Myles Pinkney is a second-year history student from Devon, with a special interest in Ancient Greek warfare and society. Outside of his degree, he loves the great outdoors and photography. I caught up with Myles for a candid chat about his vibrant work.
Your photography encapsulates a lot of stunning landscapes- which are your favourite places you have photographed?
Definitely the Cordillera Huayhuash mountain range in Peru. We often hiked to an altitude of around 5,000 metres, camping in the most pristine and picturesque areas I could have imagined. One night at the shore of a beautiful glacial lake and another in front of a glacier, every night felt a million miles from anywhere. I was very fortunate with the weather, with crisp days allowing for some beautiful sunrises as the mountain peaks received the first or last of the red light. At night I could see by far the clearest milky way I have ever seen, allowing me to be out until late shooting as the others huddled in their tents.
Your photography is primarily of landscapes yet captures so much dynamism and movement involving water and lighting. Do you plan on experimenting with other forms of dynamism in your photography?
I plan on expanding my photography into the urban/street scene, having photographed Rome when I first started out, which was such a beautiful city with endless opportunities for architecture and people shots. I have also recently spent a day in London, which gave me the taste for photographing cities, particularly as the day turns to darkness and the lights of the city really work well in the image. I would really like to do more light-trail shots within a city environment.
Do you use any programs to edit your photographs?
I use Lightroom to edit my photos from the RAW file that comes straight out of the camera. I always edit to what I saw on the back of the camera, because what a lot of people do not realise is that most camera’s shoot JPEG in default, with the post processing and editing of the image happening within the camera itself. The RAW file is therefore actually a ‘flat’ image which needs to be edited. The main reason I shoot in RAW is that it can allow you more room to alter the image should you need to. For example, an image with a completely blown out sky can sometimes be saved by dragging the highlights bar down, showing details in the sky that were in the dynamic range of the camera, but needed altering. You would not be able to do this to the same extent with a JPEG file.
Where do you see photography taking you in the future?
I’ve always wanted to make something out of my passion for taking photos, but in my opinion photography is one of those specialisms that doesn’t really offer any clear guidelines on how to make it a career. It doesn’t seem that a degree in photography is essential; more paramount is the ability to create work for oneself and to build clientele. I think that despite the fact I have a grasp on the art aspect of photography, I would struggle in the business side of it, making photography for me a more realistic side earner. Of course, I would love to be a wildlife documentary photographer or travel photographer but these seem to be wild unachievable dreams for the present- but maybe someday!
If you would like to see your photography featured in SCAN, please email Catherine Rose at scan.photography@lancastersu.co.uk
