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Back to the Future - John MacRae - part 3 of 1 2 3 4

by John MacRae Published 01/10/2010

"Digital cameras are great but they're only as good as the person behind them," he continues. "I've gone back to playing the guitar - I've got a Fender Stratocaster - but that doesn't make me Eric Clapton. If people saw the kit that I was using they'd think I'd come out of the Dark Ages - I still use a Fuji GX680 with a Phase One back on it. I still use camera movements, but I bet most people don't know what that means."

It's an intriguing dichotomy. Here is a photographer more technologically knowledgeable than most, who still relies on 'traditional' techniques and methods for capture. This may seem odd to some, yet the more you listen to MacRae's thoughts about photographers slavishly believing that technological advancements will make them better, the more you realise that his approach and reasoning are spot on. "The basic stuff is fundamental to getting good results," he confirms. "It hasn't changed, just because you're shooting with a CCD chip."

MacRae preaches his back to basics approach on Member Days where he 'gives something back' to the industry that has looked after him so well. "We run through how to use a light meter and a flashgun, how to use available light with flash and reflectors," he says. "As a photographer it's all about knowing light - how to see it, how to use it. If you've got too much light, how do you take it out? If you've not got enough how do you put it back in?" Furthermore, he advocates the use of black reflectors - something he employs on every day of his working life, and jokingly admits that he has a bet running with Lastolite that he can boost their sales of black reflectors from people who attend his courses.

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1st Published 01/10/2010
last update 09/12/2022 14:51:25

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