The Pro Interview
There was never any doubt that Michel D’oultremont would make his life behind the camera. Keith Wilson hears how this young master from Belgium found success by following an ethos of pure wildlife photography
Wildlife pro photographer, Michel D’oultremont, tells us about his fast rise to fame in his already impressive career
AT WHAT AGE do you become too old? In Michel d’oultremont’s case it is 27. While that may sound incredulous to most of us, in Michel’s case turning 27 has proven to be a critical point in his brief career as a professional wildlife photographer.
Turning 27 means he’s too old to enter the Rising Star Portfoilio Award in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, run by the Natural History Museum in London. This award is open to photographers aged 18 to 26 for a portfolio of six photographs, and Michel has won it – twice. The first time was in 2014 with a collection of images taken in the rural low country of the Netherlands and Belgium. Speaking about that first success, the Belgian-born photographer said at the time: “I try to photograph the environment first, along with animals that happen to live in it, pass through it, or engage with it. I want to take pictures that do justice to the emotion that this generates for me and in this way helps raise awareness of the beauty of nature and the importance of conservation.” Michel’s second success in the
competition came four years later in 2018. He had another set of six pictures that (except for one) were confined to that small area of northern Europe, which has been his home and favoured photo haunt throughout his life. His competition success is further proof that the best pictures are often made in an environment as familiar as your own home – requiring frequent return trips, local knowledge, and a depth of understanding that a single fleeting visit can never truly attain.
But with age comes maturity, and Michel has now broadened his horizons beyond Europe’s shores to the more distant continents for his compelling and elegant studies of animals in their snowy surroundings. He may no longer be a rising star, but Michel d’oultremont’s newly-launched professional career is well and truly in orbit with no obvious signs of stopping…
Which came first, your love of nature or photography?
Without a shadow of a doubt my love of nature. I did a lot of ornithology when I was a kid and started watching animals at the age of 12 with an old pair of binoculars. The photography came later from around the age of 15.
In the early years of your photographic development, who was your mentor and what did you learn from them?
I had the chance to start digitally, meaning I could see my mistakes instantly on the camera screen, which was a good way to work out what to do next time. I was also active on nature photography forums and that helped me a lot. I met wonderful people who gave good advice: Franck Renard, Christophe Salin, Dimitri Crickillon. All have since become very good friends with whom I still share a lot of things today.
Your photography has also evolved during this period. What have been the most profound changes in the way you work?
At first, I wanted to make only images that showed the animal at its best, basically just record shots. But soon I wanted to show them in their environment, so I began trying out new ways of framing the subject and their surroundings to show another aspect of nature. It was from that point that my photography started becoming more aesthetic and a little bit less naturalistic.
What was your ‘breakthrough’ image that you think allowed you to get noticed and raise your profile in photography?
I think it has to be the series of pictures I made in the swamps of black-necked grebes. I was photographing at eye-level with the water, lying on a floating hide and shooting into the setting sun, which created a lot of unusual reflections and flare in the frame. These images allowed me to win several international awards, including my first Rising Star Portfolio in the 2014 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
What was your first Canon camera and which ones followed as you continued to upgrade?
My very first camera was an EOS 400D, which I used with an old EF 300mm f/4. Then I moved up to the Canon EOS 40D and changed my lens to a 20-year-old EF
I was photographing at eye-level with the water, lying on a floating hide and shooting into the setting sun
300mm f/2.8! After that came a 7D, then a 5D Mark III, and finally I now use the 5D Mark IV. In terms of Canon lenses I now have everything from 17mm to 600mm, which allows me to cover all situations! I have an excellent relationship with Canon and I’m one of their ambassadors for the Belgium programme.
How do you tend to prepare for a typical day’s shoot?
In fact, on an equipment level I do not prepare that much. For me, it’s more about observation, so I go to places I know very well and I spend a lot of time just watching nature through my binoculars. That’s essential! Tracking and getting to know your subject means everything in this type of photography. Time spent like this allows you to know the animals, their habits, behaviour and movements. Of course, it is important to do this all without disturbing them.
Can you tell me more about the sequence of the musk ox battle? Where was this taken and how hard was it to get these pictures?
The pictures of this fight between these two muskoxen I made after eight days in the field in the middle of winter in the heart of the Dovrefjell–sunndalsfjella National Park in Norway. Try to imagine a white desert as far as the eye can see with no trace of life, except for a few musk oxen, or rock ptarmigan. I stayed the whole time with this group of males. They were the two very powerful, very strong ones that I noticed.
Throughout my stay they were very calm, but on the last day the atmosphere became very tense, almost electric, between these two large males. Then they just started rubbing their heads together, but as the minutes went by, they began to hit with more strength – more power in the fight. Until this moment when the two males both moved back about 30 metres and then ran at high speed straight at each other! I just took a burst of frames with my 5D Mark III and
The shock of the impact when they collided was terribly violent and echoed throughout the valley
EF 500mm f/4. The shock of the impact when they collided was terribly violent and echoed throughout the valley. It was really an incredible moment.
What happened afterwards?
Afterwards, they remained standing motionless for several seconds, probably stunned by the impact. Then one of them left quietly and the other just went to bed in the snow!
Away from long lens encounters, many more wildlife photographers are using wide-angle lenses with remote-controlled camera traps. Is this an approach that you will use more in future?
Not really, mainly because I’m not enough of a technician to do this, and especially because I’d rather be behind my camera. I prefer long focal length lenses too, usually the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 or EF 600mm f/4, to stay far enough away from the animals and not to disturb them. This approach allows me to capture natural scenes with beautiful backgrounds and undisturbed animals in all serenity. That is an absolutely crucial aspect for me.
Which accessories do you consider essential to your photography?
For me, they are my binoculars. They are indispensable!
Indispensable? I wonder if you’ve ever forgotten them! Which ones do you use?
I use Swarovski, the 8x32 CL. They are incredible, unbreakable and very bright, which allows me to observe the animals very early in the morning or very late in the evening. They’re always with me or in my car. They never leave me and they are too precious and useful for me to ever forget them. On occasion, I forget to put a battery or a memory card in my camera, but my binoculars are always safely around my neck!
Much of your work focuses on location-based projects. What are you working on now and what do you plan to do when finished?
I have just finished my project on Hokkaido with the release of a book that is entirely self-published. I have some upcoming events to present this new work, but I am already starting to think about a new series of images. I have a lot of ideas and must do a little sorting out in my head to choose the right one next.
Why did you choose Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, and how many trips did you make to get the pictures for the book?
I’ve only been to Hokkaido once, but it was for more than 30 days! It was by staying there for a very long time that I managed to make the images that I’m very much proud of. The light and snow conditions are so beautiful there that it was almost too easy to make beautiful images. I was like a child amazed by everything I saw, all those animals in large white areas. That’s what I love to do, so I didn’t deprive myself and I took a lot of pictures, probably too many, but digital has this advantage. You can keep shooting all the time for no extra cost whatsoever! I kept a hundred images of the trip for the book, the ones I like the most and those which are the most successful are for me however.
I was like a child amazed by everything I saw, all those animals in large white areas, all those animals
Any regrets? Not on your life! It’s a bold step, but I’m doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do
You’re not the first photographer to be enchanted by this place. What would you recommend to other photographers wanting to travel there?
Hokkaido is a wonderful place, but more and more photographers are going as it is one of the new ‘hot spots’. The advice I would give to help make images that are a little different is to seek out new places, new locations to make your own.
Winter wildlife in snowy landscapes feature prominently in your work. What is it about snow that you love so much?
With the snow, everything becomes magical. Snow is purity of the landscape in an unblemished state – it’s wonderful and fantastic. Everything becomes white and only the essential remains. That’s what I’m looking for more and more in my photography – minimalism with just the colour white.
What is the role of video in your work and when do you use it instead of still images?
I like to film in the field, it gives another more realistic aspect of the scenes observed. But for the moment I do not do too much. It takes a lot of time to create a really good movie.
You have won the Rising Star Award twice in the NHM Wildlife
Photographer of the Year contest. How important do you believe awards are for a professional photographer’s career?
Indeed, I had the great honour to win this incredible prize twice! Each time has been a huge highlight of my career and it’s a great feeling. Because of this recognition, people from all over the world have seen my images and that’s been fantastic for my career.
Is it always the award-winning images you are most pleased about, or are there others that are more important to you?
I am pretty demanding of myself, it’s both an advantage and a hindrance at the same time, as you can imagine. I’m therefore rarely satisfied with an image. If the photos win awards then I will like them more, but there is always room to do better. The image of which I’m most proud is undoubtedly the one I will be shooting tomorrow.
You only turned professional three years ago. Any regrets?
Any regrets? Not on your life! It’s a bold step, but I’m doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s not easy, however, I’m not denying it. Making a living as a wildlife photographer is not the easiest thing to do, but I hold on and try to keep the dream going.
What are the best and worst things about becoming a professional?
I’ve been taking pictures since I was 15 and I’ve always felt like I’ve lived in nature and today that’s exactly what I do all day long, so it’s really impossible to find anything negative to say about it. I’m a happy man and that’s what matters to me. To be fulfilled in what I do and to find happiness in my daily life.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to make a living as a wildlife photographer?
Make sure you have plenty of perseverance, don’t pay too much attention to criticism and follow your path. Trust in yourself and always give 100 per cent of your effort to your photographic projects.
Michel’s new book Hokkaido
(price €38) and his previous work Yellowstone (€35) can both be purchased directly from his web shop at https:// micheldoultremont.com/en/ product-category/book/