA, Japan, the UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia over the years. I have also travelled extensively in New Zealand and lived in a variety of places, including 15 years in Queenstown, a year in South Westland and most recently, 4 years in Northland. Late last year, we moved back to the mainland to be closer to family and the mountains.
My years in Queenstown fostered a strong interest in the outdoors, where I tramped and skied my way around the hills. This is when I fell in love with our landscape and wanted to capture what I was seeing on my adventures and take it home with me.
I think my real obsession with photography came after being given a Canon EOS 450D and completing a landscape workshop with Jackie Ranken and Mike Langford in South Westland. I realised that with more know-how, I could create images that captured more than just a record of what I was seeing - an image could convey a feeling, and I wanted to be able to do that.
What are you shooting with today?
Recently, I spoiled myself and upgraded from a Canon EOS 6D to the Canon EOS R5. Upgrading feels like ditching your best friend for a new friend that you have to spend lots of time with and get to know! We are working on that!
My go-to lens is the Canon EF 24-105mm. It’s especially good when I want a light set up for day walks or overnight tramps. I also throw in a polarising filter and a 6-stop circular ND filter for any Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and long exposures I want to make. Other gear I have in my bag include a Canon EF 50mm, Canon EF 70-200mm, and Canon EF 17-35mm. I also have a Benro Landscape Filter Kit and a Benro 600ex tripod.
What does photography mean to you?
Photography is a creative outlet for me. It is how I express what I observe and feel in the landscape, and it is a way to connect with the natural world around me. Typically, I photograph on my own, so it becomes a type of meditation - it’s just me, my camera, the landscape and light.
How would you describe your photography?
The one constant in my imagery is that I work in the landscape and draw my ideas and inspiration from my surroundings. Recently I had to write a 35-word bio that sums up my work. It’s a very broad sentence, and some might say it says a lot while saying nothing at all!
“I specialise in landscape and creative photography. Working in colour and black and white, I use motion, colour, light, tone, shapes, and forms to create both representational and abstract images and impressions of the landscape.”
This sentence describes where I am at the moment in my creative journey. I have spent a number of years exploring the representational aspects of landscape photography, and I now feel a pull toward the abstract or semi-abstract. As far as a style is concerned, I think that it is still evolving as I learn more techniques and more about what resonates with me creatively.
My photography as a business is a work in progress. After much reflection, I have only recently realised the direction I want to take my photography, and because it’s not my main income, it is a slow burn. I have submitted words and images to magazines and have photos in stock libraries. At different times I have been approached by companies who are interested in using my images for their promotional material. Last year, one of those was Doppelmayr Garaventa in Austria, who were looking for a picture of the Queenstown/Remarkables area for their 2022 calendar. It was a thrill to be able to provide them with an image, especially since their lifts have carried me up many of the ski fields around Central Otago.
Lake Alta I
Can you tell us more about the abstract and creative side of your photography...
Recently I have been exploring both in-camera techniques and Photoshop to create images that appeal to me. It has been quite a revelation to discover that I can use the camera in more painterly and artistic ways. These techniques allow me the freedom to express creatively my response to the landscape in abstract ways.
‘Coastal Shadows’ and ‘Illustrating lines’ are both examples of the spontaneity that comes from using in-camera techniques to create abstract landscapes.
A series that I have recently completed is a response to the impact of wildfires on forests and trees. In 2008, I worked in the Australian outback, personally witnessing the impact of an out-of-control fire on the landscape and trees. More recently, in 2020, most of us in New Zealand experienced first-hand the smoke and haze from the bushfires in Australia. The series is my interpretation of the intensity and ferocity of wildfires, their journey through the forest and what they leave behind. ‘Fire II’ is one of the images from that series.
Coastal Shadows
Illustrating Lines
Fire II
What have been the biggest photography challenges you've had to overcome or still struggle with today?
I think the biggest challenge for any visual artist is the beliefs and perceptions that you have about your work and your creative process. Self-doubt, resistance and imposter syndrome are always lingering in the shadows. Aside from that, my biggest challenges currently are getting to know my ‘new friend’, the Canon R5 and getting my head around Photoshop.
Tell us about your ongoing collection that explores the energy and life force of trees...
I’m drawn to forests and trees. I love walking through them, their visual appearance, the shapes and lines they create, the way the light interacts with them and the many possible compositions they offer. Most importantly, they always leave me with a sense of peace, calm and balance. There seems to be a transformational energy that leads to this change in emotional state. The Japanese call this Shinrin-yoku or ‘forest bathing’, which recognises that spending time in nature is good for our health, our emotional state and provides us with a sense of calm.
My collection “Life-force of Trees” attempts to capture a visual representation of what we experience when we ‘bathe’ or walk in forests. The in-camera techniques push past the surface details, removing distracting details leaving only colours, shapes, lines and light that, to my mind, convey a sense of this transformational energy.
Forest Path
Mystic Trees
Tell us about the competitions you've had success with...
‘Reward of Sunrise’ was the first image I entered into a competition that I won. That competition was actually an NZP magazine competition – the 2019 “Photography Unleashed“ Long Exposure Competition. The image was created during a yearlong photography challenge with a friend, where we wanted to explore and reacquaint ourselves with ND filters, particularly the 10-stop ND filter. We thought a challenge with predetermined monthly themes would be fun. Winning this competition gave me the confidence to submit images to other awards and competitions.
In 2020, after much encouragement from a friend over several years, I entered the NZIPP IRIS Awards for the first time and came away with three bronze awards. In 2021 I entered again and was fortunate to attend the awards in Nelson and came away with three bronze and a silver award. ‘Toe Toe Lines’ is the first image where I successfully incorporated ICM and in-camera multiple exposures. It opened my eyes to the creative potential of these techniques, which I am now exploring further.
The Reward of Sunrise
Toe Toe Lines
What are your top tips for landscape photography?
The first thing that helps is being familiar with your equipment and tools; otherwise, it acts as a barrier to creating the images you want to create. There’s nothing worse than watching a sunrise and wanting to capture the changing light only to fumble with your camera settings and miss the shot. Once you have your tools dialled, I think nothing beats spending time in the landscape, observing the location, seeing what happens there. Take time to notice how it feels and what grabs your attention, and then start working with that.
How do you continue to push yourself to improve your work?
I am inspired by other photographers and artists, seeing and learning how they choose to respond to and express feelings, thoughts and emotions in the landscape and art. If I see an approach or technique that resonates with me, I will see how I can integrate it into my creative process. I also spend time looking at art books and reading and visiting art galleries, all of which help activate the creative cogs and keep me moving.
In recent years I have found that watching the judging of the NZIPP IRIS Awards is extremely valuable and a tremendous learning experience. Listening to the judges discuss, agree and disagree about the merits of a particular photograph is insightful, and you begin to see and learn what actually makes a compelling image.
At the moment, I am captivated by the work of Valda Bailey. I love her abstract and semi-abstract imagery. Michael Kenna is a firm favourite, as is Ansel Adams. Guy Tal and David duChemin are my go-to’s for insight into the creative process and creative encouragement when the muse is a little slow to appear. Having studied art history, I am also inspired by the work of Monet, Turner, Kandinsky, and van Gogh.
Do you have a favourite photo?
My favourite shot changes all the time depending on my moods, what I am trying to achieve and what I am into at the time, hour or minute! However, I think I could say that I get great satisfaction and enjoyment from my Soulful Squares series, which is ongoing. I love the balance of the square format, the black and white treatment and the focus on the more intimate details, reminding me to look for the less obvious in the landscape.
Crack
Still and Smooth
Fiordland II
What Remains
What's your favourite piece of photography kit and why?
My filters. ND filters, in particular, as they allow me to use my camera like a paintbrush and play with time and light. I love the surprises that come out of this technique.
What's on your gear wish list for the future?
Nothing really, but if I had to say something, it would be a dream to replace my current lenses with the new RF lenses, maybe a new tripod. Otherwise, I'm very happy with the gear that I have.
What's next for you?
I will continue to explore creative avenues of photography and share my work more widely through exhibitions and my website, Soul DeLight Photography.
Where can we find you online?
https://www.souldelightphoto.co.nz