The photographer who swapped bulky camera bags for a grocery bag

3 hours ago 5

With only a single camera and a simple 25-cent produce bag to carry it in case of rainstorms, community member Gordon Pritchard manages to capture some amazing shots.

Meet Gordon Pritchard

Home base: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Community member Gordon Pritchard preaches simplisticity quite like no one else we’ve spotlighted before. With only a single camera and a simple bag to carry it in case of rain, and by using a digital darkroom, he’s managed to capture some amazing shots of alien-looking landscapes and beautiful wildlife around the world, while developing a career as a commercial graphic artist.

“I’ve been involved in the arts for as long as I can remember, but my love of photography started in my mid-teens when, as a summer job, I did photo retouching at a commercial printshop. Sixty-two years later, I’m still at it.”

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what Andrew has to share.

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How did you get started as a photographer and commercial artist?

“When I worked as a commercial artist, I designed the ads and related materials that launched the IKEA brand in North America and did advertising for Peterbilt trucks and Bushnell optics. I also taught design, illustration and photography at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts school of art and design.”

Based on Gordon’s commercial artist work and related to the lead image in this article, Gordon has spent decades crafting his art, which sometimes merges his photography with other images. Many of the images he’s created are a combination of original photography, a mix of careful composites and various other techniques that give you a unique look that fits his vision for the mood of the scene.

“Starting in 1996, I was the quality in print manager at Creo, the largest graphic arts software and hardware manufacturer at that time. During that time, I was also involved in developing FM screening technology that enables magazines to reproduce images with photographic detail fidelity. The company was then acquired and is now operated by Kodak.”

What’s in Gordon’s bag

My favorite cameras(s): Nikon P950 and Sony SLT-A77 II

“Gear-wise, I like to keep things simple, so I use the all-in-one approach. My Nikon P950 with its built-in 24-2000mm equiv. range or my Sony SLT-A77 II with a Tamron 16-300mm zoom. It has become my favorite all-in-one. It has expanded my range of photo opportunities as well as my post-processing skills.”

My camera “bag”: “My camera bag is a light film grocery bag – the kind used for vegetables – just in case it rains. It’s very lightweight and fits in my pocket. Simplistic, but it works.”

My favorite accessories: “I always have a clear lens filter mounted to protect the front element – never had an image quality issue as a result. In my kit, I also have a +2 close-up lens (to allow for close-ups at distance), a polarizer filter (to deal with reflections or act as a mild ND filter), and a Neutral Density 8 (for blurring motion).”

“I might have a pocket multi-tool and lens wipe cloth with me. I keep a tripod in my car – just in case. Again, I try to keep things as simple as possible so as not to interfere with my photo taking.”

What do you like to shoot?

“I’m a retired commercial artist, so I’m drawn to any subject that appeals from an artistic or technical point of view, from micro to macro subjects. Currently, I’m focusing on the birds I see during my daily morning neighborhood walks. In the past, I did editorial photography for magazines, advertising, and personal pleasure. I’ve also taught photography part-time at the college level.”

“Because I can fine-tune the light, I use my bathroom as a studio for tabletop subjects like my toy and macro photography. Mostly, though, I photograph outdoors.”

Is photography art?

“I approach photography from an artist’s point of view – so I’m most interested in how light plays with the subject, tonal contrast, composition, and color rather than the subject itself. I played with those elements back in the old analog darkroom days, but the digital darkroom has totally expanded my ability to render images to interpret the subject rather than record it.”

“I was fortunate in that my work has taken me across North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. From a landscape photography point of view, I particularly love the alien-looking rock formations of the U.S. southwest as found in places like Valley of Fire, Nevada.”

Take a moment to visualize the scene

“I always try to visualize the final image before I take the shot. That might result in returning to a scene at a different time of day or even year. Have an idea in mind as to why you are taking the photo – what made you decide to aim the camera and take a shot? Are you interpreting the scene or recording it?”

Gordon really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out Gordon’s other work on flickr.com.

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Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

About the Author: Mathew Anderson is a proud Community Manager for the technology industry and a past visitor to DPReview.com for all his camera needs. He is currently the lead of DPReview’s community and primary communication link between the community and DPReview’s team.

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