Graham Springer has lived and worked in the
wilderness of Northern Botswana since 2001 as horseback safari guide, cameraman
and photographer. Filming and photographing on a permanent basis in this
incredible place allows him to combine a strong creative drive with a love of
this special African wilderness. Living permanently in this environment also
allows him to photograph very selectively.
"Creative
photography has captivated me since I was a young boy. I try not to take 'standard
wildlife' photographs. I try instead to create interesting and creative images
that have artistic photographic credibility, independent of subject matter. I
try also, as much as one ever can, to capture the ineffable spirit of the
wilderness in which I live. The result, I hope, is a collection of engaging
images that convey my love for this African wilderness and that they inspire
some sense of spirit of place in those that see them.'"
From inception, Graham's images are
intended as fine art prints. All photographs are shot on film (35mm and 645
medium format) and then scanned using a state of the art high resolution
scanner. A certain amount of mandatory digital work on the images is required
after scanning but other than that, cropping and colour tinting, the images are
manipulated as little as possible. The images are archival, printed onto a
heavy, finely textured cotton based art paper (Hahne Muhle 310gsm) with pigment
inks. The only reason the images are digitized at all is because of the creative
options inkjet printing processes provide. They are still however very much
original photographic images.
