INTERVIEW WITH ROSS COUPER
1. Ross, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in Zimbabwe and spent my early childhood in this remote part of Africa. I was surrounded by wildlife and became fascinated with them. My days were taken up withdrawing them and as artistry grew, my drawings started becoming realistic portrayals. Having then moved to South Africa, my artistic talent grew as I excelled in art at school but I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and return to the bush as a safari guide. When I completed my last year at high school, I funded my field guide studies by selling pencil sketches of wildlife on ostrich eggs to tourist attractions and curios shops. I was fortunate to start my guiding career straight after my studies and for 10 years I continued my art as a hobby. I had an opportunity to travel around the world for which I was fortunate to discover new places but the bush kept calling and after 11 years I returned back to the environment that I love.
2. What does photography mean to you?
Photography is a split second of art that can never be created ever again. It is elements of time that fall into place, which includes light on a subject or a scene.
3. Was there anything specific that you can remember that made you want to become a photographer?
Art. The expression of emotion. Photography was an instantaneous transition that was adaptive from drawing or painting. Seeing light change, watching a subject move and being able to predict what would be a deliverable art form through a single photograph. This was evident as soon as I used my first camera.
4. What Inspires you?
People inspire people. I tend to root for an underdog in a competition as they have a drive to win, to want to win, these people have a unique view on life and will push harder to achieve their goals. The natural world has the same values due to the instinct that drives us all, I find that it parallels within our own lives and therefore there is a constant connection within my photographs.
5. What makes the good picture stand out from the average?
There needs to be a draw card from the start, to lure someone to gaze a little longer and wonder how that photograph was captured. A unique perspective with a strong underlying compositional order so that it grabs one’s attention immediately. Breaking the photographic rules to gain a new aspect of a subject acquires a strong structure which I achieve in my photography.
6. Among your works, which one is your favourite? Why?
It is difficult to list a single photograph as a favourite as they all have stories behind them that one rarely supersedes another. As a wildlife photographer I battle the elements on a daily basis, whether it is extreme African heat or surprisingly the extreme African cold, whether it is the early mornings or the late evenings, I am always in the bush. It is the tribulation of reward after working hard to attain the image you are imagining. I have many of them and most notably the black and white selection would be my favourites. I read a quote years ago that I often reflect back towards, ‘my favourite image is the photograph I plan to capture tomorrow’.
7. What kind of gear do you use?
Nikon. I am always in hand with my Nikon D5 camera and my go-to lens in most conditions is a Nikon 300mm f/2.8 or my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens which has remarkable capabilities in low light conditions.
8. What was your very first camera?
2007 CANON EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
My world was rocked when I got this camera as I was the only one of my friends with an 8mp camera for that era – it was a big deal.
9.Did you go to school to study photography?
I am a self-taught photographer with a lot of YouTube tutorials in my browser’s history. I rely on my artistic background to compose my imagery and fortunate that I have the added asset of understanding my wildlife subjects and pre-empting their behaviour. I have learnt a lot from being inspired by other photographers too.
10. How long have you been a photographer?
8 years or as Lightroom reminded me….. 384,000 photos
11. How much do you research your subjects before photographing them?
I capture emotion in my photographs. To do this, I spend a lot of time with the wildlife subject. In my field, time spent with them is equated to years and this has allowed for an emotive experience with them and often it feels like you lose a good friend when they pass away. It is the hardest part, as you become emotionally attached to wildlife in a manner very few people would understand. On most occasions, I photograph the beauty in my subjects and it is the unconscious manner of creating art due to a predictive response of seeing what I want in an image before it happens.
12. Could you please tell us something about your technique and creating process?
Creating a powerful photograph should be achieved with the camera and the artistic view is created in the post editing process as you can review photographs in detail.
Cropping. I experiment with the crop in my final edit is where my intuitive vs. practical photographer allows the success of the image.
Structure: When photographing I ensure that I built a strong photo, to begin with – so it is all about the broad underlying colours, shapes and contrast between light and dark that are the key fundamentals. This is intuitive whilst taking the photograph. It is a difficult process to explain if you are unable to see it in the field.
13. What do you do in your life besides photography?
Most of my time is spent content creating for a luxury safari brand – Singita Game Reserve for which I am also their resident photographer.
14. Why your work is special?
I created my own photographic niche, through a varied style. Elements in my photographs can be recognizable, along with my unique compositions, emotional connection and artistic view. This pertains to all colour tones in my work. My vision is directed to inspire but could rarely be replicated due to the technical aspects.
15. What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on large fine art prints. Many of which will be limited editions. Currently experimenting with work in desaturated light along with black and white landscapes.
16. A funny moment that happened to you on one of the days when you were shooting.
Whilst attempting a low angle shot of a leopard, I hid my camera in a pile of dried elephant dropped on top of a bean bag for support, only to have my bean bag stolen by the leopard. The leopard then proceeded to hoist the bag into a tree and sat with it in the tree for some time, before it fell to the ground. Fortunately, it was not my camera.
17. Where can you see yourself and your photography in 10 years?
In ten years, I would like to be recognized as a leading wildlife photographer in the world. Limited edition prints will be the only imagery that I will be selling. The photographs would be highly valued and a strong contribution of my photography would be able to support conservation groups and make a difference that is notable.