EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ANDY'S PHOTOGRAPHY
BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK.......
Q. Do you use a really expensive camera to get these pictures?
A. I use "proper" cameras but not "top of the range" equipment. Most of the pictures have been taken with consumer or semi-pro level Nikon digital SLRs. I also recently started using Fuji X series cameras because they're lighter and easier to carry than my DSLRs. They also remind me of the all-metal SLRs on which I started my photography. By waiting until the latest and greatest camera is updated you can get amazing bargains and very expensive cameras become much more affordable. As ever, it's important to remember that the camera is just a tool, so it's worth buying the best one for the job - without getting caught in the merry go round of having to have the latest thing.
Q. What about Photoshop? Do you manipulate your pictures or are they striaght out of the camera?
A. I usually try and keep a natural look in my photographs but, to achieve that I often do some work in Lightroom and Photoshop. Typically I'll adjust the shadows and highlights a little and sometimes I'll go a little further and apply some effects from the NIK software suite (which is free from Google and pretty amazing). Occasionally I'll push things a little further and go for a more graphic approach where the original image becomes more of a basis for further design but that is the exception rather than the rule.
Q. How long have you been taking photographs?
A. Since the 1970's - but more seriously, since 2004. In that year I visited India for the first time and really discovered how colourful and beautiful the world could be. To someone coming from a country as grey as the UK, India was a revelation and it opened my eyes to the possibility of capturing some of the world's beauty with a camera. I'd learned the basics of photography from my father and had always taken holiday snaps and pictures of our children but that was the turning point.
Q. What photographers have influenced you?
A. Steve McCurry was an early influence, along with the National Geographic photographers. Later, and in a very different style, I came to love the work of Michael Kenna. More recently I've been keen on modern American photography, especially William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Alec Soth and Joel Sternfeld. And, of course, the classics - I always have an Ansel Adams calendar on the wall and studied Walker Evans as part of my development.
Q. Where do you take your photographs
A. You'll see from the site that I Iike to travel but also take a lot of photographs close to home. The "One Mile Radius" project is a great exercise for anyone wanting to improve their photography skills and I've learned a lot through focusing on a limited geographic area, near St Albans in Hertfordshire. The woodland and small lakes there (remnants of gravel workings) provide many possibilities and working there has helped me develop the skills I use when I'm travelling in more exotic places.
Q. Have your photographs been featured in exhibitions?
A. Yes. I have been lucky enough to have pictures exhibited by the Royal Photographic Society.
Q. I love your pictures, where can I buy them?
A. All of my pictures are available for sale as prints, please get in touch if you are interested. The images on the site are copyright - licensing is available by negotiation or, in some instances via Getty Images and Alamy.
Q. What is your relationship to the Andy Norman who plays in a local rock band in Hertfordshire and writes for the on-line hi-fi magazine "TNT-Audio"?
A. Same guy!!