Toby Smith

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Arrived back last night from Perpignan Festival of Photojournalism feeling tired, hungover but energised by the people and images I encountered. My 3rd year at such an important date/event to meet (schmooze) and socialise (drink) with other photographers from around the world. I also worked hard with “Reportage by Getty Images” who facilitated meetings with the best editors and provide the backbone of agency comradery. In no particular order (and apologies for omissions) here’s links to the people behind the conversations that will stay with me. Sometimes you have to dig really deep and persevere when chasing the belief that photography and reporting on the state of the world can change it. Meeting other people that share that passion and even risk their life in its pursuit is inspiring to say the very least.

Image is by Ben Lowy and is showing at the Tate Modern as part of the Exposed exhibition:

Reportage by Getty Images, GEO, National Geographic, Live Magazine, Brandon Thibodeaux, Jason Larkin, Laura Pannack, Ben Lowy, Leo Maguire, Antonio Bolvo, Kim Badawi, Marco Di Lauro, Jason Andrew , Tom Stoddart, L’Espresso, Save the Children , Eugene Richards and Brent Stirton.

Tarbet Isle

I spotted Tarbet Isle off the coast of Loch Lomond whilst driving from Sloy to Shira. At only 40m long and 60m offshore its collection of trees resembles a perfect bonsai scene. (Or a perfect bonsai scene resembles it??) I settled in for a long night to try my hand at lighting up the island.  I don’t want to give too much away but it took an 800W tungsten lamp and more than a few hundred Elinchrom flashes. After a few hours of testing on digital I committed to shooting on 5×4.  The finished image above is the only negative where focusing, foreground and background lighting came together with no retouching needed.