Don Bishop
Somerset-based photographer Don Bishop tells AP why he couldn’t be without his trusty LEE Filters for his work
Tell us a little about your photography background
I started to take my photography hobby more seriously in the 1980s and equipped myself with a Canon AE1 SLR and a couple of lenses. This was soon superseded by Canon’s new EOS range, which meant a reinvestment in new kit.
I concentrated on recording my hobby of steam railways and travelled all over the UK in search of ‘that master shot’, and set myself the goal of getting pictures published in the railway magazines. That was first achieved in 1994 and I continued capturing steam images into the 2000s and still do to the present day.
I reached a point in 2006 when I wanted a change of career, because my business telecoms position was proving ever more stressful. I decided to become a full-time photographer, expecting to do weddings, families and commercial work. However, by attending some shows and craft fairs and such like I soon found that customers were asking to buy prints of my own work, and so the business soon went solely in that direction.
Over time the business grew and with both me and my wife working full time, we opened our first gallery on the Somerset Levels in 2013. We subsequently moved to our current gallery in Cheddar Gorge in 2018.
If we were to take a look in your camera bag, what would we find in it?
I continue to use the Canon EOS range and now have 5DS and 5D Mark III bodies together with several ‘L’ series lenses, including a 1740mm, 24-105mm and 24mm Tilt and Shift. I have also recently invested in a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone to open up new image possibilities.
A key accessory in my bag is my LEE Filters system. I use the ‘100’ series filters for a full-frame camera and most landscape shots employ a polariser and ND graduated filter. I have a number of different strengths of ND grad in soft, medium and hard versions. Alongside these I also use solid ND filters between ND6 (2-stop) and the Big Stopper (10-stop), for certain shots where I want to lengthen the exposure time.
If you could pick one item of kit you couldn’t live without, what would it be?
Almost certainly my set of LEE ND Graduated filters as these make such a huge difference to the exposure you are able to give the main subject and not lose sky detail. I do like to get the shot right in-camera, out in the field so that I have minimal work to do on the raw file in the post processing with Lightroom.
Did you buy it from new and can you describe what it was that made you want to purchase it?
Yes, the whole set was purchased
from new over a period of time, as I wanted to strengthen my options to get the shot right out in the field. I’d seen several demos of such filters in use, and the results they could produce from the likes of Joe Cornish and others.
Can you elaborate on how you find the filters perform in use?
The ND grad filters enable me to slightly increase the exposure of the subject to get the histogram to ‘lean to the right’ without washing out the sky detail. They are very clear and don’t show any colour cast, allowing for maximum detail and resolution to be maintained.
Is there a standout photograph you’ve taken using your favourite kit?
As I use the filters pretty much every time I go out with my camera, there are many. But one that does stick in the mind is of Loughrigg in the Lake District, where I was able to capture the magnificent autumn colours without losing the dark clouds above, by combining a polariser with an ND grad filter.
Have you identified any weaknesses or disadvantages in your possession?
None really. I suppose the need to fit the filter holder and put the actual filter in place on the lens when you are in a hurry is something extra you sometimes feel you could do without. But the results with the filter in place always show that taking a few moments to do this is always worthwhile.
Do you have any plans to replace or upgrade your current kit?
I’m quite happy with my 5DS at the current time and having recently invested in the drone has given me lots of new opportunities, so no plans in the short term. I guess my next camera body would be a high-resolution mirrorless one, such as the Canon EOS R5.
What do you think your kit bag will look like in the future?
I suspect that for the foreseeable future my kit bag will look pretty much the same as it does now, including some wear and tear replacements and minor upgrades that may become available.