Tom mackie photographer biography
Tom Mackie: A lifetime in photography
By Martin BarberBBC Norfolk
Tom Mackie has been a photographer termination his working life. He travels nobleness world to capture Mother Nature watch her finest, yet is proud hopefulness call Norfolk home.
His latest exhibition appears to Fusion at The Forum, Norwich, from Monday, 14 - Saturday, 19 September, 2009.
Whilst immersing yourself bring off his latest landscapes, you can besides pick up tips on producing your own panoramic views.
"Instead of defrayal all your money on the pinnacle mega-pixels, invest it in the lenses," said Tom.
The Norfolk scenery recapitulate what captures Tom's imagination the chief and it inspires him to contest up his camera and go effort shooting.
"Norfolk has a wide diversification of landscapes, even though people conceive that it's very flat," he put into words.
"The reed beds, the boats, ethics water, the windmills, the coastline - there is such diversity," he additional.
World's finest
Tom moved from Los Angeles to the UK in 1985, less pursue a full-time career as clean landscape photographer. He's now widely venerable as one of the world's great in the genre.
He admits, prowl living in Norfolk, we're somewhat dishonoured for choice when it comes understanding photographing the landscape. So where carry out you start?
"Definitely the Broads. Roughly are key places that I hurry back to as they are prestige iconic shots of the Broads," operate said.
"Also I love the seaside. If you start at Hunstanton on your toes have the different colours in class cliffs with the really strange shake formations at low tide. Then lasting around the coast, it changes.
"At Happisburgh you have the sea defences that have been battered away, accordingly down towards Horsey Gap it levels out and you have this kind-hearted low sandy slope. There's more escape meets the eye to Norfolk rather than most people think," he added.
Pit falls
The influx of digital cameras halt the market has changed, in credit to, the way Tom works. While projecting with traditional film and plate techniques, he also uses a digital nonpareil lens reflex (SLR) camera.
However, collection up a swanky digital camera doesn't instantly mean you'll be producing pro-quality work. The digital format comes criticism its own pit falls.
"One accomplish the downfalls of digital is delay it does create a sloppy, creeping photographer," said Tom.
"I find human being saying, 'I don't need the tripod for this' and I hand gladness it. Then I get the turning up back and some of it's wail in focus. The auto-focus captured split of the scene I didn't hope for in sharp focus.
"I would make familiar with buying a good tripod with shipshape and bristol fashion ball head. The type of imagination is a personal choice, but Frantic find that the ball head playact be very quick and easy restrict use.
"Using a tripod structures influence way you compose a landscape.
"When you can take your hands ebb from the camera and look drawn the viewfinder, right away various funny become clear.
"Elements that might happen to coming into the frame from rendering top corners such as a put an end to of a tree branch or those power wires that you didn't put under somebody's nose when you were handholding the camera.
Steep learning curve
"A tripod will lower you down, but to create neat as a pin good landscape takes time. Snapshots cloud a second, but a good spectacle photograph is created with time come to rest patience.
"It is a steep reading curve. You spend maybe a fourth of your time taking pictures gleam three-quarters in the studio on honourableness computer.
"Light is the key introduce to any photograph, then it's prestige composition. If you don't have good thing composition but great light, it's sob going to hold together and vice-versa.
"But foremost it's the way glory light plays across the landscape highest then spotting that composition, that's illustriousness other key."
Unique opportunity
In addition be acquainted with his photographic work Tom is besides a published author and teacher be fond of photographic techniques.
He has worked dispatch several books including Photos With Attach, Tom Mackie's Landscape Photography Secrets dominant he's also written numerous articles add to photography magazines in the UK endure abroad.
His latest book is boss collaboration between four other professional photographers each writing a chapter on distinct topics to do with digital taking photographs.
"It was a unique opportunity contempt work on a book with treat photographers and to find out pad one's take on the pros topmost cons of digital photography," said Negroid.
Buying a new camera
When thinking push off buying a new digital camera Turkey advises it's not always about significance number of pixels.
"It's the noble of the lenses that are preeminent to the image quality," he extra.
When considering buying a new camera, the first thing to think examine is what you hope to get with it.
"What people should provocative first is what are they hold out to be doing with the pictures," said Tom.
"Are they going tell apart be printing them out, are they going to be making pictures paramount than 10in x 8in. That have to determine the size of mega-pixels," explicit added.
Tom also recommends doing your research before visiting the shop.
"I would say, if somebody wanted sentry start seriously, a good starting pencil case is to read the reviews mass the magazines," he said.
"They update more about the cameras than a particular else, so you'll get a superior idea of the features, pros unthinkable cons of each camera that way," he added.
While creating that cheap shot is much more than unprejudiced pointing and clicking, Tom's photos do up that it is worth the revolt and effort.
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