Getting Into Culture…Photography
We continue our series where we ask artists, poets, novelists, musicians, dancers and others for tips to help beginners appreciate and learn more about their art form.
Today we speak to Leslie Linares BEM ARPS about photography. A passionate photographer for many decades, he is currently the Chairman of the Gibraltar Photographic Society.
YGTV: Why is the taking of photos and the appreciation of the art of photography such a rewarding way to spend your time?
Leslie Linares: Although it is great fun going out with a group to take photos, exchanging ideas, discussing angles and techniques, etc., I have to say that my best work usually comes from when I go out own my own, and I lose myself into creating images without the pressure of others around me. Then I can relax and spend hours either putting together something that I have created in my mind or just going round looking for subjects to capture. And if successful, then the satisfaction of producing something that is meaningful to me, and hopefully attractive to others as well!
YGTV: What makes a great photo? What do you look for?
Leslie Linares: A great photo must have impact and what we call expressive quality. This is not easy to define, but for me the photo must hold my attention in one way or another. The subject must come across without anyone explaining what it’s about. It must transmit a message of some kind. This may be a mood; an action; a human story, character, condition; a grand landscape, rural or urban. It could be an abstraction where shapes, forms, textures, shadows, colour, etc., capture the attention and the imagination. In all cases I enjoy how the light has been captured.
YGTV: What tips would you give beginners who want to start taking photos with artistic merit?
Leslie Linares: Anyone starting off in photography should look at the work of other photographers and try and work out what makes a good photograph, a good photograph! Look at how the light has been handled and how the composition works. Learn to concentrate on the subject being photographed to the exclusion of distractions. They should not be ashamed to copying others at first and then develop their own styles and preferences. It is important they learn how to use their cameras properly, and how to use the settings that will enable them to produce the photo that they envisaged to begin with.
YGTV: How did you get into photography?
Leslie Linares: In the early 1970s my cousin Arthur Harper was taking photos of the wildflowers of Gibraltar, and when I came back to Gibraltar after my studies in 1973, I joined him in this project. This is something that I continued to do and still do, such that I built up a photographic and information database of all of Gibraltar’s wildflowers, their distribution, status, etc. As Arthur bought new cameras, he passed his old ones on to me and then encouraged me to join the Photographic Society, and I did so in 1974. I have been a member since then, serving for 45 years as Secretary till 2020, and since then as Chairman. As a member, I have participated in virtually all competitions and exhibitions since joining the Society, developing my skills in the art and science of photography.
YGTV: Could you tell me about the work of some of your favourite photographers and why it’s worth seeking out?
Leslie Linares: There are a number of photographers whose work I admire. Among them are: Ansel Adams with his extraordinary landscapes in monochrome; Don McCullin with his war photography and images of urban strife; Henri Cartier-Bresson with his “decisive moment” images; Sebastiao Salgado, social documentary photographer and photojournalist. But, funnily enough, my work is not really influenced by them as I rarely take photos of people. I mainly concentrate on nature, abstracts, shapes and textures, etc., especially subjects where the effects of the lighting predominate.
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