About John Holden
 I started taking pictures about 40 years ago. The fishing magazine I wrote for had nothing on file to illustrate my articles, so the editor told me to borrow a camera and try to do a few shots. By some miracle they were good enough for publication. The photo below is one of the first I ever had published. From then on it was my job to supply pictures every month. Then a newspaper asked me for one or two pictures, next came a book... and that was the start of a career. Strange though it may seem to you, I regret never having been an amateur.
I learned the hard way. My scientific training helped with the technical side, but camera work called for a lot of effort and practice before the results were of a consistently acceptable quality. Perhaps ten years passed before the process became automatic, allowing me to concentrate on the pictures themselves.
 The first film I ever put into a camera was Kodak Tri-X. I used little else for almost 25 years, and I still use it today. Miles of it have rolled through my cameras, and the only technical change was a switch from D76 developer to HC110. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
When colour became widespread, I shot a great deal of Ektachrome and Kodachrome. What little non-digital colour I shoot these days is Fuji Velvia, and of that hardly any is 35mm. My experience of digital is that good cameras (and not just DSLRs) of six megapixels or more are generally at least the equal of 35mm film. In certain respects they are already close to medium-format film quality. In my work sector at least, the digital versus film battle is over. Publishers want digital files; if you want to sell pictures, that’s what you must give them.
My first proper camera was a Nikon F which is still in use today. I prefer Nikons and have never been seriously tempted by any other 35mm camera. My allegiance continued on switching to digital, not least because it would have been stupid to dump a collection of superb lenses and accessories. The Nikon F lens mount has saved me a fortune over the years. Would I choose Nikon if I were starting again? Good question!
I've owned several medium format outfits. The Mamiya RZ was cumbersome on location as well as too vulnerable to rain, saltspray and sand, so it had to go. Outdoors, it is hard to beat the Pentax 67 for versatility, durability and image quality. Until last year I kept a Mamiya 330S TLR outfit, mostly for old time’s sake. I have already discovered that selling it was a big mistake. For large format work I use an ancient Graphlex 5x4in view camera and a couple of lenses.
 Beyond that, my equipment is the usual mixture of tripods, light meters, flash guns and various close-up accessories. My darkroom still processes film, but there is hardly any need for silver-based prints. My beloved DeVere 504 enlarger has been relegated to storage for the time being. Apart from a computer, scanner and printer, that's about it.
Photographic directions
In my corner of the publishing world, a photograph must tell a story or illustrate a particular point. That is not necessarily the case in other areas of photography. If success depended on making every image visually striking or a work of art, I would have been out of business decades ago. I take the kind of pictures that editors and art directors in my sector of the market want, which in most cases are technical, documentary or photojournalistic. The outdoor world is my normal habitat. It's relatively easy for me to take the pictures that the publications need because I understand what they want to portray, and in most cases I am familiar with the subjects themselves. I don't believe that anyone can really get to grips with outdoors photography without being interested in natural history and countryside issues in general. There is an unspoken language within every subject that must somehow be captured if a photograph is to ring true. A photographer should be comfortable in his surroundings, and able to cope with the pressures and challenges that come with the territory. Know your strengths and limitations, in other words. I suspect that these principles apply to every other type of photography.
 |
New directions?
Any thoughts I may have had about heading for retirement have been blown away by the arrival of digital publishing and specifically by Web 2.0 technologies such as file streaming and podcasting. Never before in my lifetime have there been such huge opportunities for the individual to create and market his or her own work to a global audience. It’s just fantastic. The sky is the limit for anyone with good ideas, determination and the necessary skills and equipment.
Back to Home Page
|
