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Dan Jones
@daaaanjj
Landscape photographer based in the UK
I could listen to people talk about their passions all day long, even if it’s a topic I have absolutely no personal interest in. There’s a certain way people spring to life when talking about the thing they are most passionate about that’s infectious and is something I value massively. For me, I’ve had countless hobbies/interests/obsessions over the years; some of which have lasted for years, some for months and others just a few days.
"Photography is something that's stuck."
It all started when a friend of mine showed me a long exposure whilst we were sitting in a dark bar one night when we were out in Manchester. With no prior knowledge of photography fundamentals, naturally my mind was blown when he showed me the image on the back of the camera and it looked as if all the lights in the bar were turned on. I couldn’t wrap my head around the wizardry I had just witnessed, camera’s could see in the dark? My curiosity led me to investigate and the next day I went out to buy my first camera. It’s funny looking back at this as I distinctly remember my perception of this art, prior to entering it, was that it was easy – how hard could it be to take nice pictures?
"Yet here I am, 4 years later and still learning new things about it every day."
"Photography was my springboard into the world of travel."
After realizing that the pictures I was taking of blades of grass in my garden weren’t actually that great it was time to venture further afield. My first trip to the land of fire and ice was when I knew that this hobby had begun to cement itself as a passion; the freedom of it all, the sense of adventure, discovering awe-inspiring landscapes that wouldn’t look out of place in fiction. My travels quickly became heavily dictated by my desire to capture images that showcase the confounding locations on our planet. Pre-photography all I sought were warmer climates to escape the grim UK weather for holidays shrouded in relaxation; but nowadays I am much more drawn to colder climates with weather that’s even more sporadic than that of the UK.
"Photography is my escapism."
I live right in the heart of Manchester, UK working 9-5 as a Media Planner; don’t get me wrong, I like this lifestyle but living in the City center always feels busy… noisy… hectic; there’s very few moments of tranquility, it always feels 100mph. Landscape photography offers me an element of peacefulness and calm that my day-to-day life lacks. Dawn is my favourite time to get out with the camera as there’s a special loneliness to it. I love everything about this time of the day when the rest of the world is still sleeping; there’s no traffic on the roads, there’s no people – it’s just me, the camera and nature.
"The tranquility in these moments is the perfect contrast to the hustle and bustle of the City; I can take my time, relax and simply revel in the calmness."
The most valuable lesson I have learnt on my travels is that nature, whilst awe-inspiring, can also be extremely dangerous and my pursuit of capturing incredible moments through the lens put me in a very sketchy spot during my most recent trip to Iceland. Having done the standard Golden Circle route on my first trip, the second time we visited I wanted a rawer, off grid experience to immerse ourselves into the harsh Icelandic winter. We’d rented a camper van for the week to afford us as much flexibility as possible with the aim of spending a few nights deep in the Highlands. My naivety and optimism had fooled me into thinking a set of winter tires was enough to tackle the deep snow and ice that blankets the highlands – and boy was I wrong.
"We'd ventured through the skirts of the highlands on the snow covered F-Roads and all seemed okay... until it started snowing."
We were a good few hours away from civilization at this point and were losing light by the minute – hesitant to not get stuck in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm with no phone signal we re-routed and tried to find our way back but the ‘roads’ we’d driven up were now almost undrivable. At this moment I realised that I had found myself in the middle of a snow storm, in the middle of the Icelandic Highlands… in a VW Transporter. On paper this was exactly what I’d wanted when seeking a raw, Icelandic experience but the reality of such was different. The fear of the unknown had crept in – were we going to be stuck here forever? The following few hours navigating through the icy mountains were exhilarating in hindsight but at the time not so much. Fortunately the weather took a turn for the better before dark, and we eventually made it back to the safety of marked roads and experienced a pink, Arctic sunset upon our return.
"Striving for a life of adventure is great, but never underestimate the power of nature and its ability to cripple unprepared adventure seekers."
"My favourite image I've taken was one from our trip to Lofoten, Norway."
This place is mind-blowing and I struggle with the fact that I highly doubt I will visit anywhere again in the future that has the same impact on me as this place did. The in-accessibility of this archipelago means it has not yet succumbed to the levels of commercialism that places like Iceland have. It’s a real adventure just to get there and it felt like I was experiencing the place in its rawest form. We spent a week staying in Sakrisoy, and whilst of course there were other tourists it didn’t at all feel busy. There was an ora of seclusion that I adored about Lofoten and each night after dark I would wander around the famous fishing village with my camera in hand trying to capture the solitude in all of its glory.
The shot was taken down the road from Hamnoy Bridge – it was dark and quiet out, I had the village all to myself as it was approaching midnight. I don’t generally use tripods but on this occasion it was necessary as I wanted a long exposure to capture the stillness of the water in picture to portray the calmness, but also to ensure enough light entered the sensor to wield a good quality file. All I could hear was the gentle Arctic breeze and the sound of waves hitting the rocks.
In my opinion, each image involves three core pillars within the umbrella of photography.
1) The travel aspect; the journey to a destination – the adventure.
2) The functional side of learning to use a camera; composition, lighting, capturing a moment.
3) Post-processing.
Whilst I thoroughly enjoy 1 and 2, for me personally the editing process is where I’d argue I find the most joy, especially amidst the pandemic and the current restrictions surrounding travel. I think this is because I find it one of the most challenging aspects of photography and something I have spent a huge amount of time learning about, through various online platforms and in Lightroom itself. It’s the conscious acknowledgment that perfection does not exist in this art, that’s inherently enfolded in subjectivity, yet still striving towards it.
"As such, my editing style is something that is ever evolving and will likely continue to develop for years to come."
I’ve always found taking truly unique images to be challenging; trying to stand out in an ocean filled with thousands of other amazing creators. Knowing that the location you are planning to visit will have already been photographed a million times, how are you expected to capture something unique? I’ve often fallen into the trap of getting the ‘classic’ shot of destinations I visit and convincing myself that I’m happy with what I’ve captured – deep down knowing there’s no real creativity that’s gone into the image.
I find Instagram fuels this mindset, as whilst it’s a platform that can often be a haven for creative inspiration, it can also be a conveyor belt of repetition at times. This is something I’ve grown more conscious in recent months as I’ve become a more consistent user of Instagram and have actively tried to combat. I’ve started incorporating people into my pictures when visiting my favourite local spots and all together stopped taking pure landscape photos (unless conditions are tempting enough). The addition of people adds an element of uniqueness and I’ve more recently enjoyed the challenge of outdoor portraiture.
"Additionally, I'm a big advocate for experimenting with new ways to present my images - using overlaying text and colour palettes."
What you find on my Instagram feed with the inclusion of colour pallets, text overlays and various layout designs is an amalgamation of my broader creative interests. Film (movies) has been a long-lasting passion of mine and hugely inspirational for me when it comes to my approach to editing and the layouts/designs you see you on my feed. I’ve become fascinated by colour and how colour theories are implemented in Hollywood films, not only to create stunning visuals but also the intent to elicit a desired response or feeling from the viewer. Colour is something I am trying to experiment more with in my images but the nature of landscape photography often means I have no control over the colors of my subject.
"Where I find I do have a little more control is when incorporating people into the landscapes and this is where I can think about colour with more intent."
The aim of including the colour pallets is to simply bring the thought process behind the colour and tones in the image to the front of the viewers mind; to hopefully evoke some kind of feeling, even if that’s just to get other photographers thinking a little more about the colors and tones within their own images.
When it comes to various layout designs, this is another element that is inspired by film. I like the idea of creating a storyboard esc visual that includes multiple frames within one image as it allows me to tell a broader story of my travels than a single image in isolation. I have seen lots of creators doing this in recent times and I think it’s also driven by the functional pitfalls of Instagram and Smartphones in general. Landscape oriented images often get lost or disregarded on social platforms as they simply aren’t able to occupy the same real estate on screen as portrait orientations, but getting creative with layouts can negate these shortcomings. We’ve seen Instagram stories increasingly go down the route of ‘layouts’ over the years and I’d expect in-feed posts to follow suit.
In all honesty I have no clue what 2021 will hold for me given the current situation we’re in, but I’ve no doubt I’ll be seeking to get out and explore more new locations, even if that’s just domestically. My ideal plan for early on in the year would be to spend a couple of weeks road tripping through the European Alps; my trip earlier this year to Zermatt, Switzerland has left me wanting to adventure further around these stunning mountainous regions and dive deeper into the alpine lifestyle. Beyond travel, I am keen to dedicate more time to working with companies and developing my own brand in this industry. It’s something I have dipped my toes into in 2020 but with it being so new to me it’s something I am still trying to figure out how to best approach. Landing my first paid job with a brand I am interested in is the number one goal for me this year regarding photography but I appreciate this is likely more difficult than ever given the current climate, yet it’s a challenge I fully welcome.
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