Interview with Mark Griffin

Hi Mark! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?

Hi there, I’m lucky to have my hobby as my full time job. I split my time between the UK and Western Australia and shoot a lot of resources, mining and civil engineering type projects, as well as architecture and corporate portraits. I love travelling and always have at least one camera with me where ever I am.

QWhat's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?

AThe weirdest situation I have been in would have to be 2km underground at a uranium mine in South Australia. I had been shooting the guys operating the machinery at the deepest face when the client who was with me had a massive panic attack and totally freaked out, at which point we had to evacuate to the surface - luckily I had most of my shots in the bag before that happened…

QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?

AAs far as gear goes I am pretty much Canon for my work shoots with 5D MKIIIs and a 7D as back up, plus the usual selection of L lenses, but only as long as a 200mm. I also have both 17mm and 24mm tilt shift lenses that get used an awful lot. Along with the Canon gear I also pack both a Sigma DP2 and DP0 Quattro mirrorless camera. I love these Sigmas, and the DP0 with its 14mm (21mm 35 equivalent) lens is great as a travel landscape camera. I often shoot it in wide crop mode and it’s like having an old Hasselbad Xpan in my pocket. For my personal work I have a Leica M Monochrom which is a rangefinder with a black and white sensor, and I have a mix of Leica and Zeiss lenses between 21mm and 90mm. I love this camera, and the quality of the files blows me away every time I open them in Lightroom. As an addition the the Leica Monochrom I also have a Leica T, which enables me to use my Leica M mount lenses for colour work.

QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?

AMy tip for aspiring photographers is to not get too caught up in the gear, just get out and shoot, and keep shooting and trying to develop your own style. Find what you love to shoot. I would also say that when you have some shots you really love then print them out and show them to people. I think it’s a shame that so many images these days only live inside our digital devices.