Robert HardingSimon Turnbull’s incredible image of boys having a water fight in Tukad Unda Dam, Bali, won Robert’s second ‘expert’s choice’ prize in our Photocrowd photography competition and we’re happy to announce that Simon has been signed to robertharding’s books!
Simon grew up in the Lake District, Northern England, and now lives in the Hertfordshire countryside with his wife and two energetic little boys. “I’ve always loved travel and nature,” says Simon, “..but my journey into photography has been more recent, only in the last three years when I decided to pursue it more seriously, buying a decent camera – a Canon 5D Mark III – in 2016. I look back to some of my travels and wish I’d had the camera and technical ability I have now…such is life.”
Since deciding to take photography more seriously, Simon has spent time in Iceland and has also been on day workshops in the Lake District and East Sussex coast. “Trying to juggle photography around a commute, demanding job and young children is certainly a challenge but I find photography a great way to find some headspace,” he says. “I try to not get too fixated on grabbing images, it’s more about enjoying being outdoors and, with a little luck, a composition will present itself.”
As his photography is developing, Simon is moving into the more creative side of image-making. “Rather than seeking out the ‘epic’ scenes I’m exploring the more intimate landscapes that are perhaps less ‘crowd pleasers’ but might resonate with people on a more personal level,” he explains. “I’d rather one person love an image than 1,000 quite like it.”
“My picture of the lads playing in Bali was a nice moment when on a recent family holiday to Bali,” Simon says. “I was given a day photography pass so travelled the island with a wonderful local photographer to take some of the classic Balinese shots. We ended the day at the dam where the lads were performing, wading out to some rocks so that the image could be taken square on.”
“I took the images with a relatively high ISO, 800, to help freeze the image at 1/320th of a second and was lucky enough to capture one just at the right moment,” he continues. “Local knowledge counts for a lot so hiring a guide and researching online photos of the area is invaluable, particularly when time is scarce and sacred.”