Scott Leggo | Images of the world you live in

Posted on Jun 13th, 2012

by Thierry

Blog

Today, we open our blog to a guest landscape photographer Scott Leggo.

Scott is one of Australia’s leading landscape photographers and an AIPP Master of Photography. He has won over 70 awards in International and Australian competitions, was recently awarded the 2011 Epson ACT Professional Photographer of the Year, and was a finalist in the 2011 International Loupe Awards.

With a love of travel and getting outdoors, Scott’s passion for adventure and a keen eye for seeing nature at its best results in Scott capturing stunning photographic images. Scott is arguably best known for his international, multi award winning, limited edition prints. His premium quality limited edition photographic prints grace the walls of homes and offices the world over, transforming the feeling of many a public and private space.

In addition to Scott’s retail products, he is frequently engaged by commercial clients to capture outdoor scenes and locations for their marketing or advertising needs.

Find out more about Scott with our now traditional Q&A interview.

Australian-Photo: How did you become a landscape photographer?

Scott: I don’t have a background in photography or the arts at all, so my entry is perhaps a little less conventional than many photographers. I have always loved spending time outdoors, adventure activities and travelling.

Despite this, I had got to a point in my life where work had become incredibly dominant and I was no longer doing many of the outdoor activities that I used to enjoy. With my work-life balance completely unbalanced I was looking for an ‘excuse’ to get outdoors more and get back to doing more of the things I loved.

Landscape photography held an allure as a potential pathway to achieve the better work-life balance I was seeking and I thus began the journey.

That was back in early 2006, and six years later I now find myself in the position where for the past few years now I’ve been a full time landscape photographer – and I love it!

My work-life balance is better than ever and I’m a much happier more relaxed person for it.

A-P: What inspires you?

Scott: Since I was kid I loved David Attenborough documentaries, and that hasn’t really changed. Those documentaries, and many similar modern BBC productions, continue to inspire me.

There is multiple aspects to this, many of these documentaries feature amazing locations, captured and portrayed with brilliant cinematography, all wrapped up in a package that educates. So for me, I find these shows incredibly inspirational in terms of places I want to travel to, but also the desire to photograph these amazing locations and share images of the beautiful world we live in with others that may not be fortunate enough to be able to some of these locations.

Additionally, I get inspired by the prospect of being able to help educate people about the planet on which we all share and the environmental challenges the globe faces.

A-P: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt either from a teacher/mentor or by the hard way?

Scott: It’s probably a lesson/skill I learned from my time in the military, but it’s about prior preparation and planning. I think planning, forward thinking and analysis of ‘what if’ is a crucial aspect to not just running a photography business but life in general.

That said, despite all the planning and preparation in the world, you need to remain open and flexible to capitalise on opportunities as they arise.

Nothing frustrates me more than opportunities lost because people can’t make a decision quick enough.

A-P: Who would be the photographer you’d like to shoot along with? Who would you like to shoot for your next assignment (Model/public figure ..)?

Scott: Tough question, but it’s not necessarily about which photographer, but rather the opportunity.

It’s probably cliché but I’d love to photograph for a David Attenborough/BBC style documentary like Planet Earth, do a shoot for National Geographic or a global campaign shoot for an organisation like WWF.

A-P: What’s in your bag/studio (kind of equipment do you use | camera/lens brand, computer hardware software)?

Scott: First and foremost for much of what I do given the weather conditions I often find myself in, personal equipment and clothing is the priority. There’s not much point having great camera equipment if you freeze to death.

On the clothing front I love everything from Icebreaker, and spend far too much money at all the top outdoor/adventure stores on clothing and other outdoor adventure essentials from the likes of Black Diamond, MSR etc.

Having been in the military you come to appreciate how important decent footwear is.

My Raichle mountaineering boots, which I’ve had for a while now, are without doubt the best boots I’ve ever owned. They’ve taken me through all sorts of extremes globally and are still together and waterproof.

On the camera front, I currently shoot with Canon’s EOS 5DMKII, with a good range of L series lenses. I predominantly use the wider-angle lenses for my landscape work. Medium format is probably next for me given what I want to be able to offer my clients going forward.

I use a Gitzo GT2542L tripod and Gitzo GH2780QR ball head, which is great for my back given the lightweight, and I love the flexibility that the extra length from the tripod gives me with no real compromise on rigidity.

To carry my gear I use Lowepro backpacks or Macpac backpacks for the longer overnight camping trips.

I’ve used Sandisk Extreme Cards since I started and these cards have never failed and I’ve shot in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.

And last but of course not least, I use Apple products for all my computing needs.

On the processing front, I use Phase One’s Capture One for my RAW processing and then Adobe Photoshop as required.

A-P: What’s your favourite piece of gear?

Scott: MSR Lightning ascent snowshoes. They open up a whole range of possibilities in hard to reach backcountry areas in winter.

A-P: What would be your workflow, favourite piece of software?

Scott: I have a reasonably simple workflow, and in essence it’s all about getting up and getting out to the places I want to shoot. Most of the time I’m shooting around sunrise or sunset so it’s often early starts or late finishes, but the workflow is around the planning and preparation to be in the right place at the right time when the mother nature turns on the right light. An example I have given in the past is for one of my images ‘Snow solitude’.

During summer I found this tree and given its location I knew it would be well buried in snow after a good dump. The slope of the hill and background ome winter would be perfect.

I just had to be sure I remembered where to come back to during winter!

On my first visit after some heavy snow falls on Mt Hotham I went out and visited the tree, but while it was buried in snow the weather wasn’t right. The clouds and sky on that day didn’t provide me with the look I was after. So I visited Hotham a number of times over the following days, and finally after a few days (unfortunately in bad weather) I decided to trek out again to this tree.

I was certainly thankful for my snowshoes given the deep blanket of snow. The conditions were horrible, heavy cloud, strong winds, and freezing temps, but it made for perfect conditions for the shot I wanted – except the wind.

By the time I got to the tree, the wind had died down but the thick fog remained, so it was just a matter of time. Not long before sunset, the light softened creating a creamy look to the landscape that you can see in the final photo. I had got the shot I had envisioned so many months earlier during Summer. Hopefully you can see that from a workflow perspective there’s often a lot of previsulisation and prior planning, but equally some shots are the result of me being in a location and the weather conditions and thus light being just right. Either way, you have to be prepared and out there when it happens.

A-P: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring photographers?

Scott: Persistence, passion and an understanding of business. I don’t come from a photography background at all, so maybe I’m biased, but I strongly believe that if you don’t understand business and then bring to that your passion for photography it will be a much harder road.

It’s been said plenty of times before, but you could be the best photographer in the world, but if you don’t understand and have a good business, then it will be a struggle. Conversely there is plenty of photographers out there who aren’t necessarily great photographers but they excel at business and they are doing really well.

The key difference is around the ‘business’ aspects. Obviously the best option is to combine the best of photography with the best of business.

A-P: Anything else we should know about you? (promo, workshop, books, publications, charity involvement..)

Scott: The more I travel it’s hard to miss the impact of mankind on the state of the environment and the pressures that an ever growing population place on our natural world.

With a deep empathy for the natural world, it is my hope that my wilderness landscape images convey in part what I feel very strongly about: that we need to preserve the few wild, untouched places remaining in the world and protect our precious wildlife and natural resources. Attempting to make a difference through my business is also important to me.

In early 2011 I was pleased to announce a new ‘Plant-a-Tree’ Partnership with Trees for the Future. Under this partnership I committed to plant a tree, for every limited edition print or other product sold.

Additionally, I also committed to plant a tree for every new fan of the Scott Leggo images Facebook page and followers of Scott Leggo images on Twitter.

It is my hope that through this and future initiatives I can help my business make a small but positive impact to the world we all live in.

Images copyright Scott Leggo Images.