I´m Murray Livingston, ask me anything

[Murray_Livingston]

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Hello, my name is Murray Livingston. I am a full-time professional landscape and nature photographer, educator, and workshop leader with more than 15 years of image making experience. But, being a photographer wasn’t always the case! I received an MA with honours in Architecture and an MArch from the University of Edinburgh and worked in practice up until the start of 2020 when, as we all know, the world changed. The pandemic restrictions offered me a choice: which path did I want my life to go down? A life spent in commune with nature was the obvious choice and so I turned all my efforts towards a creative life of photography.

Perhaps unusually for someone aged just 30 (yes, I first picked up a camera at a very young age), I learned on black and white film. I spent my first years with a camera exploring 35mm and medium format, printing in the darkroom, and photographing various subject matters before I eventually picked up a digital camera to pursue my interests in wildlife photography. While I primarily now reside in the UK, my roots are in South Africa, and having grown up visiting the bush every year, wildlife was a natural point of interest. I later circled back to film, using a large format camera for about two years, and even experimented with UV contact printing on alternative mediums. My background in architecture had instilled in me the importance of a holistic practice. Every aspect of my work is carefully considered, from before I walk out the door to the final print. Thus, the medium and processes I choose to use are a direct influence of the type of work I want to make.

I now photograph all aspects of the landscape through long-term photographic projects. These are primarily in Scotland, where I am based most of the year in a self-built campervan. I am also exploring various projects in Africa. I am a deep thinker with interests in adventure & conservation, both of which I strives to communicate and teach through my deeply contemplative and introspective approach to photography. While this is all true, I also appreciate having a good laugh and have a rather clever wicked sense of humour!

My favourite places on earth are the moments of solitude I am fortunate enough to spend in nature, whether that is camped on the top of a Munro in the remotest parts of Scotland, or sat around a campfire in a boma, listening to lions roar in the night and looking up at the endless night skies.

I am very much looking forward to all of your questions!

Website: https://www.murraylivingston.com

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[alton (Alton Marsh)]

How do you make transition from wondering if you’re doing the right thing and taking photos that are technically correct, to photos that are dramatic and professional and artistic?

[Murray_Livingston]

Hey Alton! Thanks for a great question.

To me, what you are describing is what I like to call creative confidence; it’s something that comes with time and experience, but it also comes from mindset. Once we are able to master craft (making images that are technically proficient), it becomes possible to focus our whole attention on being creative rather than worrying about the technicals. This leads us to play, experiment, and make mistakes; some of my most artistically satisfying images having come from purposefully trying to make images that are NOT technically “correct”. For instance, while I don’t do it a lot, practicing ICM has lead me to a deeper understanding of shutter speed, and vastly improved my creativity when working in coastal landscapes.

My biggest tip towards building this confidence is to focus on building your own emotional connections with your subject matter. Photograph those emotions. Some of the best photographs from world renowned photographer’s are technically flawed. Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange is woefully out of focus! I was just flicking through some Steve McCurry images this morning and half of them are technically soft. Nothing replaces emotion, composition, and light.

Cheers,
Murray

[irene3 (Irene Motion)]

How do you get your forest images to have such depth mine always look flat

[Murray_Livingston]

Hey Irene! Welcome to NPN and thanks for the great question.

When trying to capture depth in woodland I look for a number of things. The first are usually contrast (tonal and colour) & light (light can make contrast). Both of the images above are made using a telephoto lens into backlit trees which are great examples of higher contrast images; placing trees in sunlight against a shadowed hillside is another great way to achieve this.

Of course, you could use conditions like fog (atmosphere, rain, etc.) to create depth as well. Typically this may result in a lower contrast image, rather than a higher contrast image as above. It’s important to bear in mind with almost any image that as you go further back in an image (i.e. further away from the lens), you should typically see lower and lower contrast. It may be tempting to create an even tonal range front to back, but allowing your backgrounds to “fade into the distance” can be super effective at creating a sense of depth.

Composition can create depth as well; we can use receding foreground elements to clue the viewer into depth (try creating near-far compositions with a tele lens) or to give a sense of scale. Foregrounds can also frame a view beyond, drawing the viewer’s eye into the scene. One thing to try with woodland compositions is to photograph into the space. In many of my forest images you’ll notice that the trees almost take on a supporting role to a bigger idea, be that colour, light, or whatever else.

Hope those are some helpful tips on how I try to capture depth! It all starts in the field.

Cheers,
Murray

[irene3 (Irene Motion)]

Thank you Murray lots of things to try here