UP CLOSE: Don Bishop of Don Bishop Photography in Cheddar

Cheddar Nub News aims to be supportive to every element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and is desperate to get back to normal.

We are profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN CHEDDAR in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for their full return to business as usual.

Today we talk to Don Bishop of Don Bishop Photography, Cheddar, who shares some of his favourite images and the secrets of his eye-catching work.

During an in-depth Q and A session he also talks of his love of living in Cheddar.

• ****

There are many strands to your work, tell us a little bit about how you started out and what first triggered your interest in photography?

My more serious photographic journey started in the late 1980s when I decided to photograph the steam trains that I've had a life long passion for and perhaps to "move up a gear" and put a bit more effort in to my picture taking. In 1987 I also started to volunteer for footplate duties on the West Somerset Railway, and this gave me a project to focus on (excuse the pun!) as I started to record the railways activities.

I enjoyed this so much and took lots of pictures and people seemed to like what I was producing. I soon saw my work improving myself as I learnt new techniques and I started to do talks and slide shows to railway-related groups.

Photography is one of those particular sectors where technology has made massive advances, can you remember your first camera, what type it was and what sort of photos you took then?

It certainly has, my first serious camera was actually bought for me as a Christmas present back in the 1970s, I recall it was a Russian FED4L rangefinder model that was quite heavy and rather "clunky" in its operation, but I'm sure it contributed to my longer term photographic journey. I replaced this camera with a Canon AE1 SLR when I had the funds from my early employment.

This was a very good camera and I enjoyed its use until the mid-1980s when Canon decided to change its system to the new EOS auto focus models, and I invested in one of these models and started to use 35mm slides rather than prints as I had done until this time. Slide film was much less forgiving in terms of getting the exposure right, etc, and this encouraged me to improve further.

I was still concentrating on photographing my railway hobby. This developed further and I had my first picture published in a magazine in 1994, something I had been working towards for a year or so at that time. I've now had numerous images published and authored six books of my own.

I changed over to digital quite early in 2003, when it started to compete with film in terms of image quality, early digital images were very poor in my view. This change enabled me to manage the processing of my own images, although time consuming I feel this is a very important part of producing a perfect photographic image.

I had been organising events for like-minded photographers for some years by this time, and this was perhaps the start of my photographic journey as a business.

I expanded into taking landscapes alongside my traditional railway images around 2004/05 and made the life-changing decision to become a full time photographer in 2006 when one of those life stages that told me I didn't want to continue the career I was in came along.

Almost everyone regards themselves as a 'photographer' nowadays because of the improving quality of photos from mobile phones, can you tell us about your preferred camera equipment and why you think it makes a big difference?

Yes, it is true that mobile phones have improved massively in terms of their built in cameras, and there are probably millions more images taken all around the world than there were before. However, this does not mean those images are particularly good as it's so simple to "snap away" that the images obtained often fall short of people's expectations.

They are designed to record our life events and to share online, rather producing large images that we want to hang on our walls, etc. I use my phone camera in just this way, its so convenient and does produce very good images within those limitations.

I still like to use my full size Canon DSLR and since I went digital in 2003 I have worked through six models, I still have the fifth and sixth generation models in regular use. My main current model is the Canon EOS 5DS which produces images at an incredible 50Mp, compare that with the 6Mp of my first digital model which was ground breaking at the time.

I use Canon's L series professional lenses and have five in my armoury to cover the focal lengths I require. Along with this kit I use Lee filters to control the light and how it interacts with the landscape.

These very high quality resin filters allow me to "hold back" certain areas of the image such as the brightness in the sky and therefore balance the light on my subject and the surroundings without risking over-exposure of the sky. Others are used to create long exposures to give a particular feel and mood to images.

There is no doubt that these filters make a huge difference to the end result. The other essential for landscape photography is to use a tripod as much as possible, it helps you to consider your image composition as well as making them sharper than hand held.

There is massive competition in your business, what do you think sets you apart from other photographers? What are the key qualities a successful photographer requires?

It is indeed a competitive market place and there many good photographers out there, and I follow quite a few online, etc, that I rate the work of. I'm not really sure what "sets me apart" but I guess it's the final presentation of my images and the effort I put in too get the perfect image.

I have a constant wish list of locations that I want to visit, and I plan and research them carefully and work out the best time of year for a particular image alongside such things as tides and weather, etc.

It sometimes takes multiple visits to a location to get the image I desire. I suspect that effort shows through in my images.

A key quality for me is patience and a keen eye for what an image could look like before pushing the shutter, how to compose that image, what to leave in and what to leave out of the picture.

You have travelled across the UK, which area of the country do you think represents a "photographer's dream" and why?

Yes, I travel all over the UK looking for perfect images and have a number of favourite areas and places. For me the Lake District in Cumbria has just about everything a landscape photographer could desire, and I visit once or twice most years.

However, my favourite area is undoubtedly the Scottish Highlands, coast and islands for their sheer drama and with changeable weather they are often able to produce amazing images. The west coast of Scotland is simply breathtaking with clear waters and white sand beaches, often with mountain backdrops.

I particularly like the Outer Hebrides, but you have to bear in mind that the weather is not often fine and settled, and can therefore be challenging.

Difficult question but could you pick out your favourite EVER photo and why?

I guess I would have favourites in both my steam railway collection and the landscapes, there probably isn't any number one favourite against others, but some of course stand out in the memory not only for what they are, but for the effort that went into getting them.

Two that stand out are in steam terms an image I call Quantock Steam an Snow that was taken at the West Somerset Railway at Christmas 2000 when there had been an overnight snowfall and the following day was bright and freezing cold with lying snow and hoar frost. These conditions are rare in Somerset, let alone when a steam train is scheduled to run, so my almost two-hour wait at my chosen spot for the train to pass with a powerful exhaust hanging in the still cold air is very memorable.

The other would perhaps be a landscape image made at Loughrigg Tarn in the Lake District one autumn afternoon in 2016. Our week along stay in the lakes that year was greeted by stunning autumn colours and sunshine and showers for much of the week, ideal for landscape images, there was even some early snow.

I had set up on the hillside over-looking the tarn with the Langdale Pikes in the background and further snow-capped fells beyond. The colours were truly wonderful, but the sun refused to shine on the full scene all at once, and I stood for around two hours "waiting for the light" and took some images while continuing to hope that both the trees and the mountains would be lit together.

Eventually, a little before the sun went over the horizon, the light did indeed play on the whole scene, this had done me a favour as the later it got the quality of light did of course get better, the resulting panoramic image is one that I am proud of.

You work in different areas but where do you prefer to see your work displayed, magazines, websites or in a gallery?

It is, of course, always rewarding to see your work published in books and magazines but I think the best way to enjoy a finished image is as a large print hanging on a wall, etc, so my answer to this would be a gallery.

Lots of photographers still believe that a great black and white photo still surpasses a colour photo, can you share a black and white photo that you are really proud of?

I've never really been a prolific black and white photographer, but I do like to convert some images to black and white in post-production, as some images just work in that form more so than others. Quite a few of my steam images do look great in black and white as it gives them an old time look that is perhaps appropriate for the subject.

In landscape terms seascapes are probably the best for showing what monochrome can do for an image, in most of my landscape images colour is a key part of its make-up so the black and white medium is not followed so rigorously.

There are many brilliant photographers out there, who do you admire and respect? Have you ever modelled your work on anyone in particular?

Again having two quite different areas in my photography I have a few excellent photographers who I rate and respect in each genre.

In steam photography I have always admired the work of W J V (Bill) Anderson and Ivo Peters who were both prolific in steam days and for a while beyond that, one mainly covering Scotland and the other famous for his photos of the Somerset and Dorset line. Sadly both are no longer with us, but their work lives on in books published and which adorn my book shelves.

In landscape there are a good number that I like and respect, but one whose work stands out is Joe Cornish, who works from North Yorkshire, and is very well known in landscape photography circles.

I have followed his work for some years now and I really like the compositions that Joe creates in his images, and his way of managing the light that presents itself to him out in the field. My style of image is I think quite similar to Joe's, whether it is as good I will leave up to the reader.

Out of all the range of work you do, which gives you the most satisfaction and why?

I still enjoy my steam photography of course, but I guess over time it has become relatively straightforward, except in unusual or challenging light conditions. For that reason my landscape photography probably gives me more satisfaction these days as its invariably more challenging to get an image that is just so, with the right light, colours and balance of composition to make the image I desire.

How did you come to live and work in Cheddar and what do you like about Cheddar and the area generally?

I've lived in Somerset all my life, and indeed was brought up in the village where I live today, so knew Cheddar reasonably well. In the earlier days of the business we (my wife and I) attended various shows and events all over the West Country, and sometimes further afield, and still do under more normal circumstances than we've all seen in 2020, and it was almost by accident that we took on a gallery at the Willows and Wetlands Centre on the Somerset Levels near Taunton in 2013.

We had that for five years but desired a busier place with more footfall, and found the shop we now occupy in Cheddar Gorge which opened in 2018, having just Unit 2 for the first year. The Willows Centre gallery closed at the end of the 2018 summer season and for 2019 we took on Unit 1 next door and it was knocked into one larger unit which is now ideal for our needs.

It gives good display space and has enough space for customers to move around and browse easily. Ample parking right in front and cafes, etc, nearby to help bring people to the area.

Cheddar is such a well-known place, and people do come from far and wide to visit – it often surprises me the distances from where people travel to visit, often just for the day. I'm a true Somerset man and wouldn't want it any other way, I love the variety of scenery that we have and the (slightly!) slower pace of life, I just couldn't live in a big city – really not for me.

Cheddar offers such a fantastic 'landscape' for a photographer with the gorge, the wildlife and the reservoir – do you have any favourite areas which attract you as a photographer?

Somerset as a whole does have a fantastic landscape and the gorge is perhaps one of our "crown jewels". Probably my favourite area in Somerset for photography is on Exmoor, although I do like going to the Glastonbury area in the mornings at certain times of year when low level mist adds another aspect to images.

Go to Don's website:

Check out Don's website and work here