Robert HardingA chat with Adam Burton
Adam Burton is one of the UK’s top landscape photographers and has recently launched his third book – a beautiful photographic record of the Brecon Beacons National Park. We talk to him about his obsession with the British countryside and how he gets such stunning photos.
© Adam Burton
“I’m not so much passionate about photography as about the outdoors,” says the family man, from his house in the small village of Morchard Bishop in Devon. “I enjoy what I see, not shutter speeds and apertures. What I’m trying to say is, I’m not a nerd!”
Adam’s passion for shooting landscapes was ignited when he went backpacking to Australia, New Zealand and the US in 1996 and wanted to show people back home the spectacular sights he encountered. But it was in England where his photography truly blossomed. “I really learnt on my home patch – the New Forest and Dorset,” he recalls. “I taught myself, mainly by reading photography magazines.”
© Adam Burton
Since settling in Devon he has focussed on Exmoor, Dartmoor and the South West coastline. “I love shooting the coast,” he says. “It’s so rugged – I like the fact it’s looked that way for the past thousands of years.”
Adam’s favourite times to shoot are dawn and dusk. “It’s magical,” he says. “You get frosts and mist and that makes it very special, not to mention the early light.” On summer days, chasing the best light for Adam often means starting out at 2am in the morning and not returning home until 11.30pm. “That’s challenging,” says Adam, “..but the rewards are there when you see an amazing sunrise or sunset.”
© Adam Burton
What are Adam’s tips for taking a great photo? “Patience and planning,” he says. “You need to understand the weather and know the area, or you’re going to run around like crazy when the light comes. But you also need to be flexible. I plan, but if it doesn’t work out I can adapt quite quickly – that’s my biggest skill.”
© Adam Burton
He also recommends using a graduated neutral density filter – a filter that darkens the top of the image – to gain more detail in bright skies when photographing a landscape. However, he insists that this will not change a landscape, just picture it ‘the way we see it with our eyes’. Similarly, Adam believes that photographers should not rely on Photoshop to change an image, but should capture everything in camera. “I want the natural look,” he says. “The most important thing is what you see.”