We've asked our Light & Land leaders what thier best moments were looking back at 2022. 

Light & Land Leader Bill Ward

Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph? 
Northumberland. Always. The gift that keeps on giving. I grew up here, and it’s different every time I go back.

Craster Harbour, Snow, Multiple Exposure by Bill Ward. 

Words of wisdom for a new photographer.
Time. Patience. Courage. Take photographs that please you, and you alone. That is all.

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
Cheaper petrol, food, and electricity, please.

Who is your biggest influence?
It’s not a one person thing for me. I think we probably admire and absorb the traits of all sorts of varied humans. With a camera, on the landscape front, the softness of Joe Cornish, the detail of David Ward, the imagination of Mark Littlejohn. On the Creative Photography front, the daring of Chris Friel, the creative restlessness of Doug Chinnery, the artistry of Valda Bailey. But my biggest influence when it comes to photography is really my other job: I’m an actor when I’m not a photographer - I use the skills that I’ve learnt over the years treading the boards every single day with my camera.

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?
My wellies. One of the most underrated pieces of photographic equipment out there… helps you to literally be a part of whatever it is that you’re photographing.

Funniest moment from 2022
I’ve fallen over a lot. Does that count?

Any additional comments/ information you'd like to share?
If in doubt, go.

 

Light & Land Leader Phil Malpas

Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph? 

That would be the Kyle of Tongue and the view to Ben Loyal. 
Words of wisdom for a new photographer.
Take photographs that appeal to you – don’t be tempted to try to please anyone else.

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
I’m off to Venice for 3 back-to-back tours in January and February so at the moment I can’t really think further ahead than that!

Who is your biggest influence?
Me – (see answer to Question 2)

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?
My iPhone

Funniest moment from 2022
Seeing our group perform “So long, farewell” in the King’s House Hotel during Clive’s final tour in January (thank you Davina & Julia)!

 

Light & Land Leader Charlotte Bellamy

Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph? 
I visited Scotland mainland to photograph for the 1st time in my life and fell in love. It was an absolute feast for the senses – beautiful autumn colours, wonderful reflections in the lochs, mountains (which I miss in Holland) and just the most wonderful scenery. I made over 4000 photos in 10 days! Everything from ICM, to multiple exposure, black and white, square, traditional landscape – you name it, I experimented with it! Its going to take me a while to work through them.

Words of wisdom for a new photographer.
Enjoy the experience of creating the image itsself. Allow your creativity to shine through, and try to photograph without expectation, for yourself. I often think the enjoyment you can gain from the experience and process of photographing is overlooked for the end result.

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
I’m looking forward to finishing a project and book I have been working on in 2022. I have the pictures, I just need to craft the words and be brave to release it to the world! I’m looking forward to returning to Norfolk for the L&L tour in May and the tulips here in Holland again in April. Also hoping for a sprinkling of snow early in the year for wonderful photographic opportunities. I’ve not booked my big holiday for 2023 yet as my son will hopefully be starting Uni, and so our summer will hopefully be supporting him in this.

Who is your biggest influence?
This is a tricky one – you are probably expecting a famous name photographer. However, I find my greatest influencers right now are those who encourage me to be myself and follow my creative heart and to be brave to create the images I want to rather than what I think is the norm or expected. Two individuals of note who have really shaped my work in the last couple of years with these concepts are Paul Sanders, and my wonderful mentor who I have worked with this year – Tony Bridge from New Zealand.

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?

I’m not a techie at all, so I hardly have anything of real importance other than my camera. So, I’m going to cheat and say my pony! I absolutely love the opportunity to free my head from daily life when I go out for a ride. If you need a piece of photographic equipment, I’d say my iPhone with the slow shutter cam App – I just love sketching ideas out and the freedom I get when photographing with a phone.

Funniest moment from 2022
Funny….sort of, laughing in a hollow sort of way. Booking my summer holiday to Costa Rica in August to find myself getting rained on 24/7 for about 4 days at one point. At the time Holland and the UK were suffering drought conditions, and there I was, wading through ankle deep streams running down paths in full wet weather gear + poncho and still soaking wet! Not even able to take photos because it was so wet.

Any additional comments/ information you'd like to share?
This year I have taught many online and in person workshops and tours. I have loved every minute of meeting such a wide range of individuals, with whom I have shared their creative journey. Watching the light bulb moments and the excitement of seeing something appear in their camera that they love is the best feeling ever as a tutor. I look forward to sharing many more memories in 2023.

Light & Land Leader Tom Sullam 

Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph? 
The Dolomites – really took my breath away. It is so utterly breathtaking and inspiring. At every turn is a new view, a new experience to be had, and a new photograph to be taken!

Words of wisdom for a new photographer.

Never stop looking for photographs. It can be so easy to feel dispirited and not ‘see’. But the seeing comes from looking. Eventually you will start to see opportunities for photography everywhere!

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
A tour to Colorado or Arizona, or even both! Wonderful places that offer a huge variety of photography in both colour and black and white. The mountains and national parks of both these states are arguably the most incredible to photograph in all of the US!

Who is your biggest influence?
There are two. Charlie Waite and Saul Leiter. Both masters of their art, true to their art form, and both produce images that make you want to go out and photograph, whatever the weather, the conditions, or the location!

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?
Amazingly I rely enormously on my loupe. The Hoodman HoodLoupe is my go to for all shoots.

Funniest moment from 2022
If I’m allowed to share this…. I was photographing the Bedruthan steps in Cornwall, and waiting patiently for the clouds to come over and throw some shadows onto the foreground, when I realised that on the right edge of my frame was the very clear outline of a naked man walking confidently along the south coast path. No concern for anything, just marching on…

Any additional comments/ information you'd like to share?

I am new to the Light and Land leader group, but already feel like this is a wonderful place to be, with so much opportunity to help grow the company and travel to some incredibly exciting destinations.

 

Light & Land Leader Ed Rumble

Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph? 
The Dolomites Tour that I co-led for Light & Land with Tom Sullam was pretty special. One extraordinary morning, we ascended by cable car to the 3000m summit of Lagazuoi, above a cloud inversion and photographed as the mist lifted and the light poured through.

Words of wisdom for a new photographer.
The core of the photographic endeavour is not really about ‘What’ it is about ‘Why’; perhaps more specifically ‘Why do I feel compelled to make a photograph?’. The answer might lie in subject, mood and emotion, relationships, form, colour… such an exploration can enable us to identify and begin refining an image even before we have taken the camera out of our bags. This is a necessary precedent to all the ‘What’ questions about camera settings, focal length, depth of field, filters and processing techniques. Spend some time pondering the ‘Why’ and the ‘What’ will reveal itself.

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
Meeting and working with more lovely L&L clients to help them find their creative voices. From a personal point of view, I have recently acquired a new large format printer, so I’m looking forward to printing more of my own work ‘in house’.

Who is your biggest influence?
It is a cliché, but for me the Gold standard remains Ansel Adams. Many have moved on, but I firmly believe his photography and methods are still as relevant today as they ever were.
Every time I look at one of his images, which I do frequently, it is to be reminded of the exacting precision of every element therein. It is not just the compositions where everything has been ordered and arranged with utmost care, but the orchestration of form, tonality and luminosity (often in the darkroom) that make them a complete symphonic performance.

Some argue that all this results in technical perfection but emotional sterility. However, deconstructing the success of a favourite image often reveals elements of design that have allowed me to momentarily perch on the minor foothills of Adam’s stratospherically high standards.

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?
Digital has been such an incredible revolution in how we make images. However, transitioning from a lovely big 5x4 ground glass screen or a medium format optical viewfinder to squinting at a tiny 2” digital screen to review composition and critical focus is something I have loathed. In mitigation, my Hoodman loupe for viewing images has made an incredible difference to working in the field, especially in bright conditions. It is the first accessory I now pack in my camera bag.

Funniest moment from 2022
I’ve been in Scotland during midge season, but nothing compares to my encounter with South Carolina’s State Bird, the mosquito, while photographing cypress trees at Lake Moultrie. I imagine the sight of me repeatedly crouching behind my tripod before frantically sprinting up and down the beach waving my arms about between exposures might have raised a chuckle (or perhaps a call to the local Sherriff’s office) from the passing locals.

Any additional comments/ information you'd like to share?
As new leaders, Tom and I owe a huge debt of thanks to all those L&L clients who entrusted us this year to guide and help them explore their creativity with their cameras. Don’t tell anyone, but along with all the fun, we learned as much from them as they did from us.

 

Light & Land Leader Astrid McGechan

1. Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph?
Our Light & Land tours to Transylvania (Romania) and Puglia stood out for me, I loved photographing there! But I can’t single out a particular image, so I attach one I took of an object much further away – the Moon! I bought a new cheap long lens back in September, and managed to photograph the moon with it. Every time I look at it I am amazed at the detail it captured. For me, looking at the moon puts many things into a better perspective.

Words of wisdom for a new photographer.
Just keep your eyes open – look up, look down and look behind you. Let go of your expectations of what you will find in a certain place, that will help you to see things you wouldn’t otherwise notice.

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
I am looking forward to visiting new places and meeting new people!

Who is your biggest influence?
Canadian photographer David duChemin – his approach to the creative life in general stimulates me, and Charlie Waite – I find the subtlety in his photographs very appealing.

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?
My iPhone. I use it all the time for sketch images, alternative techniques such as multiple exposures, and generally to help me see what is possible at any given location.

Funniest moment from 2022
There were a few while on tour with Light & Land. Being surrounded by huge bear-fighting dogs while seeking out shepherds in Transylvania was funny, in retrospect at least. In Matera, on our Puglia tour, the group stood in an archway and we spotted people becoming silhouettes against the strong sun. I had the camera ready and managed to photograph a woman holding 2 dogs on their leads, which I found amusing.

Any additional comments/ information you'd like to share?
I would like to say thank you to all who travelled with me this year! It’s been a wonderful time.

 

Light & Land Leader Flavio Bosi

Looking back at 2022, where has been your favourite place to photograph? 
Cuba!

Words of wisdom for a new photographer.
Practice, practice, practice. Welcome your mistakes and learn from them, don’t fear failure. Failing makes you grow, and you will cherish your successes a lot more! Look at photographs as much as you can to draw inspiration and learn visual language.

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?
More travelling and making my best images yet. Bolivia is a highlight, and we’ll lead a fantastic tour there in 2024.

Who is your biggest influence?
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?
Spare battery and memory card!

Funniest moment from 2022
Looking for Mark Seymour’s phone during our dinner break while shooting a wedding: we looked through the whole venue, on the grounds where we shot the couple and the groups, all the rooms, only to find it through the Find my Phone function and making it ring remotely. It was in the bridal room, behind the TV! Bless the technology…

Any additional comments/ information you'd like to share?

Choose the gear you really enjoy using and then forget about it. It will stimulate you to get out and
shoot and get you more productive! No more looking for the next piece of equipment, just for the
next shot!

 

Light & Land Leader Mark Seymour

Looking back at 2022. Where has been your fabourite place to photography?

Definetly Cuba!

Words of wisdom for a new photographer

A few tips for street and environmental portraits on the street

1. be Brave, take pictures of people from the front and not their backs 

2. 'Show me the nose', try to ensure you can see everyone's faces

3. 'Heads and spaces', try to keep everyone's head in its own space and not clashing with another head. 

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?

Photographying the Misteri Di Trapani again. For the first time since the pandemic. 

Who is your biggest influence?

Magnum Photographer Larry Towell and Henri Cartier-Bresson

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?

As I always travel light, it would have to be my 35mm lens.

 

Light & Land Founder and Leader Charlie Waite

Looking back at 2023. Where has been your favourite place to photograph?

Kerala, India. 

My favourite line by Henri Cartier- Bresson “To take photographs is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis.”

Words of wisdom for a new photographer

Remember the creative process can threatened by insecurity. But remember that this is a healthy element of that creative process. 

What will you be looking forward to in 2023?

The joy of unexpected surprise encounters  and joyous opportunities.

Who is your biggest influence? 

Ansel Adam’s intellectual approach to photography is second to none, and many others. After all, photography is such a moveable feast.

Apart from your camera, which piece of equipment can you not be without?

The ability to both evaluate and assess mentally and emotionally what lies in front of me.

Funniest moment from 2022

I was about to make a photograph of a swan on a lake a long way away and realised it was a child’s inflatable swan!

Any addittional comments/ information you'd would like to share? 

Photography has become the people’s new common language. 

Photography is good for us as it reflects both who we are to ourselves and at its best, it places us into a state of mind where we are acknowledging the sacred nature of all earthly existence.