Joe Cornish
Type of photography: landscape, mountain, sea
Personal website: http://www.joecornish.com
GB landscape magazine: http://www.landscapegb.com
Country: United Kingdom
Camera type: Ebony 4x5, Linhof Techno and Phase One P45+
Please introduce yourself. How old are you, where do you live and what is your job?
I am a child of 1958, the end of the Baby Boom generation, and am 53. I live in a village on the edge of the North York Moors, North Yorkshire, England. I am a working landscape photographer. However, in keeping with the new reality of multi-tasking for the self employed, I also print photographs (mostly my own), lead workshops, write articles and books, give talks and seminars, and occasionally present for TV and at events (photography-related).
How long have you been taking photos and what brought you to photography?
I have been a 'serious' photographer ever since I started taking pictures as a fine art student, and that was from 1976 -1980. Scary! In some ways what brought me to photography was my inability to embrace 'abstraction' in painting; I was too fond of visual reality, and in that respect, photography came to my rescue.
Have you had any formal training in photography?
No. I am entirely self taught. (Although I have done a little colour management training in recent years.)
You are one of the best photographers of Britain landscape, how much time do you spend in the nature?
In my experience, most nature photographers will give you this answer: Not enough. But in general terms I believe I am out photographing around 100 days a year, as I have done for two decades.
Its clear from your photographs that you like colors and atmosphere of first and last daylight, what exactly do you find appealing about it?
As a matter of fact, perhaps because that is the perception, I now make a big effort to be out and photograph at other times of day. I think I have been typecast as a sunset and sunrise kind of guy. To answer your question dispassionately though, the ends of the day are the times of intense and contrasting colours, and sometimes of magical weather effects and therefore of remarkable light. Helpful conditions help landscape photographers make an impact. And now I have become quite sensitive to that accusation. One of my objectives is to make images that simply reflect reality as it is, whatever the weather and light, and that make their point without resorting to overbearing or 'sensational' effects of colour and light. In essence, I seek balance and harmony, not 'Impact' with a capital I.
Don't you have problems waking up early in the morning?
Yes, but it doesn't matter how early or late it is, the problems are the same. Once I am up, I get on with it.
Do you rather take pictures in the morning or in the evening?
No preference, I am always happy to be out with my camera.
What is your favourite place in Britain to take pictures of?
Scotland, probably the Outer Hebrides.
What photographic equipment do you use and why?
I have a number of different cameras and I am a restless experimenter with gear. However, from 1998 to 2008 I used an Ebony 4x5 field camera 95% of the time. Now I use a Linhof Techno and Phase One P45+ MF digital back 80% of the time, and various dslrs and digital compacts as well.
What does photographing mean for your life?
When I was young, the camera was fun, a joy, and away to express myself (although still a 'serious' pursuit). Then it also became a way to make a living, and to support my family. It is still both those things but it is also a way of being, and has helped me shape my direction and fulfill a mission of sorts. I believe everyone needs something they can do well, whatever it may be, to help them become a person, and to function properly. This is confidence. Confidence allows expression, helping us to overcome life's frustrations, and for me that confidence has come through photography. I passionately believe in the framework of knowledge that is created by seeing, and seeing is the heart of photography.
Stills photography can be understood as the art of One Present Moment. That is a remarkable attribute that links it to forms of meditation. There is often a fascinating discrepancy between photography, and what we see through the infinitely complex mechanism of the brain. Overcoming this discrepancy, or even emphasising it, is often what allows us to use photography effectively. Photography educates us constantly about the nature of life, reality, its indescribable beauty and infinite variety.
Photography has introduced me to many lifelong friends, and what I have learned from them and from my close family has helped me approach a sense of fulfilment. In recent years as I have become more interested in philosophy and ways of being I am finding photography allows me to connect closely with nature, and I try to share that connection with others. I am also now seeking to use photography as a conduit and connection to the communities of which I am a part, my family, friends, fellow photographers, environmentalists, hillwalkers, outdoor lovers, and all those who yearn to feel connected to nature. A certain degree of mastery over the medium has helped me feel a suitable humility and an understanding that 'it's not about me'. Just as a I yearn to be a part of nature, not apart from it, so I also realise I am simply a part of the community of humankind.
