| Member Profile:
A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN SHAW
By Bob Ankrum
John Shaw, author of six books on field photography
including The Business of Nature Photography and John Shaw’s
Focus on Nature, has been working as a nature photographer for
over 30
years. John travels the world leading photo workshops and seeking
memorable images in unusual locales. When we spoke, John had
just returned from a photo safari in New Zealand led by Joseph
Van Os. Their unusual mode of transportation was a chartered,
completely restored 1943 DC-3. John said they had a wonderful
time and hoped they had gotten some good images. We then turned
the lens on John.
Please tell me about your career.
I’m an ex-college
teacher who hated teaching. I was teaching humanities at Western
Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan,
when I started freelancing in 1970. I shot only nature—no
photojournalism, commercial, or weddings. At that time the market
for photography was very limited, and very few magazines published
photography, especially 35mm color. Most were still using the larger
formats for their nature images because 35mm color film was fairly
new.
My first camera was a meterless Nikon F with a Nikkormat
lens that had just been introduced. Like any new photographer,
I put
most
of my money into my lenses. I shot almost exclusively Kodachrome
25 (also known as KII) because it was about the only saleable film
available.
I would characterize myself mostly as a magazine
photographer. I got my start in the 1970s with Ontario Naturalist
when I was
living in Michigan. They were looking for something to publish,
and I was looking for sales. I sold them a lot—I remember
that they were paying $75 for a cover then. I also sold images
to Audubon, which was the showcase magazine in which to be published.
At the time, they were just beginning their shift from being a
primarily bird magazine to a nature one.
Where I lived greatly
influenced my early work. There weren’t
many grand scenic possibilities in the Midwest, so I shot lots
of intimate landscapes and macro work, and the overcast sky provided
a giant softbox overhead. Although I became known for this type
of work, it was frustrating because I got pigeonholed that it was
all I could shoot. I worked very hard to throw off that label.
I told everyone I talked to that I also had other images and worked
very hard to get them published too. Eventually, I became known
for a full range of nature photographs.
My first break was in the
early 1970s when Larry West and I hooked up to offer workshops
throughout the Midwest. Ansel Adams was doing
large-format workshops out West, but we were the workshop pioneers
in the Midwest. We were the only serious 35mm nature workshop and
ran them for 14 years or so. They really got my name out, and more
and more people got interested in my work.
My career really took
off when I was asked to join the book Wildlife Photography: The
Art and Technique of Ten Masters in 1982. The
book was published out of New York, and it got around the publishing
circles that I was someone who could both write well and provide
pretty images.
In 1983, I published my second book, The Nature Photographer’s
Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques. That wasn’t
the title I suggested, but then the publishers have never chosen
the title I suggested. I shopped the book around to several publishers,
but they all turned me down because they said there was no market
for it. I kept doing market research and writing to publishers,
finally returning to Amphoto (who’d already turned me down
once) and pitched it again. They ended up publishing it, and it’s
been very successful. I’ve learned from doing this book that
the instructional book market is much larger than the one for “pretty
picture” books—portfolio books don’t make that
much money, even though almost everyone has one.
What have been
your most interesting and/or favorite assignment/shooting experiences?
It’s
almost impossible to answer that question, but being in the field
with no deadlines is wonderful. I have many favorite
locations, but most are season- and subject-specific. I really
don’t have a favorite season to shoot in, and the light
can be interesting regardless of the season. Although shooting
in the
summer is tough because you have to wait around so long for the
good light.
What about your least favorite?
My least favorite
would be when I try to shoot commercially—when
I try to cram things into a preconceived notion. Nature doesn’t
respond well to preconceived notions of what a shot should be.
What
do you hope for the future, for yourself?
To keep shooting and
not have to worry about selling images—just
shoot. My ideal situation would be to take off in my camper truck
by myself and just shoot. I’m very excited by the new digital
advances—in fact I’ve got a new Nikon D2H sitting
on my desk right now. One danger photographers face in the future
is that they have to stay technologically current.
What’s
your philosophy or approach to shooting?
I want to show people
what I think is beautiful in the world. I think we have enough
images of ugly stuff, and if they see
what’s
beautiful, then hopefully they’ll want to save it. I hope
that the viewer will want to be where my picture was taken. That
being said, the vast majority of my work is done by myself without
companions or assistants. I try to have my images evoke a quiet
solitude that’s inviting and envelops the viewer.
What do
you see for the future of nature photography?
People will need
to shoot images that haven’t been heavily
photographed, even though we’re still drawn to the classic
views. They’re going to have to do more personal projects
in small and unusual locations. The national parks have been
shot to death. Right now, I’m trying to make myself go
shoot in new locations—go to Utah but don’t visit
a national park. Today’s photographers can still market
to magazines, as long as they can present a different approach,
different style,
different season. There is still a market for things presented
with a new angle.
Also, it’s tough professionally right
now, especially in today’s economic climate. My best advice
is to diversify your revenue sources. It’s tough to shoot
just nature, and the stock business basically pays nothing.
Digital
is revolutionizing how we shoot in the field—both
what we shoot and how we shoot. Instant feedback definitely influences
how we work. I’m concerned, however, that if I immediately
upload an image to a photo editor, the editor could take a look
at it and say, “focus over there a little, and zoom in
on that,” making me just a camera carrier. It’s dangerous
because the editor could demand instant gratification and may
end up telling the photographer where and how to shoot.
Another
concern I have is that craftsmanship is suffering with the new
technologies. There’s becoming a philosophy of “get
something and fix it later in the computer.” Similar to
this attitude is that some clients are also beginning to diminish
the
value of photography because they think, “Anyone can do
it. It’s simple.” They don’t understand the
complexity of what goes into the final image.
What could every
photographer do to improve the profession?
Photographers need
to be morally honest; too many are taking ethical shortcuts today.
We need to be more committed to making
ethical
decisions and policing ourselves to ensure the long-term integrity
of the profession. I don’t object to manipulating an image
in the computer, as long as it’s labeled that way up front.
However, I personally won’t do anything in the computer
that I wouldn’t do in the darkroom. For example, I won’t
produce a composite image where a wolf and a whale are combined
into one shot.
If possible, I try to eliminate any offensive
objects in the field through my composition; however, I should
confess
that I’ve removed bird poop from some images—because
bird poop is just not pretty! |
