A New Photographic Language

Stephen Shore's Influence On Me (again)

In 2017, I made some major changes in the direction of my photography—partly inspired by discovering Stephen Shore’s Uncommon Places and having my eyes opened to a new way of looking at the landscape.

As someone who had focused on making images of beautiful scenes in nature, seeing Shore’s work, where he captured everyday environments with such a detailed eye and masterful touch, made me realise that a photograph doesn’t need to be of a beautiful natural space, or be loud to be impactful.

To this day, Uncommon Places is one of my favourite photo books, and I return to it often, enjoying it just as much, if not more than when I first picked it up.

Large Format Film And A Consumer Drone

Late last year, Shore released a new book, which challenged me once again.

That book is called: ‘Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape’.

As you can guess, it’s made up entirely of aerial images, which I think are absolutely fantastic. They have that signature deep observational quality common with all of his work.

But beyond the images, it’s the tool that was used and his seemingly objective approach to it all, that made me question my process again.

When I think of Stephen Shore, I think of a 4x5 or 8x10 large-format film camera. I don’t think of a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, which he used for the images in the book.

The first two are arguably the best tools you can use to make photographs (from a technical and quality standpoint), the latter, is something that I could go and purchase from my local supermarket this afternoon (spoiler… I did).

Gear Attachment

I’ve found it’s easy to romanticise specific tools or use something because you feel like it’s what you should be working with. (e.g. I should use a large format camera because it’s what my favourite artist uses, etc.)

You can also get caught up in the spec race, obsessing over the highest quality, while at the same time forgetting to take into account what your actual needs are.

In doing this, you can put yourself in a box, and miss out on several opportunities.

I’m no stranger to drones. I’ve owned several in the past. But, they were always purchased for video work. Not once did I think about using them to make still images.

Why? Probably because it felt too far detached from my normal way of working—using film cameras to make images of places that are often subdued and unassuming.

When I think of drones, what comes to mind are loud images—epic sunsets, big vistas, top-down shots of landscapes. Or, crazy FPV footage buzzing around and flying over and through things.

But I realise now, I was looking at drones subjectively. What I thought they were meant for.

A New Language

What I love about Topographies, is that it seems Shore was doing the opposite—looking at drones simply as a tool that could allow him to shoot differently than he had in the past.

I read an interview recently where he was asked about it, and he said (I’m paraphrasing), that a drone gave him an opportunity that didn’t exist before, therefore he treated it as a new photographic language that was available to him.

I love that!

What can this tool do?

Not, what are other people doing with this? Or, how should this be used?

I also love that the model he chose to use is a rather modest 20mp prosumer drone. It didn’t cost tens of thousands of dollars, require special permits, or need multiple people to operate. And even still, it did the job, more than fine!

My Recent Experiment

The first flight with my new drone - North Wales

Ever since picking up Topographies, I’ve been inspired to experiment with a drone, mostly out of curiosity. After putting it off for months, I finally decided last week to go and buy one—a DJI Mini 4 Pro.

This is not a professional drone. It has a very small sensor which can shoot in both 12mp and 48mp modes. But, it’s (sorta) affordable, weighs less than 250G (which is much easier to work with here in the UK), and it was accessible (I really did buy this from the grocery store).

And I’ll say right now, I think I’m hooked.

I took it with me to North Wales last week and flew in a few areas that I thought could work well. After seeing the images, it feels like a new world has opened up when it comes to photographing the landscape.

That said, at the moment, I’m trying not to overthink things, rather just having fun. It’s been a bit of a creative recharge and a nice break from my usual methods. And I’d be happy if that’s all it is—a way to play and get out of the regular cycle.

Abandoned church, old graveyard, and lead mine - Wales

Farmhouse - North Wales

Time to try something new?

I’m often guilty of putting myself in a box, and being stubborn with my process. I think that can be beneficial, but I also know it can lead to burnout and fatigue.

Having these alternate ways of working, or simply trying something new every now and then, is a good way to recharge and bring back creative energy.

For me, this drone is small enough that I’ll bring it with me on most trips, and use it when the right opportunity arises. We’ll see where it all goes and I’m looking forward to messing around with this different approach.

If you’re a fan of Shore’s work, I’d highly recommend checking out Topographies. It’s a great addition to any collection.

I’d also encourage you to think about the tools available to you, and if there’s something you’ve been overlooking.

I’ll see you next week with another issue of field notes. Thanks again for checking this one out!