Luminous Landscape Forum

Site & Board Matters => About This Site => Topic started by: David Watson on June 30, 2017, 11:52:36 am

Title: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: David Watson on June 30, 2017, 11:52:36 am
I am a big fan of his work and own two of his earlier large prints including the tyre pile which is on our bedroom wall and I never ever "tyre" of looking at it (sorry about the poor joke).

Seeing him work made me very envious of his support team and his budget for each shoot.  Ordinary photographers like me can only dream of having the in-house processing, printing and retouching facilities which he has.  Like most other folks I struggle along with my own editing and printing.

I was interested to compare his aerial shooting technique with that of another photographer who uses Hasselblad to shoot landscapes from helicopters - Hans Strand.  Having seen some of his work in Iceland I asked him if he used any special techniques when shooting from a helicopter.  All he said was that he set the shutter speed to 1/800 and held the camera steady!!

Kevin - Thank you very much indeed for allowing us poor mortals a glimpse of how an internationally acclaimed landscape photographer works.  Following the review I downloaded Waterwork from iTunes - highly recommended.

Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Kevin Raber on June 30, 2017, 12:36:29 pm
Thanks, David, We just completed the third part of the interview and will publish it next Wednesday after the US Holiday weekend.  This part is my favorite as Ed and I discuss some of his amazing prints and he shows us his facility.  He's a terrifically nice guy with a passion for photography like the rest of us.
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Telecaster on June 30, 2017, 04:43:18 pm
Thanks and thumbs up from me too!

-Dave-
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: farbschlurf on July 01, 2017, 04:36:33 am
Great Interview, looking forward to Pt. 3.

My first post here, basically it was these interview, that made me subscribe, eventually ...

thanks again!
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: TommyWeir on July 01, 2017, 12:09:55 pm
Yep, enjoying them too.  Looking forward to the next two episodes...
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: BernardLanguillier on July 02, 2017, 09:47:17 am
Thanks for the interview.

Ed is in for a pleasant surprise when he will test the higher ISOs of the H6D-100c.

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: alainbriot on July 02, 2017, 01:58:03 pm
Nice video series.  I like the shorter, multi parts format. It makes it easier to watch than a single, long, uninterrupted video.
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Rob C on July 03, 2017, 04:02:35 am
Nice video series.  I like the shorter, multi parts format. It makes it easier to watch than a single, long, uninterrupted video.

In the 60s, when I was hip, that would have been diagnosed as having a "three-minute mind"...

Now, in my dotage, I find that anything under about twenty minutes becomes just another sound bite, a trailer to something that never arrives.

I'm convinced this is all based on sex.

;-)

Rob C
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: BernardLanguillier on July 03, 2017, 07:55:44 am
I'm convinced this is all based on sex.

The more you have...?

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Rob C on July 04, 2017, 05:38:38 am
The more you have...?

Cheers,
Bernard

Alas, it has to remain a subjective analysis shrouded in mutual vows of confidentiality...

Rob
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Christopher Sanderson on July 05, 2017, 02:48:51 pm
I have also created a stand-alone package of the three videos which can be found on our Videos page (https://luminous-landscape.com/videos/)
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: rdonson on July 05, 2017, 03:35:54 pm
The three videos are a wonderful look into his thinking, approach and work.  What an operation!!!!

Thank you Kevin and Chris!!!
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: rdonson on July 05, 2017, 06:41:54 pm
I have also created a stand-alone package of the three videos which can be found on our Videos page (https://luminous-landscape.com/videos/)

Thanks, Chris!
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Marsupilami on July 06, 2017, 04:40:25 pm
----Seeing him work made me very envious of his support team and his budget for each shoot.  Ordinary photographers like me can only dream of having the in-house processing, printing and retouching facilities which he has. Like most other folks I struggle along with my own editing and printing----David Watson

I just visited his exhibition "water" here in Vienna, very very impressive. And with no background information I calculated his expenses beyond a million $. After reading some more about him and his work I must say that he is one of those few photographers who is an artist and also manages to be comercial successfull.
What I do not like is that you get in modern photography more and more the impression that without the massive use of technical tools you do not get great pictures. And me being 55 years old and coming from "classic" analog photography I am torn between adoring these people using new tools and on the other side seeing too much "manipulation" going on with an end result that represents what? Nature, reality, or a fantasy? But I am very well aware that even many of Ansel Adams masterpieces were altered in many ways.

Thank you for the great videos and the good background information.
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: rodney.dugmore on July 07, 2017, 01:40:53 am
Awesome interview great Artist too thank you Kevin - Keep them coming
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Rob C on July 07, 2017, 04:22:55 am
----Seeing him work made me very envious of his support team and his budget for each shoot.  Ordinary photographers like me can only dream of having the in-house processing, printing and retouching facilities which he has. Like most other folks I struggle along with my own editing and printing----David Watson

I just visited his exhibition "water" here in Vienna, very very impressive. And with no background information I calculated his expenses beyond a million $. After reading some more about him and his work I must say that he is one of those few photographers who is an artist and also manages to be comercial successfull.
What I do not like is that you get in modern photography more and more the impression that without the massive use of technical tools you do not get great pictures. And me being 55 years old and coming from "classic" analog photography I am torn between adoring these people using new tools and on the other side seeing too much "manipulation" going on with an end result that represents what? Nature, reality, or a fantasy? But I am very well aware that even many of Ansel Adams masterpieces were altered in many ways.

Thank you for the great videos and the good background information.



I have a lot of sympathy for your point of view.

What you have to bear in mind, though, is that the business of photography is only a tiny part of photography.

The business, the art and the marketing of photography are vastly different things, and being good at all three is seldom given to one mind. And success within a genre isn't always what it might appear to be: it can become a straightjacket. Look around you and you see people performing upon treadmill after treadmill; money doesn't solve that, simply substitutes one set of problems for another.

Personally, I'd envy nobody. We all have our personal hell to endure.

Just enjoy whatever is available to you (one), and try to remain true to your own beliefs.

Rob C
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: jeremyrh on July 07, 2017, 05:29:09 am

Kevin - Thank you very much indeed for allowing us poor mortals a glimpse of how an internationally acclaimed landscape photographer works.  Following the review I downloaded Waterwork from iTunes - highly recommended.

Watermark - not being snotty, just to help other searchers.

I was also reminded of Hans Strand, who I've had the privilege to join on aerial expeditions.
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Kevin Raber on July 07, 2017, 06:39:29 am
Has Strand is a great friend and amazing photographer.  I took Hans to Antarctica last November on the Luminous-Landscape trip and hope someday to do a long interview with him.  The Watermark book is a worthy purchase.  Check out a few others of Ed's too.
Title: Re: Interviews with Ed Burtynsky
Post by: Rajan Parrikar on July 23, 2017, 02:46:50 pm
Enjoyed this set of videos. Burtynsky's image of the Chand Baori is a beauty. I had a chuckle about him hiring 40 guys to clear the garbage. When I was at the Chand Baori (http://blog.parrikar.com/2009/10/18/chand-baori-rajasthan/) in 2007, I had to hire a guy to sweep away some of the more intrusive trash.