Phil de Glanville
@phlyimages
Best of the week 24 at #nomadict 2021
Being born & raised in Perth, Australia, we’re blessed with pristine beaches all along the coast – white sand and crystal clear water for days. The ocean is really part of life here, and a special place for myself and my family is Denmark in the South West of Western Australia. Some of my favourite beaches are found there. On top of that, we regularly traveled to Phuket, Thailand, since my Mum and her side of the family are from there. Being surrounded by tropical waters for basically all my life definitely defined my photography. I’m inspired by the ocean, its beauty, its raw power and the life it gives us.
"I love how each wave is different and has a unique journey with the power to inspire - just like humans."
The first real landscape shot I remember I took though, was from a waterfall. I was at a primary school camp and I had a film camera that I borrowed from my parents. I ventured out into the woods and found a small waterfall to shoot; I composed the shot perfectly (for a kid) and snapped an epic shot… I thought. Of course, when the film came back from the store that developed them, the shot didn’t actually work at all, it turned out as a completely black photo! However, that didn’t turn me away from photography – I was hooked; I always seemed to have a camera growing up.
Later on I studied Interactive Multimedia & IT in university, and I began my career as a graphic designer at a small marketing agency. It’s here where I began editing photos, for magazines, newspapers and other publications. It was mostly just colour correction, nothing too creative, but it really helped me develop the right skills. During this time I bought my first DSLR, I took it everywhere and just shot everything and anything (just not very well.) I kept working at this company for several years until I left in 2011 creating my own freelance graphic design business – PHLY Design.
"The photography side of my career really took off when I got my first drone in 2017."
I love how drones have given us the ability to find and create completely different perspectives and compositions. Creating PHLY Images on Instagram has helped me to share my work to a huge audience and community. And in addition, it has allowed me to connect with many brands and businesses. Earlier this year I was awarded 2020 Artist of the Year in @dronepals awards which was a huge honor!
My design skills came in handy while developing myself in the field of photography; they helped me to eventually find my own unique style. I like to play with the lights and darks to create a nice mood and contrast. I often incorporate a bit of a fade/gradient to help lead the eye & simplify things. I generally try to keep my images somewhat minimal so there is a clear focus on the main subject. Then pop the ocean blues as my signature colour, which you can also notice in the winning shot of week 24 in the Nomadict Best of the Week contest.
I woke up at 5 am, it was a foggy morning in the middle of winter and freezing cold. It was only an hour drive to the beach I wanted to go to, which was nice (on a few occasions I’d driven a 10-hour round trip in one day just to shoot this particular surf break). The infamous surf break is called The Right, home to some of the heaviest waves in the world – it rarely fires up, only a handful of times each year when the conditions are perfect. That day, I was lucky: I arrived in blue skies and good conditions.
"I was pretty pumped to see a bunch of surfers and jet skis already in the water with some huge waves rolling in!"
I was shooting with a drone and wanted to try to emphasize the huge size of the wave as much as possible, so I tried to get relatively low to the water. I got in position to shoot down the barrel, waited for the moment the wave was about to crest then took the shot. In particular, I wanted to capture the beauty of the wave barrelling over and also the power of it crashing. To achieve that I shot in burst mode with a high shutter speed to give myself a few frames to work with. Getting the timing of the waves and finding the right positions to shoot from takes a bit of practice, and every time I learn something to do better the next time.
"I like to shoot these waves from low down and up close, so I’ve been fairly close to losing my drone on a few occasions!"
In the post-processing I wanted to incorporate my style into it – to give it contrast & mood with a nice burst of blue. The rainbow and a kind of heart shaped wash was a great bonus. I love how the clean lines in the wave create natural leading lines.
I find it amazing seeing the surfers ride these monster waves – they have a crazy amount of talent, skill and courage!
"The surfer in the winning shot turned out to be Jack Robinson - one of the top young pro surfers in the world, which makes the photo a little extra special."
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