The Pro Interview
All-round genius and nice guy Chris Packham discusses his nature photography
Chris Packham is a naturalist, broadcaster and nature photographer. He is also autistic, but, as he tells Peter Travers, he’s able to use this positively in life and to influence his wildlife photography
If you’re a fan of BBC wildlife shows, you’re likely to be a fan of Chris Packham. Depending on your age, you might potentially remember him with his spiky blonde hair and punk attitude on The Really, Really Wild Show. Or perhaps more recently, displaying unfailing enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge on the BBC’S seasonal Springwatch, Autumnwatch, Winterwatch television shows.
He’s a British naturalist and TV presenter, but he began his career as a humble nature photographer. He’s 56-years-old, but it wasn’t until he was 40 that he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. For many people this can make day-to-day living very challenging. However, Chris impressively manages his high-functioning autism and “heightened senses” in a positive way in his life, and especially, in his nature photography. Chris is able to, “see things with a greater clarity and see the world in a different way. In most instances, in a new and very visual way” and this translates to some truly original nature photos.
Originally from Southampton, Chris now lives in a home in the woods, in the
New Forest, with his pet poodle, Scratchy. We met up in the Canon UK media room at The Photography Show, and as Chris makes himself comfortable, lining up his phone and glasses case perfectly on top of his copy Photoplus magazine, this is the only hint we see of his condition. He’s an interviewer’s dream, being incredibly enthusiastic, intelligent and honest...
Which came first – the love of wildlife, the environment and biology, or the nature photography?
I had a love of wildlife before I’d even started school. I was also really into sciences and pictorial art through school, and my mum would take me to lots of art galleries. I wanted to go to art school but my Dad thought, after seeing the film
Blow Up, that that would be a waste of my life, and steered me towards the sciences and studying zoology.
After I graduated, my artistic side had spent so long being all pent up, so I rented a lock-up and made sculptures and did lots of painting to get a creative release. But I hadn’t learned any art techniques, so I thought an instant fix would be to take photos instead. How wrong I was!
What was your first camera?
I was in a punk rock band at the time, and I was hating that, so I sold all my equipment and was able to buy a Canon A1 camera and 500mm mirror lens. Later on, I also bought a secondhand F1, which was incredibly robust.
What was your first true experience of photography?
Armed with the Canon A1, in a rusty old Renault, I took 36 rolls of film to the south of France, to a place called The Camargue. After taking over 1200 pictures, I came back with just two images. An appalling hit rate, but I was so excited by both photographs, I thought ‘Right, this is what I’m going to do’. After that, I started working as a camera assistant, and I’ve been taking photos ever since then.
You’re obviously known for your work on TV and nature films, but what advantage do you think the still image has over moving?
I started making wildlife films – learning to edit films and how sequences worked together – but what I didn’t find was intrinsic beauty or perfection in form that I could find in stills. There have been a couple of photos I’ve seen around The Photography Show here, and when I saw them I felt euphoric because the composition was so joyous. But I don’t see that very often in a moving image. When I started out making films I was trying to make every shot beautiful, but it’s just
after taking over 1200 pictures, i came back with just two images. an appalling hit rate
impossible. Films are also a team game, and someone else is going to edit the film. And at that point I really struggled with teams, I spent all my time on my own, I wasn’t a team player, I didn’t like human beings and didn’t want to be with them. The last thing I wanted was anyone messing with my work. I like that control over taking a still image.
When it comes to photography, you’re a real perfectionist – have you ever taken a photo you’re really happy with?
I haven’t taken a single photo I’m pleased with. I’ve got one or two pictures on the wall at home, but they’re for personal purposes. I’ve got a picture of dad in an aircraft, and pictures of my dogs, my girlfriend doesn’t like being photographed so there’s no pictures of her, and then I have other people’s photos. But I can show you something wrong with every photo I’ve taken.
One of the aspects of my Asperger’s condition is that, for me, I see a connection between every object I see around me. It’s all about pattern formation. I can walk through my local woods and see a leaf, and the next day I’ll notice the same leaf. So when I look at a photograph, I see every single bit of it in every single way – and also I’ll remember its implicitly for a long time.
You’re your own biggest critic…
Don’t think you can’t ever improve!
It must be really boring to think you’ve taken the perfect picture, and for me, my desire is to continually improve my photographic skills as long as I live. The attainment of your dreams is probably the most disappointing thing in life, you know, because what do you do next? I like the idea that I continually make mistakes, and continually have to up my game, so that means that there’s always a course of progress to be made.
How do you approach your photographic projects?
I like working on very fixed projects and under constraints. I photographed damselflies for a few years on a stream
near my home, where I measured out a 50-metre stretch and put two sticks in the ground, and I only took photos in that area. So that I could know that one tiny area of the planet, and when the light hit certain areas and different times of the day, and where the insects perched. It was an abundant area with hundreds of insects, but I focused on the one species, using only two lenses. It’s these restrictions which prevent distractions that suit my obsessive nature.
I’ve also been photographing birds at a sewage works in Gambia for about eight years now. It stinks, is completely ravaged by disease, and it couldn’t be further from the beauty of the Serengeti, but I like the challenge of making something shitty look quite beautiful.
I’m very pure about not disrupting the animal’s ecology. I get really cross with photographers who act irresponsibly. But I will manipulate the surroundings subtly to help get a better shot. At the sewage works, I’ll move gravel around to get better bokeh in the foreground, and I once took a wheelbarrow full of sand as I wanted a lighter foreground. I carry scissors to cut vegetation or grass on the cusp that’s in my shot. But I’m always cautious to not disturb the birds.
After a break, you’re back using Canon cameras and lenses again. What made you switch back?
The cameras and lenses! Ethics are also very important to me, and I like to research how companies source materials and make products. A few years ago, the
Ethical Consumer produced a report about binocular manufacturers – I’ve been using a whole different range of bins throughout my life – and how some companies, who also produce sniper scope optics for hunting rifles, were actively supporting trophy hunting. They were sponsoring TV shows in the United States, and giving cash prizes for trophy hunting competitions. This immediately throws up a problem for me as I believe that trophy hunting is incompatible with environmental conservation care.
There are a lot of people out there taking pictures of wildlife on equipment made by companies that are also giving money to people for killing wildlife.
I wanted to work with an ethical company, and from the report, the only company that had a positive result, and had the breadth of equipment that was anyway useful to me, was Canon. I’ve also researched Canon’s ethical policies in detail, and when it comes to Canon’s production processes, chemicals used, employment strategies, attitude to environmental issues, they’re all top rate. Canon’s new image-stabilized binoculars are absolutely brilliant, too, which is, of course, extra handy.
Interestingly, you use the 50-megapixel Canon EOS 5DS R for photographing nature, although it only shoots at 5fps. What do you like about the 5DS R body?
It’s the camera of my dreams – it suits my aims and ambitions as well as imposing restrictions when photographing wildlife. For my considered sort of wildlife photography, I don’t need a high ISO or burst mode. The 5DS R offers incredible levels of detail and great scope to crop in to 50-megapixel images. The images on the 5DS R are already super sharp. I like working with its ‘restrictions’ so I don’t get distracted by other stuff. It’s an unbeatable camera.
You also use the Canon EOS-1D X Mk II for wildlife…
Yes! Although I’m not looking all the time for a quick-fire nature photo. The 1D X Mk II is an absolute workhorse and super tough, it just doesn’t give me the buzz
it’s these restrictions which prevent distractions that suit my obsessive nature
that I want my from creative, unique take on wildlife that I’m looking for. For me, it offers technical success but not so much creative joy.
And which Canon lenses are you mostly using these days?
I like to use the Canon EF 500mm f/4l IS II USM super-telephoto prime lens – I’ll use this for wildlife, as well as for plants and insects. Also the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8l IS II USM telephoto zoom – I used this for the portraits of the Orang Rimba tribe in Sumatra, for example. I also sometimes use either lens with a 1.4x Extender III for extra reach. I don’t like using too many lenses, as I like the idea of having less choice.
How do you build relationships with people when you’re photographing them, and with your high-profile as a broadcaster, how do you gain their trust?
I see people as organisms, the same as I see every other animal. I sometimes get into trouble as I don’t think I need permission to take people’s photographs. They might start shouting, but I don’t care too much really, I just carry on. I’m not good at that sort of portraiture as I’m not in control of the photos.
I also like photographing people with long lenses. We’re all just animals so I’m trying to shoot people in the same way. I’m trying to look at the human behaviour in the same level of detail as I would look at an animal’s behaviour. We are quite interesting as a species. I don’t do well using a wide-angle lens and getting close to people and getting images is hard.
As regards to people’s trust – when
I go to remote communities, like the Orang Rimba in the jungles of Sumatra, I take a Polaroid camera with me. I’ll take pictures of them and hand them out. When I’ve given them around 30-40 Polaroid pictures, they’ll get comfortable, then I can take photos with my camera.
What settings and modes do you prefer to use when photographing wildlife? Are you very technical about all your shooting?
I’m generally shooting on Shutter or Aperture Priority, to give me a starting point, and will then use my Exposure Compensation dial, and check the histogram. I do try and use autofocus, but as I like shooting through stuff to get
i don’t like using too many lenses, as i like the idea of having less choice
foregrounds and backgrounds correctly focused, I’ll use manual focus a lot for the animals and birds.
Do you do much post-processing to your photographs?
I use Lightroom and edit my Raws (I’m intimidated by Photoshop, and I wish I had time to learn to use it properly). Straighten, crop, change the colour temperature, bit of masking and boosting clarity, that sort of thing. Once I’ve got the image, I need to get it perfect.
Who or what inspires you in the photography world?
I constantly cut things out of magazines, newspapers, and books – I buy old, second-hand photography books – it might only be one photo or part of photo, but I’ll cut it out. It’s like Pinterest, but I do it physically. It feeds my ideas, and these are people who have skills I don’t, so I try and absorbs their skills. There’s a kind of kleptoparasitism there.
Do you think wildlife photography has improved over time?
Since I started taking photos, the quality of wildlife photography has gone up significantly. When I started they were all just ‘middle of the frame, pin-sharp subject, three flash heads’ – yawn! There are some amazing Scandinavian, German and British wildlife photographers I follow on Instagram. Every day I look at a picture and my heart sinks – they’re brilliant! These photos would not have been taken 30 years ago.