Featured Photographer
José B. Ruiz, Spain
About
Born in Spain, 1966. 2 beautiful daughters, maybe the most photographed
in Europe (as I consider them as wildlife). Used to sleep about 4 hours
a day. That leaves more time to bring up projects and processing pictures.
My favourite book is the Iliad from Homer. I would have liked to be
part of ancient ages. Read a lot and write a lot, last thing is a book
of poems for my daughter Carmen. Like pictures of the Impressionism.
They inspire me to compose. Always learning...and still trying to approach
wildlife.
Don´t use to travel so much out of my country, although I like
it, because I love the wildlife here and also being close to my family.
When I have a camera in my hands everything changes and I know I was
born to do this, and in that moment nothing matters except trying to
get the right shot. That is the best I know doing and I always do it
at my best. I wish to spend the rest of my life doing the same things
I have been doing to date. Good luck to all.
Website: www.josebruiz.com
Interview
Why nature photography?
It is vocational. There´s something in wildlife that captivates
me. It is not only the beauty, the diversity, the elegance... there´s
something else deeply embedded in our collective memory as human beings.
Nature makes us feel free, happy, responsible. We have the need to be
connected with it and should stimulate this feeling in our children.
It will be a reference point throughout their lives. Nature photography
puts together our admiration for wildlife and also our artistic expressions
through photography. If you add some music you have the perfect recipe.
What’s best about it?
The best, no doubt, is the opportunity to spend so much time outdoors.
For me it is not about travelling and adventures. It is the admiration
for every natural thing, from an ant to an elephant, from a drop to
a spider´s web. That´s all very nice, but it is also a job
and a responsebility. The pictures allow you to create a perfect world,
a refuge apart, where nature is the main thing and rules everything,
as it was long time ago.
What's worst about it?
Some of the most austere and more adaptable persons I know are wildlife
photographers. I don´t mean they live in caves (maybe some do).
But they don´t matter about how cold it is, how good is the food
(if there is any available) or where they are going to sleep. They see
nature photography as a mission.
Sure, there is the need to obey to the rules of a modern society.
You need to earn money, meet some clients, be commissioned to photograph
something you don´t like at all (beaches with plenty of people
f.e.). The worst thing is to leave a hide waiting for vultures only
because you have to prepare a dossier at home. It´s like living
in two worlds with completely different values.
Favourite species and places in Europe?
I feel very comfortable with the wildlife I know since I was a child
here in Spain. Iberian wildlife has influences from Africa and from
Europe. You need more than a life to know the spanish variety of wild
plants, underwater subjects, invertebrates, birds, mammals...
Here what I reccomend and like most is the coastal landscapes of northern
and southern Spain. Extremadura is a great highlight you don’t
want to miss for wildlife. I particularly enjoy the small and very common
species: warblers, hoopoes, shrikes, rollers, bee-eaters.
What’s in the bag?
For everyday work I use a full frame camera and few lenses: 17-40 mm
f/4; 70-200 f/2,8; 180 mm f/3,5 Macro; 400 mm f/2,8; 24 mm f/1,8. Of
course some extension tubes and converters make the teles more versatile.
And I invert the 24 mm for macro with 5:1 magnification. Also my tripod
and cable release are essential.
Maybe one of the most specialised things I use is a sophisticated and
home-made second shutter unit to be placed between the camera and the
lens. It was a friend photographer’s invention that we share.
It allows you to shoot in digital (mostly high speed macros) without
delay. It has to be connected to an infrared barrier and an electronic
controller in a heavy box with plenty of batteries. Quite difficult
to use though.
Your specialties / skills?
Maybe what I do best is nocturnal photography. I have been working to
improve the technique for years. Some awards in photographic competitions
took me to keep on the step forward and now the night is even better
than the day for my work. And about classic non-eccentric photography
it seems that landscape is also one of my specialities. I feel very
comfortable with it, knowing what to do, working with precision and
thereby really enjoying it.
What will you do in your next life?
Maybe I sounds too boring. But I´d like to do exactly the same.
I´ve lived my life very intensively and have taken the most of
my time, as if any hour was the last one. And I know it won´t
be too difficult for me as I have done it before.
3 tipps for beginners
My advice is:
First master the technique. And do it well, take the ways of the masters
(follow them through websites, books, workshops). Photography is like
an iceberg. What emerges is technique. Composition is the mass behind.
For the latter you have to find your own style.
If you learn from somebody, books, websites, workshops... it will save
loads of time and the results will come faster. Try to enjoy all the
processes amd leave some time to learn.
Another important one: be ethical and respectful towards nature and
people!
Mission
I have two mission in Czech Republic. It seems to be a kind land with
ancient traditions and natural beautys. Mi first mission is in Ceské
Svycarsko National Park, an area rich in diversity of landscapes and
wildlife. It has some unique sandstone formations sorrounded by forests
and water courses. Rocks form nice shapes as bridges, castles... a romantic
place to leave the imagination free.
I am still researching more information, but I have planned to apply
some long-exposure techniques in this mission. I´m going to need
a powerful torch and some colour heads for the flash, specially yellow
and orange. It is going to require an extra physical effort to climb
the formations in such irregular area, but I´m getting ready,
making some daily exercises.
I plan as well to take with me some underwater equipment to get inside
the rivers and finding out new perspectives and subjects.
The place seems to be a nice one, plenty of resources. It is going
to be hard to get really good results and concentrate only in the best
locations. It can take more than a week to go trough the park and look
for the places. Really hard. But I rely on my equipment and photographic
technique to find good solutions. I plan to make daily work, I mean,
take the most of the earlier lights and then go to look for and cover
distances to know more places. Then return to the best places of the
day in the afternoon for the dusk lights. Maybe this is going to be
the best way to get daily advances.
About the equipment... lots of weight. I´ll take everything
there and then choose only the essential for the daily hike. To date
I haven´t found a local guide, but I think it´s not going
to be difficult as there are some touristic activities in the park.
Best Picture
What’s cool about it?
It shows a planned picture. I knew the place for some months and I was
impressed when I discovered this small park beside Cáceres. Then
came a special night with full moon. Facing south I knew exactly how
to compose. Then started to work the technique: 6 minutes exposure at
f/2,8. 50 mm fix focal lens to find some more drama. My Nikon Fm-2 on
a tripod with the cable release pressed. The slide film was Fuji Velvia.
At the end of the exposure I fired the flash five times with the help
of a teleflash (fresnel lens that concentrates the light).
The picture reminds me a very good age in my life, when I crossed Spain
looking for landscapes to photograph with star trails and the moon...
Since then dozens of my photographer friends are popularizing the technique
in my country.
Could it be better?
Of course. Always! If I had to make it now I´d choose a blue dominant
in the colour temperature manual setting of my camera (around 3.000
K). Then fire the teleflash with a color correction head to make the
light white but keeping the sky blue. And try as well a longer exposure
for longer star trails.
Behind the Scene
A friend mountaineer and photographer came with me to look for the last
shots for my book about nocturnal photography. We spent several days
and thousand of kilometers through Spain looking for magnificent places
to photograph by night. We didn´t sleep in four days, always driving
and taking pictures. We were exhausted and hungry. We ate as much as
we could and stopped in a prairie to sleep. We woke up at the same time,
completely refreshed. But the light was very similar to the moment we
fell asleep - we had been sleeping for 24 hours!
We took several similar pictures and, in my opinion, this was one of
the best. In one of them one stork flew away, but landed again on the
nest. White Storks use to have some nocturnal activity while breeding
and migrating. I first sent the slide in 1992 to the Wildlife Photographer
of the Year Competition, but was returned without any metion. In 1993
I tried again. And yes, that was the year, I collected two awards with
it: From dusk to dawn category and Innovation Award.
Date: September 1992. Full moon.
Location: Los Barruecos Natural Park, Malpartida de Cáceres,
Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain.
Gear: Nikon FM-2. 50 mm Ais f/2 at f/2,8. Tripod. Shutter release.
Fujichrome Velvia. Flash fired five times. Teleflash.
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