Andrew Whettam is a landscape photographer based in the North West of England, within easy reach of several world-famous national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Within the broader genre of landscape photography, he enjoys a wide range of styles and subject matter, though it was his love of mountains and wilderness which attracted him to photography in the first place.
Andrew’s journey as a landscape photographer began in the 1980s, when he bought a second-hand Olympus OM1, a ground-breaking camera in its day. Using this fully manual film camera was a great introduction to photography, as it meant learning and understanding the fundamentals of how a camera works, something that is easy to gloss over with today’s incredible electronic devices. For many years, the OM1 was a faithful companion on many a mountain adventure. Finally, in 2016, Andrew took the plunge and invested in a digital camera. Being relatively small and lightweight, the micro four-thirds format of the Olympus E-M1 was well suited to long walks and wilderness adventures.
Andrew’s images have been shortlisted in the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year and World Landscape Photographer competitions. Publications include Landscape Photography Magazine and the homepage banner image for the Royal Photographic Society.
Braving the elements on Owler Tor in the Peak District National Park, UK
Artistic Approach
For me, photography is a means for creative expression. I love being in the landscape and my desire is to communicate the emotion of that experience to others. Sometimes that will result in images that are quite faithful to the scene that was in front of me when I took the photo. More often, though, I like to edit my photographs so as to bring out emotion and feeling, to communicate something that is on my heart, to create a connection between the viewer and the image. This can result in images that are a long way from a literal representation of the scene that was in front of me.
It is fascinating how only in photography is there an expectation that the results of a creative endeavour will faithfully represent the subject matter. In other art forms – music, painting, sculpture, for example – we expect the artist to be creative in the way they bring their own personality to their work. Generally, the more creative the better. This is the way I strive to approach my photography
Dedication to the cause! Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland, UK
Equipment
I am very much a believer in the idea that photography is much more about the photographer conveying their experience of being in the landscape than it is about gear. However, for those that are interested, I use primarily Olympus Micro Four-Thirds cameras and lenses, Nisi filters and Gitzo tripods.