In Conversation with ... ChrisH

[Donald]

©Image, Steve (Wirefox)

In Conversation with ... ChrisH



Name: Christopher (Chris) Hotton


Location: Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Website: www.chrishotton.com

CiC: Thanks very much for taking the time to take part in 'In conversation with ...'.

Thank you for inviting me.


Perhaps we can start by you telling us something about your general back-ground. What about your work history – anything interesting?

I have spent the last 34 years working in the commercial property development field, building mainly factories and offices in the south of England. It is an industry that I love and therefore have no thoughts yet of retiring, although with the current economic climate things are naturally a bit quiet.


And what about your family life?

My wife Annie and I married 34 years ago and we have two boys, Charles and Philip both in their early thirties. Charlie works for an international bank and Philip works for a media company producing websites and videos.


If you were staying in tonight, what would you choose as one of your favourite books and/or films to keep you entertained, and what you be having as a favourite meal?


I recently went into hospital for a knee replacement operation and Annie gave me an I-Touch to keep me entertained. Through that I have learned the delights of audiobooks and have started to work my way through the books by Charles Dickens that I have not already read. I recently finished The Old Curiosity Shop, which I enjoyed immensely and I am now into Dombey & Son, again a good tale.

Because of my son Philip’s involvement in the media world we have access to a large number of films and TV programs, but sadly somehow we don’t seem to take full advantage of that. The last films I watched were The King’s Speech and Avatar, both of which I thought brilliant.
Favorite food – that is difficult as I have so many favorites. I guess for rarity value, as Annie does not eat red meat, it has to be Steak and Kidney Pudding, which in fairness I do have occasionally for Sunday lunch. I like French, Italian and especially Spanish cuisine and have been known to cook the odd Spanish dish.


OK, photography is a given, but what about other hobbies or personal interests?

I have been a follower of motor racing since I was a small boy and for many years been a fanatical member of the Tifosi, that is to say a staunch supporter of Scuderia Ferrari. I was lucky enough to spend my early years living near Goodwood in Sussex and spent many happy days at the motor racing circuit.
I now live a few miles away from Adams Park (High Wycombe) the home of London Wasps, where I have been a season ticket holder for the last nine years. Those who know the game of rugby will know that Wasps had a golden patch winning both the Premiership League and the Heineken Cup several times in the last decade. I have been fortunate to go and support them in both France and Ireland during their Heineken Cup campaigns.

Editor's Pick #1

Let's get on to photography - how long have you been a photographer, and what got you interested in the first place?

My father gave me an old bellows style Kodak camera when I was a youngster. That was followed by a Kodak Box Brownie and finally a Brownie 127. At prep school in Somerset there was a camera club where we were taught elementary processing. Although I haven’t developed and printed a black and white film for many years I think I could still manage to do it.

Our dark room was a class room cupboard fitted with a sink. I can still remember the horrors of trying to guide film into the spiral and fitting it into the developing tank in the pitch dark – not an easy task.

I was particularly interested in filming at motor racing meetings and in 1960 my father recognized that I needed something a little more sophisticated, so he took me to the second hand department of Wallace Heaton, located just off Bond Street in Central London. With the help of an assistant I became the proud owner of a Voigtlaender 35 mm camera. This German camera had a fixed lens and built in light meter and was one of the first “idiot proof” cameras on the market.

Sadly I can’t remember the model or even more sadly what happened to the camera.

One of the first things I did after acquiring the Voigtlaender was to enter an image into a competition sponsored by Wallace Heaton and to my amazement I came third out of several hundred entries. The image was of the high alter at Westminster Abbey and the judges said that had the image been totally level I would have got first place – I think I was fourteen at the time.

My next film camera was a Canon AE1, a 35mm SLR film camera, which I bought in 1981. I enjoyed this camera immensely until sadly it was stolen from Annie’s car together with my zoom lens. We managed to find an identical camera in a shop in High Wycombe some years later and I still have this camera today, which I use with black and white film sometimes for nostalgia – (perhaps I should have a go at developing and printing again).

In June 1998 I went to the US for the first time and on my way home I spent an afternoon in New York. The last images I took in New York were of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

In 2002 Annie’s sister gave me her a Sanyo VPC-X360 digital camera. The camera plus a copy of an early version of Photoshop caught my imagination and I soon realized the almost unlimited possibilities of digital photography.

Having had a lot of fun with the Sanyo and taken many hundreds of images I decided that I would like to take digital photography more seriously so in 2004 I bought a Canon EOS 300D. This is still a fabulous camera, which I still have and use as a second body.


What type of photography are you interested in, and why?

I particularly like landscape and seascape photography, automotive and architectural. I have done some street photography, which I find interesting if done covertly. I find that people in general fall into two distinct categories - those who like the lens and those who don’t, either way both tend to act unnaturally in front of the camera.


Any particular photographic influences?

With the facility of the WORLD WIDE WEB it is now possible to look at the work of a great many of the world’s great photographers with ease and speed. You cannot have an interest in landscape photography without appreciating the works of Ansel Adams, a great deal of which I find quite irresistible. Adams wrote a number of books including “Examples: Making of Forty Photographs” in which he describes how he made some of his best known images.

I also find Photojournalists fascinating, I particularly like the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson who is considered by some as the father of modern photojournalism.

Going in a completely different direction I just love the work of Ryzsard Horowitz. Horowitz describes himself as a Photocomposer and has been at the cutting edge of modern art photography for many years. I came across him when researching a photographic trip to Auschwitz Concentration Camp near Cracow, Poland. Horowitz and his family were prisoners at the camp and miraculously survived. He was aged of five when he was released.

To answer your question, I am not sure that my work has been influenced by these great photographers, other than to admire their work and appreciate their fine skills.

As far as books are concerned I have quite a library. If I had to pick one author it would have to be Scott Kelby whose tutorials in Photoshop I have found invaluable.


What do you hope to achieve through your photography - or what have you achieved already?

I think we all chase the perfect image, hence many of us go back and shoot the same scene time and time again in search of that illusive perfect image. It may well be the fact that very few succeed retains our interest in photography.


What you think of CiC? Any way it could be improved? Where should it go from here, in your opinion?

I have only been a member for a few months, which I have very much enjoyed. I have been and still am a member of a much smaller organization, which I also enjoy but does not have the exposure that CinC has. As to improvements it is too early for me to comment.

Editor's Pick #2

Getting more personal if you don't mind...what keeps you awake at night, apart from Photoshop?

Nothing I can think of.


I have to ask this…. What photographic gear do you own, and what software do you use for editing?


I currently have a Canon EOS 30D as my principal camera. The Canon EOS 300D came with a EF-S 18-55mm lens, which I soon topped up with a Sigma 55 -200 mm, both of which I have kept. I have considered upgrading to a newer Canon but as the 30D does everything I need I do not see the point, preferring instead to invest in lenses instead.

I now have a battery of lenses, which include an EF 70 – 300 mm IS USM, an EF-S 18 -200 mm lens, an EF 50mm prime lens and my fist L lens, a EF 17 – 45 mm L.

My favorite lens is the EF 17 -45 mm, which with its wide angle and superior optics is great for both landscapes and architectural work. I also use the 18 -200 mm lens a great deal – it is known as the “holiday” lens as its range is such as to be ideal to have on the camera if you are unable to carry a lot of photographic paraphernalia.

My most recent addition is the 50mm prime lens, which is similar to lens on my old Canon AE1 35 mm film camera. It takes a bit of getting use to after the luxury of zoom lenses as you have to physically move about to compose your shot as opposed to adjusting the zoom.

As far as software in concerned I use Photoshop CS4, Topaz, The Panorama Factory, Neat Image and Photomatix Pro as my principal editing programs.


It’s a tough one to answer, but how would you rate your photographic skills and ability?

That is a tough one and maybe one for others to answer. I do know however that I have learned a considerable amount since taking digital photography seriously.


What will the digital camera be like in 2020? And will you still own one?

At the current rate of technological advance maybe the camera of the future will be so automatic it will operate entirely on its own without the need for photographers. I am sure I will own a camera in 2020 if I am lucky enough to still be around.


Are you in a position to help or encourage others in their photography?

I am not sure I am proficient enough to teach. I have been asked by a couple of friends to spend time showing them the principals. I lend them my Canon 300D and head for the river (Thames) where there is much to photograph, then back to my computer to download and process. I forbid them to use the “idiot” settings on the camera so they are thrown into the deep end of creative settings.


Another tough one for you…do you consider photography to be art?

I think photography must be an art form in the “Photoshop” age and probably has been since the beginning of photographic time. Purists rant on about manipulation but surely something as simple as using a filter is manipulation. If there was no creativity I guess we would just take “record” shots.


How do you feel about having your own shot taken?

Uncomfortable.


What single piece of advice do you think is most useful to someone starting out with photography?

Take lots of shots but spend time looking through the view finder at exactly what you are taking before pressing the shutter – in other words compose your shots.


Can we see two of your shots that mean something special to you, and could you explain why.

Interestingly enough they are both moody shots.

Glencoe

A lucky shot taken in August 2006. Glencoe was covered with the usual black storm clouds as I was driving through. I came round a blind bend in the road and was met by this glorious scene, with shafts of sunlight bursting through the clouds. Knowing how quickly things can change I managed to park the car off the road and grab my camera. The whole scene lasted less than two minutes before the clouds enveloped the sun again.

I entered this image into the Fort William Mountain Festival Landscape Competition in 2007 and I am delight to say it was awarded 1st prize.

Eclipse

This was shot on the east coast of Mallorca in October 2005 during a total eclipse of the sun. Most people think its black and white image, however if you look closely at the rigging of the ship you can see the red and white flag of Switzerland. The eclipse was at its height when this was taken and shortly after bright sunny weather was restored.


Finally, can you give us one interesting/weird/silly thing about you that we probably don’t know?

I can’t think of anything of the top of my head.


That's all we have time for, Chris. Thank you for taking part.

Thank you - I enjoyed doing it.



Read all the other interviews in the series by going to this link

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Chris,

Another interesting history to read about, thanks for sharing.

I do like that Glencoe shot and can see why it won.

Cheers,

[Wendy Stanford]

Thanks Donald and Chris,thankyou for sharing, a very interesting read, the Glencoe image is stunning,

[Donald]

the Glencoe image is stunning,

I agree. When I first saw it I expressed the same view. That is my home territory (or close to home) and I've travelled through that view hundreds (maybe thousands) of times since early childhood. I've seen many hundreds (probably thousands) of images of Glencoe. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best.

I thought it was a stunner the first time I ever saw it. I still do. That is Glencoe

[Colin Southern]

Hi Chris,

Good to meet another motor racing enthusiest!

I too was a big Ferrari fan, but since Schumacher moved on from Ferrari it just didn't seem the same there anymore - so these days I wish Fernando and Felipe all the best, but kinda like to support Vettle (I think he's the new Schumacher).

Just don't put the new knee at risk by trying to kick me too hard!