THE SHOT’S THE THING - the images of Nick Shepherd
“M
y wife calls it a military operation,” smiles Nick
Shepherd over coffee. “Every time I have to go out to get an early shot everything has to be ready the night before – even the thermos!” We are discussing how he
manages to capture the amazing images that have graced the front cover of the vast majority of By The Dart magazine over its four- year history. The amount of organisation and planning that go into each shot is, frankly, mindboggling. To get the right light the former finance professional works out the position and angle of the sun or moon (depending on whether it is a night or day shot) in his chosen place, checks the weather
reports in detail and of course spends hours walking to find just the right location – it’s all very impressive. Nick has, in nearly 40 years of
photographic endeavour, achieved a huge amount: a Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society, won best Spring Photo for the International Garden Photographer of the Year and been a finalist in the Landscape Photographer and Weather Photographer of the Year competitions. His work is also on display at Kew Gardens.
So for someone who has clearly
achieved so much at a discipline that is still just a hobby, what keeps Nick getting up in the middle of the night to capture these beautiful pictures? “I’m chasing the perfect shot
Nick
I suppose,” he says, “I want to make the most of each location and each shot so it looks its best. I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of the same places, but I’ll always keep looking for something new, slightly better, more satisfying for me as a photographer. “A good shot does not simply require good planning, good equipment and good timing: it needs luck and that extra something that turns a good shot into a great one. I remember taking a picture on Bayard’s Cove recently - it was just after dawn, the sun was rising between the castles, a light mist was curling off the water. But the shot I took was so much better because a trawler happened to be sailing out of the harbour and a bird flew overhead at the right time. Those two
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