Member Profile: Paul Rathbone
About me:
©Paul Rathbone
Do you consider yourself a Professional/Semi-Pro/Amateur/Beginner photographer?
I am an amateur photographer, trying hard to improve via TSOP.
Who are you?
I am from the Lake District in the UK. I am retired and I reach the grand age of 70 in the next few days! I am married with 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren. I have always been a keen outdoor person and I walk virtually every day, although I have now slowed down with age! I was a geologist with the British Geological Survey and a university lecturer, before running a family outdoor business. I love to travel and I have been fortunate to travel widely; I worked and lived in Botswana for 3 years in the early 80’s and I have a strong affection for the African continent.
Your Photography Journey
I have always taken photos of my travels and the great outdoors; my father was a keen photographer and my youngest brother was a professional photographer. My retirement plans lasted 36 hrs, when I was called back from Cuba after my father had a serious cardiac arrest. He was left brain damaged and I helped with his care for nearly 4 years. On his death, I resumed my passion for travel and a friend encouraged me to buy a decent camera. I decided to learn photography properly, and I feel very fortunate that I found TSOP on line. I took the Beginners course, followed by the Lightroom course. I moved instantly away from shooting in automatic and I always shoot in RAW.
I struggled with the complexity of Photoshop, but I finally completed the course. I have since completed the Macro, Pro Landscape, Wildlife, Long Exposure and Astrophotography courses. I am currently working through the Cities at Night course.
What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned from TSOP?
I think that taking Marcs structured approach to learning different aspects of photography makes them ingrained and become natural to use. Also, I should mention that setting up the Lightroom catalogue as emphasised in the course is a must do.
What is your preferred genre?
©Paul Rathbone
As a keen outdoor person, and living in the Lake District, I’ve always mainly taken landscape. On my travels I also take wildlife photos. However, since taking various TSOP courses I’ve branched out into doing more macro and I intend to try more night photography. I have just taken the Long Exposure course and I’m looking forward to try that out on the coast of Islay when we visit this summer; I’ve just treated myself to some filters! I often use exposure bracketing for landscape, and focus stacking for macro; both techniques I learnt on TSOP courses.
When it comes to editing, I like to keep my images looking close to how I saw the scene and I do not over process images. I like the simple style of editing demonstrated by Jack Lodge on one of the recent members evenings.
What inspires you to create photography?
Quite simply I like to share the beauty of what I see on my wanders with my friends and family. Just recently, I am more inspired to capture an image that really pleases me and I more often go out to get a specific shot which I never did before.
Who are some other photographers you’re inspired by?
First and foremost I must mention Marc Newton; his first class teaching and enthusiasm has transformed me from a person who took quick snaps to someone who feels more like a photographer. On the members platform, I am inspired by several talented people. For me, Brendan Lynch stands out for his love of wild places and his ability to capture their beauty; he is also hugely supportive and kind to others in the group. I admire the creativity of Maarten Venter. I follow Oliver Wright after completing his Macro Course; again I love his style, his enthusiasm and his outstanding ability to teach. I admire many peoples work.
©Paul Rathbone
Describe the first photo you took during your learning journey.
©Paul Rathbone
Shortly after getting into the Beginners course I stopped using automatic and took an early morning image from Friars Crag near Keswick; I liked the light that morning. I was with my mum, and my dad had died not long before; the view point looks down Derwentwater with Catbells to the right. My father was brought up on a sheep farm on the slopes of Catbells and mum got great comfort from the view; mum and dad had been together since they were 14 yrs old. The photo has poor composition and was not well edited because I didn’t know how to back then; however, I have an emotional connection with this image.
Since then, I could now compose the image and edit it better but I cannot recreate the light that morning. My love of photography has grown, mainly inspired by TSOP and I now have a desire to improve my skills.
My favourite photograph:
My favourite photo that I’ve taken ©Paul Rathbone
What is your favourite photograph that you’ve taken?
My favourite image is of my wife looking over the Adriatic Sea in Croatia; it was taken for the monthly assignment ‘The Great Outddors.’ I’d bought my wife (Nicky) the red dress for her 70th birthday and booked a trip to Croatia. I noticed this scene on our second day and I planned & practised the photo but I needed the very early morning light; after much persuasion, Nicky agreed to a 5.30am start and I’m pleased with the result. I’m also happy to have a nice image of great trip, featuring my soul mate who I’ve been with since 1976.
What’s next for Paul?
I intent to stay with TSOP, doing more courses and repeating the more complex ones such as Photoshop; I will strive to take part in each monthly assignment. I hope to become a more consistent photographer; at the moment I am still taking too many shots that I’m not happy with.
I would like to put more time into Long Exposure and night photography. I travel to Spain quite often and we visit Scotland in our camper van; I’m looking forward to a van trip to Islay this summer. We are heading to Santorini in September where I hope to take some iconic shots of the caldera view.
Conclusion
Photography has become a major part of my retirement. I take my camera virtually everywhere, sometimes for a planned image, sometimes to hopefully capture certain wildlife, and at times just to photograph anything of interest that I see. I have always spent a great deal of time outside, and now photography has added a huge joy to my day. I am going to take my first ever day with a professional photographer, hoping to improve my nighttime photography; I have a day planned with Ben Bush after taking his Astrophotography course. I used what he taught me to take my first ever attempt at photographing the Aurora Borealis in March.
I think it’s fair to say that I was always a keen snapper, but now I aim to be a competent photographer. I can never image not having a huge passion for photography; TSOP can take a great deal of credit for that and I’m grateful to you all.
Where can people follow you?
I am not a huge user of social media and I only joined Facebook as part of my TSOP journey. I have just started adding some images to Instagram on @parathbone
Paul’s Gallery:
All images ©Paul Rathbone
