David Clapp
The key to success as a pro landscape and travel photographer, says David Clapp, is to constantly adapt to a fast-changing market. He talks to David Clark
Travel and landscape specialist David talks about his iconic photos and love of globetrotting.
Over the past ten years, David Clapp has made the journey from being a relative newcomer to photography to an established and popular professional. His diverse and everexpanding portfolio includes atmospheric UK landscapes, architectural abstracts, travel portraits and night shots which look as if they were taken on another planet.
Speaking over the phone from his Devon home, David comes across as determined but down-to-earth, passionate but pragmatic. He’s also disarmingly honest, particularly when discussing a career that took him from a day job that bored him to a new life in which he could fully express his natural creativity…
Have you always been a creative person in general?
Yes, but not always in photography. I’ve played with music since I was 15 or 16. Like most kids, I needed some special power that was outside of standard school learning, and music was the thing that grabbed me the most. I grew my hair and wanted to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page. That’s how I learned to freeform and create on the spot, and I’ve translated many of those skills into photography. I think that’s why I slotted into photography so quickly.
How did music help?
I imagine a lot of computer software works in exactly the same way as sequencing software. Having seven different tracks for drums, for example, is exactly like having seven different layers that you can combine into making a specific effect in an image. Years of using sequencing software helped me develop not only the patience to understand how to post-process images, but I could also see the same map, if you like, of how to make things with a camera as I could with recording equipment. It also made me aware that good results aren’t instantaneous – you have to work at it.
Did you study photography when you were at college?
No, after school I did a diploma in
after university, I worked as a water engineer for South West Water and wrote music in my spare time
building management then did a building degree. However, in practice it was really an education in playing guitar, because I did what I had to do, then came home and played guitar for hours. After university, I worked as a water engineer for South West Water and wrote music in my spare time, pretty much every day. I was always trying to be creative while devising elaborate ways of skiving off work.
How did you become a pro photographer?
Like a lot of people, I got caught up in having to do things that most people have to do, like getting an education and earning money. I was pushed down the wrong road for many years. In 2003, I became a part-time guitar teacher, which I enjoyed, but I didn’t seriously start taking photographs until I was 34. I became semi-pro in 2006, when I got an agency contract with a photo library, and then started the slog of selling work.
I also started writing technique features for magazines around that time. I was still working as a guitar teacher until 2009, but became fully professional as a photographer during that year.
Have you always particularly liked the outdoors?
I’ve always been fascinated with every aspect of photography, it’s just that working outdoors was the best road towards a final result for me. Other types of photography that interested me involved lots of equipment, lighting and models and there were too many variables I couldn’t control. I really liked the thought that I could just have an idea, take a camera bag and a bottle of water and wander around pitting my wits against the location and the elements – and hopefully grab something spectacular along the way.
What especially attracted you to landscape photography?
I originally chose landscape photography for two reasons. One was because I wanted to wander local environments and get more exercise, because I was spending all my time sitting in a room, teaching guitar. The other reason was I could just explore and use my mindset. As a musician, I had been let down by group-orientated creative activities when I had to rely on other people. Now I was at an age where I knew I could rely on myself. If anyone was going to get the job done it would be me. I was also very interested in propelling the work forwards in a business capacity.
When did you start shooting landscapes in earnest?
In 2003, I bought a Canon T90 and a collection of prime lenses. I used to take my camera bag out in the van when I was working for South West Water, and from doing different contracts and travelling around the country I had become fascinated by the English landscape. I knew about the beauty of the southwest, but in my job I also got to see the beauty in other locations, such as Yorkshire in summer and the amazing coastlines of Northumberland.
What film stock did you use?
I started by shooting on Fuji Velvia, as all the photo magazines said I should, but I hated it. I found it a difficult and complicated film to use. It was extremely hard to get great pictures from it without an understanding of how it responded to light or colour.
Did digital have a big effect on your photography?
It made a massive difference. It was the
I started by shooting on Fuji velvia, as magazines advised, but I hated it
answer I had wanted for many years, because it gave me the ability to sort out my own technical problems. Digital gave me the data to push my pictures further. I bought a Canon EOS 5D in 2006 and it became a launch pad for me – I became obsessed with photography. That camera gave me the ability not only to do things like exposure blending, but also to experiment and think of far greater ideas. That was the excitement of it. I had everything to gain from digital.
What kit do you use now?
Until recently I’ve used the Canon EOS 6D and an EOS-1D X, plus another 6D which I’ve had converted to shoot infrared images. The 6D was an absolute revelation because of its GPS and Wi-fi. Now I’ve bought a 5D Mk IV. The only reason I’ve upgraded to the Mk IV is because of the amount of engineering that’s gone under the bonnet on that camera. I’ve been in the fortunate position of working with Canon UK for the past five years, so I get asked to use cameras in advance and I’m asked my opinions about them. When I used the 5D Mk IV, I realized it’s one absolute monster. It’s the camera I’ve always wanted and has all manner of incredible features. It’s an amazing piece of kit.
What lenses do you have?
I have the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4l IS USM, the 24-70mm f/4l IS USM, the TS-E 24mm f/3.5l II and the 70-300mm f/4-5.6l IS USM. I recently added the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6l IS II USM, which is slightly heavier than the 70-300mm but even sharper, and I use it most of the time. My aim is to mainly use two lenses: the 24-105mm f/4l IS USM and the 100-400mm. If I add a 1.4x converter to that lens I’ll cover focal lengths from 24mm-560mm in two lenses. However, I’ll also keep the 24mm tilt-shift lens.
What’s the most unusual thing in your kit bag?
I always carry a large bristle paintbrush, which I use for getting dust and sand off any of the equipment. If I’m out in the field and drop a camera into a sand dune,
When I used the 5d Mk Iv, I realized it’s the camera I’ve always wanted. It’s an amazing piece of kit
getting the grains of sand out with my fingernails would be a nightmare. With a big paintbrush you can get it out instantly.
What software do you use?
I use a combination of all sorts of things. Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software is fast becoming my first port of call with any processing. I’ve stopped using Lightroom to produce TIFFS, as I found DPP gave me better, cleaner files that had a nicer look to them and were better corrected. It’s the go-to piece of software for the technical photographer. Lightroom is amazing for processing en
masse, but for working on individual images I find I get even greater quality from using DPP.
Do you have any favourite specialist software?
PTGUI is the most amazing software
I’m always trying to find something better. I want to raise the bar again and again
for stitching panoramas. A lot of people don’t like using it because it’s just a white screen with lots of tables. I greatly rely on Adobe as the cornerstone of my processing, but some programs do a far better job on certain processes, such as Helicon Focus for focus-stacking.
I also use strange little independent plug-ins like Enblend, which is one that not many people know about. I use it with PTGUI for smoothly blending areas that have no detail, such as skies or sea. It does it so well. I love using software by independent programmers who really understand how to pull the best out of things. I’m keen that the end result has transparent processing. That’s very important to me.
How do you make a living as a landscape photographer today?
You have to be able to adapt. It’s about having the ability to not only work in multiple markets, but also to be able to abandon the less effective markets. Some photographers have clung on to shooting stock photography, which has now literally ground to a halt. Clients still want pictures of inspiring places, but they can get them for £5 from istock. There are so many photographers in so many locations around the world submitting work that the value of images is at an all-time low. At the same time, cameras have never been better and easier to use. This is in itself driving down the value of the ability to take photographs. But if you’ve got a distinctive vision and ability to chase something truly spectacular or individual, then you will create work that is identifiable, and that’s what gives longevity of career.
How do you cope with bad weather, photographically?
If it’s not a nice day for landscapes, I photograph people. I love travel portraiture and I’ve admired the ability of my fellow photographer David Noton (see page 44) to take photographs of people as he travels. It stops me from being miserable and sitting in coffee shops complaining about the light.
What drives your photography?
I’m always trying to find something better. I always want to raise the bar again and again and not settle for the acceptable. If I travel to a place like the deserts of Namibia or Death Valley in the
USA, and spend a lot of money and time getting there, I always feel I have to take the best work I can by pushing myself to the limits, physically and mentally.
If I don’t do that, I think why on earth am I going there?
What keeps your work fresh?
Often I go to locations that I’m interested in purely for my own creativity, or I’ll go on a trip and they become recces for a possible photo tour in the future. Although I’m a born communicator and I enjoy teaching, I also really want to stretch my skills constantly. I can only do that by going on solo missions and then coming back with a greater understanding of photography. It’s not just the adventure, it’s about looking into new techniques and finding new ways of using the camera, as well as new ways of thinking. I then also have a lot more to share and teach to others.
I would stagnate if I just went to highly popular locations and did the same thing all the time. If you go to Namibia, it’s not just about saying, “Where are those trees with the orange sand dunes?” it’s about thinking how you can photograph them differently. Originality within familiarity is a very good way of sustaining a career.
I spend a lot of time asking people things and finding out about their lives
What’s the best and worst thing about being a landscape and travel photographer?
Transportation is never particularly great. Old aeroplanes are the worst thing. I’m 6ft 3in, so I can’t fit into seats as easily as a lot of people can. There’s nothing worse than being pinned into a seat for seven hours while you’re travelling across the Atlantic…
The best thing about travelling? The camera is the key to adventure a lot of the time, but it’s meeting people that I find so essential. People make travelling memorable. I spend a lot of time asking people things and finding out about their lives and the things that they do. I find the experience of meeting people from different cultures absolutely fascinating. That’s the best part.