Chip Forelli

Type of photography: landscape, industrial, commercial
Personal website: http://www.chipforelli.com
Country: USA
Camera type: Hasselblad 500CM, 4x5 Linhof

Please introduce yourself. How old are you, where do you live and what is your job?

Chip Forelli here - I'm in my 50"s and commercial and fine art photography is my job.

How long have you been taking photos and what brought you to photography?

I've had my own business since 1983. Photography, like architecture which I studied in college, requires a fine balance between aesthetic sensibility and craft, or the technical and creative. Maintaining a balance between the two is necessary - if you alter the balance, you run the risk of becoming overly conceptual or preoccupied with technique.”

Do you follow any photographic icons? If so, how do they inspire you?

I admire Ansel Adams, Michael Kenna, Fay Godwin. Clarity and consistency of vision and excellence in craft.

What photographic equipment do you use? What is your favourite film material?

Hasselblad 500CM, 4x5 Linhof Technika 2000, various fixed focus lenses from very wide to moderate telephoto and tripod (always). TMax 100 for black & white and Fuji Provia 100 for color.

What do you do with all of your old slides? How do you archive them?

120 film strips and 4x5 film in archival plastic pages in binders stored in my workspace.

What's your favorite weather for taking pictures and why?

I like various weather conditions. Early morning fog in spring or fall or winter for that matter, just before a thunderstorm (great clouds and wind), foggy nights might be the most enjoyable to me because I love the gradations of light caused by the fog and the shadows cast through the atmosphere when objects block the light. The stillness and unchanging conditions of night photography allow me to treat the compositions like a studio still life - taking my time and enjoying a good book during long exposures.

When do you think you came closer to your mature style and why did you chose to search for beauty in landscapes and not in people?

When I ignored the work of others, my own style settled into it’s rightful place. I still appreciate the work of others, but I don’t take it with me. I enjoy a pure, direct relationship with what I photograph – the detachment from day to day life and culture I experience while photographing allows the complete connection to what I’m photographing. Photographing people, which I enjoy in special circumstances, comes from a completely different place. The places I photograph are places I love to be. It’s singular and personal, not collaborative or dependent upon my influencing the subject to get cooperation. The landscape attracted me when I started to do personal work because I was living and working in Manhattan, New York and I needed an antidote to the hectic, busy life I was living.

You use long exposure time a lot, how do you measure it?

I start with calculating what a standard exposure would be, then repeatedly double the time while closing down a stop for each doubling of exposure. When I run out of f stops I start using neutral density filters to force a long exposure.

What attracts you to the black & white photographs, aren't you tempted by color?

Color is the first thing we see – to me it’s a distraction – we see it all time. The elements of light, form and line which comprise black and white images, are to me the purest components of composition. Certain images only work in color and I do carry color film because of this.

Your composure is brilliant, do you often come back to places you have seen before and search for different views?

I will revisit certain scenes if I have not photographed it yet - I will wait for the right conditions. Once I have done that, I might revisit the scene, but usually the first time photographing it is the best.

What does photographing mean for your life?

It is an absolutely essential part of my life - my creative spirit and career are at one with my love of photography.