When Catherine Nelson embraced the medium of photography she felt that taking a picture representing only what was within the frame of the lens wasn't expressing her personal and inner experience of the world around her. With the eye of a painter and with years of experience as a digital artist in the film industry she would look for ways of taking her photographs to another level. Catherine Nelson trained as a painter and has a background in digital postproduction. Before moving back into the field of fine art she worked on many acclaimed films including Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 300 and Australia.

Born in Australia, Catherine now lives and works in Gent, Belgium.

When did you first realize your inclination towards photography and how did you pursue the same as a career?
It was around 2005 that I bought my first SLR digital camera. I did not have much experience of the dark room having studied painting at art school and, soon after graduation, began a career in visual effects for film and tv. The digital 'ease'' of this new camera suited me well. I could shoot and delete or bring the files into the computer and play with them. Through my job as a compositor, I knew how to alter images. I was exposed to the latest techniques in digitally manipulated imagery so it was case of my professional life informing my personal interest directly.

“I am a nature lover and am concerned about the future of the planet. If my work can remind people to treasure what we have left, I am happy about this.”

Did you have a goal in mind when you first got started?

When I started, it was purely for my pleasure. My focus was still on my career as a compositor in film. I was travelling a lot with my job and the camera came with me. But I rarely took a shot without somehow altering it later on. It was a very experimental time. I enjoyed the way I could ' interpret' the landscape through manipulation in the computer. I could feel my training as a painter informing the way I experienced the landscapes.

What motivated you to become a professional landscape photographer?
In 2008, I decided that I wanted to shift my focus fully to my own artwork and I began dedicating all my time to my art with a view to exhibiting. It was a big move for me. I began making the 'Future Memories' series

“As an artist you have to be true to yourself and your work and not always can the public connect easily to what you are doing.”

Your images capture different landscapes portrayed as a complex ecological story. How do you manage to bring you the essence of each separately in your pictures?
Each work in the 'Future Memories' series depicts one place. To make a work I might take a couple of hundred photos and use half of them in the work. Each landscape is created from one shoot, which is in one place at a certain time of the year and a certain time of day. It can take only a few hours to gather all the material I need, which means that the light will not change too much. Then in the computer it can take a month or more to create the work. It is all about the details. It is the details that create the big picture. It is always the details.

All the pictures in your website are round in shape, depicting the shape of the planet Earth. It’s an interesting concept. How did the idea strike you, or does it also go beyond what I understood as a viewer?
My first work is called 'Bourgoyen Winter: First Freeze’. I was walking, with my camera,  around a nature park in winter, near my home in Gent Belgium and was thinking about Breugel paintings. In his paintings he managed to capture not just one moment but many. I was drawn to the idea and decided I wanted to do the same thing with my photos. The round shape was a way to do this. Viewers have often interpreted the round shape as an earth and therefore read into my work an ecological message. It was not my intention directly when I created the series but I am happy if the work is read in this way. I am a nature lover and am concerned about the future of the planet. If my work can remind people to treasure what we have left, I am happy about this.

People like to talk about their 'lucky breaks' but I think it's more of hard work and passion that leads to a breakthrough to becoming a professional photographer. When was your breakthrough?
I work hard but I was lucky too. Early on in the making of the series I found people responded well to my work. As an artist you have to be true to yourself and your work and not always can the public connect easily to what you are doing. I had a few lucky breaks. My work was shown to Alasdair Foster who was the director at the Australian Centre of Photography. He took a few of my works on his iPad to the Daegu Photo biennale in Korea where he was showing it to a colleague when Romain Dugoul walked passed. Romain then contacted me and the following year I had a solo exhibition in his gallery in Paris, Galerie Paris-Beijing. The other breakthrough was when I showed my work to Dominik Mersch Gallery in Sydney. He then presented it to Susan Manford who was curating the Royal Bank of Scotland Emerging Artists Award show. She invited me to be a part of the exhibition. This was enormously encouraging as I was exhibiting with very well established Australian artists.

“You have to love what you do. And I believe that you have to love your subject matter too. How else can you hope to understand it?”

You were awarded as the Winner of the Royal Bank of Scotland Emerging Artist Client Choice Award in 2010. Could you share your experiences with us?
When I won the Client Choice Award with 'Cloverdowns' I was overwhelmed to have such a huge response so soon after beginning the series. I knew that not many artists were doing what I was doing and wondered if this might be an obstacle in having my work exhibited. Clearly not. I had to make a speech. I cannot remember what that was. I was very happy.

Your work has led you to travel to many distant and remote places. Which has been the most challenging till date and why?
There are 3 works I created from 2 trips to the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales Australia. 'Guthega', Illawong', and 'Snowy Mountains'. I first visited the area in April, 2010. I was involved with a group who were preparing their lodge for the winter. It was an hour's walk from the village to the house. About 40 people turned up to help carry in supplies, and to do some small renovations and repairs. In my time off, I took the camera out for walks. About 7 years ago a fierce fire had swept through the area killing many of the trees. Fires are part of the eco cycle in many areas of Australia, but in the case of this fire, it was so fierce and hot, it had killed the trees to their core. What were left were swathes of dead grey tree trunks. I found it extremely beautiful. It was quite a hike to get the shots I needed but it was worth it. 6 months later I returned to other nearby areas that I knew were affected by the fires.

The professional photography market seems to be moving away from image and book sales to photographic workshops and eBooks. Have you found this to be so with your business?
Not really. I create a limited edition from each image. 7 works at 150cm x 150cm and 7 works at 100cm x 100cm. Each work is mounted behind Plexiglas. The result is a very beautiful and contemporary looking art piece. This is the final destination of my work. When the work is printed and presented in this way it becomes another experience. To see the image large like this is paramount. No computer monitor can do the work the same justice.

Could you provide a word of advice to the young budding photographers of to-day?
You have to love what you do. And I believe that you have to love your subject matter too. How else can you hope to understand it? It is in the details. If you pay attention to the details the work will grow from them.

	Quick7: Your Favourite Printer: I do not print at home but have my prints done by professional printers who both use an Epson wide format printer Your Favourite Shoot: Warren @ High Res Digital Imaging in Sydney, Marnix @ Fine Print, Gent, Belgium Your Preferred Location:  The shoot at Mareeba Wetlands in Queensland Australia, where the water and the trees are Favourite Photographer: William Eugene Smith Most memorable story:  Trying to get the shots I needed from Monet's Garden in Giverny, without tourists. If you have been there, you would know what I mean. It was ridiculous to even try. In the end I had to paint them all out. Current photographers you like: Maleonn, Angelo Musco, Rudd Van Empel, Wang Qingsong Toughest day at work: A recent shoot in Romania on the Danube Delta.  I had caught the flu before leaving Belgium. On the open boat it had quickly developed into a more serious infection but I only had 4 days to do the shooting before leaving again. It was hard. I felt really terrible.

More Photos by Catherine Nelson / Fotosocial