I don’t really want to speak in clichés about diminishing cultures,
it’s just that they are clichés because they have a basis in truth.
They’re vanishing.
More and more the world is a homogenous place.
So if I have the opportunity to see what makes people unique,
if I can photograph it well
you get to keep that alive,
at least in some form.
Increasingly, my work is really about
shining a light on people who are not in the news.
It’s not a responsibility I take lightly.
So when I’m working on editorial,
I’ll choose a camera setup
that guarantees that I can work through anything.
But I’ve been waiting for a smaller camera from Canon,
and now I have it.
In this job in Namibia
a lot of the time I’m seeing people outdoors.
There’s very fine particles of dust blowing all the time,
so what I really need is reliable gear.
My lenses are working perfectly,
and if you take the lens off this camera
that gate is there protecting your sensor,
so I love that.
My style is simple really,
I mean if there’s great light I try and work with that great light,
but if there’s not great light
I am able to handhold these lenses without any real issues.
I can just concentrate on the composition,
I’m not worried will the camera handle this, will the ISO handle this.
Every time that I focused on something it’s hit it immediately.
I think this is offering me some of the best low-light performance
that I’ve seen from a Canon camera.
It’s a true mirrorless with an EVF that’s so good
that you think you’re looking through a mirror.
They’ve tried to make your life easier as a photographer.
I originally set up this track bar
so that I could change my ISO here,
and within a very short space of time
I realised that wasn’t really working for me.
With a couple of very simple commands
I can just turn it over and now I use my track bar
and it just scrolls between images for me.
It’s just a very nice option to customise my camera
exactly to what I need, what I like.
The best cameras are the ones where
you just get to be completely spontaneous
and you’re not thinking about the camera,
there’s no technical aspect to it that’s holding you back
from making the image that you want to make.
There’s one picture that I took on this shoot
that sort of happened and evolved of itself.
I had a formal setup of a Himba woman that I lit,
and I liked what I got from it.
But, when I looked back and realised she was still standing there
she had this elegance all of her own.
All I had to do was pick up the camera,
make that frame
and the autofocus is flawless.
In a profession that’s based on integrity,
it’s that kind of serendipity that I’m hoping for.
And you know,
if you are the kind of photographer
who really wants to be a fly on the wall,
it’s a totally silent shutter if you want it to be.
A lot of the time when they talk to you about silent shutter,
it’s a whisper shutter,
but this one is completely silent.
The fact that the silent shutter and autofocus
has just gone forward in leaps and bounds,
that’s huge for me for sure.
To look through a lens for a living is a huge privilege.
This particular camera
offers me more options than ever before.
It enables me to forget about the tools
and just get on with telling the story.