Meet the photographer

Hello – I’m Michael Rolph, Australian landscape and nature photographer. It’s nice to e-meet you!

The ever-changing theatre of the sun, sky, clouds, landscape and water captivates me. Realising that every performance is fleeting, never to be repeated, and not to be taken for granted fills me with a sense of wonderment – whether I have a camera in hand or not.

My default photographic style has a dark and moody tendency. I’m at peace when it’s cold and gloomy outside and even tend to take my holidays in cold places. I’ll admit to preferring a beach visit in winter over summer and will settle for cloudy, dramatic weather over clear blue skies any day of the week.

Aside from traditional landscapes and nature I also love to dabble in urban landscapes and black & white street photography. My love of this genre led me on the path to my solo exhibition “Ephemeral Sydney” in Sydney’s Head On Photo Festival in 2018.

Photography has been in my life since day one as my Dad was a serious photography enthusiast. Cameras, lenses and all sorts of photographic accessories were commonplace in our household in the New England region of New South Wales. Hundreds of wonderful black and white photographs were developed and printed in a home darkroom over many years, and Dad’s epic 35mm slide shows are a fondly remembered source of family entertainment.

It was hardly a surprise that my first ever pay cheque went towards the purchase of a Nikon FG-20, a basic film SLR camera from the 1980’s. This was a great tool with which to learn the fundamentals of photography.

Travel to Europe and the UK in the early 2000’s enhanced my interest in the art. Most trips took place in autumn or winter, when I loved the soft, low-angled light on offer. Holidays morphed into photo shoots, and I can see now that my travel snaps became more artistic than documentary. Shooting on film formed good habits – not to be wasteful with my shots, to carefully read the light and consider my compositions, and to always be ready.

Most of my working life has been spent behind desks in the offices of some large multinational companies. Photography was always taken seriously, but something I sadly had little spare time for. In 2012 it was time for a change, and I launched my creative project Girt By Sea Photography.

I appreciate all genres of photography, but I especially like moody and atmospheric images of harsh, dramatic landscapes. My dream locations to photograph include the Yorkshire Dales, the Scottish Highlands and Scandinavia, not to mention the coastlines of Great Britain and north-western France. Closer to home Tasmania is always top of the list.

A country upbringing has given me a lasting connection to the wide-open spaces and rural landscapes of the vast Australian interior. It was a rare treat to see the ocean during my childhood years, so its beauty and awesome power holds an immense fascination for me.

These days I shoot using high resolution mirrorless cameras from the Sony A7R series.

Digital post-processing is an essential and enjoyable part of my creative workflow. I see this as the modern equivalent of developing film and creating prints in a darkroom; and affords similar opportunities to convey mood, emotion, and a personal artistic style. I do try to keep this in check however. My tendency is to capture the moment correctly in camera, producing the image from a single exposure rather than composites.

In saying that, I have no issue with using technology for focus stacking, exposure blending, or stitching a panorama. Otherwise, my post-processing is generally restricted to correction of exposure, white balance, contrast, tones, selective dodging & burning, cropping, lens correction, noise reduction and the like. 

We should embrace our human imperfections, emotions and individual voices in this new age of artificial intelligence. I enjoy creating all my own content here, with no reliance on generative AI for any text or imagery.

During a photo shoot I savour every moment of immersion in my surroundings, carefully framing my shots, and observing the light. It might take a few return trips to get the desired result, but this can only help to better understand the place. I’m a great believer that forming an emotional connection with the landscape is a pre-requisite for producing a meaningful image.

The greatest feeling of fulfilment comes from holding a print in my hands, when a creative process culminates in a tangible and permanent piece of art.

Feedback and questions are always welcome, and I invite you to engage with my work via social media  or by subscribing to my newsletter.

Many thanks for dropping by!