OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 51
LIVING THE DREAM
Exactly. For me, that was 35 shots
of sky… and one out-of-focus swift.
“It’s much simpler now,” says
David. “I travel with much less kit.
In fact, most of the time when I’m
on a trip with clients, my pictures
are less important than theirs.”
I ask him whether the rapid
advances in image technologies
have changed his line of work.
Today, a person doesn’t have
to be a pro to take a great photo
with an iPhone.
“Maybe,” he says, “but with
a lot of limitations. Most of my
clients are excellent photographers
with top-of-the-line equipment.
They’re looking for a lot more than
just the image. The question is,
what makes a great photograph?
And I think it’s when people are
changed by it. I’ve become more
of a commercial photographer, so
I’m often trying to get someone to
look at my photo and say, ‘I want
to go there.’”
A striking photograph of a young
boy herding goats hangs on the wall
of David’s house (see previous spread).
Does he think there’s a process of
knowing when to take an image
so that the image tells a story?
A photographer could shoot a
person or landscape over a period
of several minutes, but for some
reason, the shot he keeps and
frames tells the best story.
“Yes, there’s a lot of patience
involved… Or it could be that
you just happen to be looking
in that direction when nobody
else is.”
The conversation turns towards
David’s upcoming projects.
“I love photographing flowers,”
he says. “I’ll be taking a client up
to Namaqualand for two weeks
later this year. We’ll hike around
the area photographing, setting
up different shots, and working
with flashes and boxes. It’s very
different from wildlife photography,
where you concentrate on action
and behaviour. With flowers,
the shots are more constructed,
and the challenge is to create
an original image.”
Does David think there’s been
a changing aesthetic in his field,
a focus on different elements of
the shoot, or the use of light?
“For me it’s quite intuitive,”
he replies. “You can’t get too
artistic and lose the main story
of it. Really what you’re doing
is creating this ‘wish you were
here’ feeling.”
To see more of David’s photographs
or to plan a trip with him, visit
davidrogers.co.za.
Ian-Malcolm
Rijsdijk (1991B)
is a film scholar,
birder and
environmentalist.
He lectures at UCT.
Camp Kipwe, set among the rocks of the Aba Huab valley in Twyfelfontein, Namibia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
THE OLD DIOCESAN | 49
