Recently RootSpeak spoke with Mike Burdon, the Englishman behind the brilliant infrared images being generated at Red Circle Photography.
RS: There seems to be a great deal of preparation involved with each of your shots. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and your process?
MB: I have been living and working in Spain for the last five years after moving from my home town in England. I have been working in photography and skydiving ever since this move. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity and time to travel after finishing my university career. Travel proved to be the catalyst for my creative side as this exposed me to amazing sights, lifestyles and cultures. It as from here that I started to learn photography and to learn how to skydive, which have resulted in being important parts of my life. Throughout my skydiving years I have been a part of projects, both personal and commercial which has given me a huge understanding of planning and preparation. It is these qualities which allow me to organize and produce the desired results.
RS: With skydiving being an obvious passion of yours, how do you go about capturing such pristine moments in what is ultimately a constantly moving, adrenaline-laden environment?
MB: Skydiving is an extreme sport in which one can generate some amazing photographs of beauty, athleticism and exhilaration. In order to capture these moments you obviously need to be proficient at the sport before you can start to carry cameras. The better that you fly your body the greater the range for taking photographs. Skydiving consists of many different disciplines, varying angles of flying, different types of formation, changing air speeds and it requires different skill sets for each of these areas. You can capture opportunistic frames as you can in ever other field of photography, however with skydiving the best frames are the product of good planning and good execution. Often training jumps are required if you are looking for a specific shot. It is far easier taking shots of skydivers that you have jumped with before because you can predict and anticipate their flying characteristics. This is important when dealing with speeds up to 200mph.
RS: There is certainly an ethereal quality to your work, and your photos of various wildlife do justice to their majesty in vivid detail. Where were these animals’ pictures taken? And did you know at the time that the post-production would ultimately create such a surreal look for their peripheral environment?
MB: My work with wildlife and the use of infrared has produced some interesting and worthwhile photographs. I am really happy with the results and will continue to photograph many more subjects. The use of infrared photography is usually contained to landscape photography. If you scan the internet then these are the type of images that you will find. However I have found the application of infrared in other areas to be far more rewarding. I want to capture shots that are ethereal and have an air of mystique to them. The photographs have been taken in various locations and countries around the world. The pictures of the elephants and game wildlife were taken on a recent trip to Africa. I knew that I would be pleased with the outcome because all the settings for the camera were done in advance, there is no actual post production work done on these photographs. In-camera ‘Photoshop’ techniques are a valuable asset to the digital photographers arsenal.
RS: What dream locations or subjects would you most like to shoot in 2011?
MB: An area in which I would like to do more work is within sport fashion. Skateboarding has a great appeal for me for taking photographs due to the nature of the sport, the interesting and varying personalities, the age and gender equalities and the diverse clothing which is available. I also love the environment that skate utilises. Skaters often have to use derelict or commercially disused areas because the funding for skate parks is not a high priority for government spending. These provide an interesting backdrop for photographs and highlight the passion these participants have for their sport.
RS: What defines a great photo to you?
MB: Every photographer and every spectator of photography have their own opinions of what makes a good frame. For me there are several factors in which I judge my photographs and other photographers work. Firstly, Do I like it? If the answer is no then I want to figure out what it is about the frame that I do not agree with, from this comes valuable lessons and feedback. If the answer is yes, then I want to identify and define what is is that I like about it. Again these reasons can inspire and develop you as a photographer. The truly great photographs are the ones which provoke a cognitive itch, something that needs scratching hours after seeing the image. These shots are remembered and hopefully generate other people to try something that may surpass the original.