The Bookshelf #16 - Photographers on Location with Charlie Waite
Photographers on Location with Charlie Waite
Charlie Waite/Outdoor Photography Magazine
Guild of Master Craftsman Publications
Available on Amazon (Used) from £3.69
If you’re a landscape photographer and you haven’t heard of Charlie Waite, then please allow my five minutes of your time to change that!
I was at The Photography Show ealier this year, and going to listen to Charlie Waite speak about his photography was right at the top of my list. Even finding freebies and looking at camera gear took a back seat for this. It was the right choice to prioritise this talk. Charlie Waite is interesting, humble and everyone present was able to take away a number of things to go away and think about. We were hanging on his every word.
Waite’s work is probably some of the most important landscape photography work that has taken place since Ansel Adams was shooting out in the American West. He has a number of books published, and is generally the person whose name is on The Landscape Photographer of The Year Publication.
This is an old book, my copy it is second hand and well thumbed through. It looks a little but like and old school textbook in its typeface and layout, but I really feel that this adds to its charm. I supposed you could also argue that it has the look and feel of a heavy magazine - it was collated by Out Photography Magazine.
If you’re looking for a book that is a collection of images by Charlie Waite then this isn’t the book for you. There are some of his images in here, but that isn’t the point of this book.
What you will find is a collection of ‘on location with Charlier Waite’ style shoots that took place with various members of the public. There’s a précis of each location and we get to see a profile of each of the photographers that Charlie has worked with - he’s essentially coached/workshopped with them and you get to see each photographer’s final image, with a critique from Waite.
This book to me feels like something I would pick up to look for inspiration and locations outside of my usual Lake District Locale - it contains some classic view points from some well known locations and will be a useful tool for me if I am heading out of ‘town’ for a day or perhaps a weekend.
The critiques in the book are probably some of the most useful information that we get to see, and some of the narratives behind the photos are worth reading - I always think it’s handy to hear other people’s perspectives and to learn about their processes - even if these are pushing 30 years old, it still very much deserves a place in your collection.
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Photo Credit: Main blog image: Guzel Maksutova @guzimak on Unsplash.com