Julian Parker is a landscape and travel photographer located in the Chilterns, England.
The Chiltern Hills and woodlands are a constant source of inspiration alongside travels further afield both within the British Isles and to locations overseas.
I was born in England in 1966 in a market town in the Chilterns and I still live close to this area. I started taking photographs at around the age of eight after being given a Kodak Instamatic 233 camera, whilst on a summer holiday. This was my rather basic introduction to photography.
Largely self taught, I progressed to an all manual SLR in my early teens before eventually migrating to a Canon EOS650 in late ’87. I believe that an in depth understanding of the fundamentals of photography is essential and can only be gained through time spent working with a manual camera – something easily forgotten in today’s world of auto-everything! I stayed with the EOS system, moving to digital in 2003, despite being so nearly tempted to expand to film medium or large format. Developments in digital at the time persuaded me against this. Camera format (and brand!) is an incredibly personal and at times emotive issue. For me however, with currently available equipment, image size and workflow mean that there is no longer any compelling argument for a move back to the idiosyncrasies of film.
Since those early days of digital I progressed to a Canon 1Ds MkIII before more recently moving across to Fujifilm mirrorless cameras, motivated largely by their traditional aesthetic alongside the significant weight-saving possible. Lighter kit is hugely appealing when travelling or considering less accessible locations. I am an advocate of DXO Photolab as an essential tool for reliable workflow and RAW image processing. In addition to my photography interest, I provide guidance to photographers looking for help with digital workflow, from colour management, managing image storage and metadata, to optimising workflow, image quality and getting the most out of RAW photo editors and processors. This is an area of technology that is constantly changing and requires an ongoing investment in continual learning in order to keep up to date with capabilities.
Even though the tools of photography continue to change, the fundamentals remain the same. No amount of manipulation will disguise a poor image, in much the same way as no amount of darkroom work could historically rescue a poor negative. It has to be first and foremost right “in camera” and I tend towards the view that if an adjustment wasn’t possible in a traditional darkroom, then it is probably a step too far in a “digital darkroom”. Anything further detracts from the purity of photography as a craft.
My work has been published in several photographic journals and books, and has featured in a number of photography exhibitions.
Prints are available to purchase as well as greetings cards and, at times, annual calendars.
