The Don Tiffney Interview
Don was one of our first photographic contributors and has a large selection of images on the Fotoviva Art Store. He has just developed his new website to showcase the exceptional work he has made so we thought it a good time to have a chat with him and see what’s going on.
How long have you been taking photos and what is your camera history?
I have been taking photographs since my early twenties after winning a camera in a sales competition (I was in the motor trade), it was my first ‘proper’ camera a Yashica 35mm GSN rangefinder. I was severely lacking in technique but was very impressed with the quality images the camera was capable of and I set out to improve my picture taking ability.
Over the years I progressed to 35mm film SLR’s & medium format too, my images were nearly always slides and I still have a collection of several thousand that I periodically get out, dust down my projector & have a slideshow session!
I have a collection of vintage cameras (all working) from box Brownies, folders, medium format & of course I still own a Yashica 35mm GSN rangefinder which I last used a week ago. Some of the older stuff I have been trying out lately too (75+ year old cameras) as I have found a supplier of film for these in New York, it really does test your skills! Currently Don mostly uses a Fuji S3 & S5 with a range of lenses, as he likes the amazing latitude the sensor gives with regards to it’s dynamic range & low noise levels.
What is your favourite type of image and where in the world do you like shooting best?
My favourite images have to be landscapes, as I have a strong bond with the great outdoors & love hill walking & cycle touring (always with a camera to hand), I do however enjoy most types of photography & I do a fair amount of portrait work too.
My favourite place to be with a camera is without doubt Scotland, my dad is a Scot & although he has resided in England since the war I have visited north of the border many hundreds of times since being a small child & I love the place (and the people). Nothing for me compares with the grandness of Scotland’s wild scenery & constantly changing moods & light, it is a veritable photographer’s dream.
Tell us about your new website www.dontiffney.com
My new website, although in its infancy is coming along nicely & the Clikpic system makes everything so easy, even for a technophobe like me! My previous site was built for me & not at all as user friendly so I am glad I have made the switch & look forward to building it up over the coming months.
Do you have any tips for budding photographers who want to make some money from their shots?
For any new photographers wishing to start selling images I recommend working hard on firstly capturing the best shots they can & then start off by getting them shown to the public on one of the many stock sites where you can upload them for free & have them sold on your behalf, as skills progress a move to a website of your own will be a natural progression.
Have you tried selling your work elsewhere on the web or offline?
I have sold images through various outlets (small local shops etc.) & of course my old website & hopefully I will have gallery space for the coming year on Skye & a link up with one of the islands promotional websites, so exciting times lie ahead! I also do well with the Fotoviva Art site but by far my most lucrative work however has been private commissions for portraiture & most of this work, in fact nearly all, has been by recommendation from previous customers, which is very satisfying.
Which other photographers do you admire?
The photographers I most admire are Charlie Waite & David Noton, I never tire of looking & learning from the way they both capture the light & the ‘feeling’ of the landscapes they photograph.
So after thirty odd years of fairly consistent photography I still class myself as a learner & hope I will continue to learn new methods & skills to add to those I already have, photography & the places & things I photograph still give me such a ‘buzz’ & I hope they always will!
Many thanks to Don for this interview and we look forward to seeing his website develop and seeing more images on Fotoviva over the coming weeks.
Nice to see that Don still has some of the older rangefinders and puts these to good use.
Whilst SLR’s are more common there is a time an a place for a rangefinder and the lack of moving parts can make them quieter and less prone to things going wrong.
Like the sea scape - serenity.