We are back with another Hahnemühle Photography Month. This year we want to show how diverse photography and fine art printing is and can be. Each week we will focus on selected highlights and topics. During our first week, we will talk about Wildlife and Landscape Photography and how it can follow a mission. Together with our friends from Prints for Wildlife, we will share various videos, images and interviews from participating photographers.
We interviewed Chase Teron for our interview series during the first week of the Hahnemühle Photography Month.
Could you introduce yourself in 3-4 sentences?
“My name is Chase Teron, I’m a 31 year old wildlife and nature photographer from Vancouver Island, Canada. I am a professional photographer, photography instructor and guide and the co-owner of a photography tour company www.Artica-Studios.com with my wife Jenni Teron. We take our clients to remote regions of our planet including Svalbard, Greenland, Great Bear Rainforest, Northern Norway and we have recently created new tours in Tanzania and Namibia. Additionally we sell fine art photography prints and work with International brands for commercial photography.”
Why did you become a photographer, and do you follow a specific goal or have a mission with your photography?
“I became a wildlife and nature photographer while working a full time corporate job and then pursued the venture full time. My wife and I wanted to create a photo tour company that focused on fragile regions and habitats of our planet. The idea was to create small group tours where clients can experience the Arctic regions firsthand to improve our collective relationship with nature and to teach photography at the same time. Our goal was to create a ripple effect in our network so that we could make small progression changes in our collective habits to be more eco-friendly and to live more sustainably. All of our photo tours that we operate feature vegan cuisine and we offer carbon offsets for any travel related emissions.”
How did you decide to get into this photography field?
“I have always been interested in fine art since a very young age. I am an artist, a painter since the age of 5 and I was told you could never be an artist or that it wasn’t a good way to make a living. After working a corporate job for 6 years, I was uninspired and lacked energy and positivity in my day to day. It was mundane and not rewarding so I purchased a camera to take on my hikes in the Canadian Rockies and that was the start of it all.”
Why did you choose to photograph wildlife, landscape, nature?
“I choose to photograph wildlife, landscapes and nature because they are what inspire me the most. I love exploring, traveling and wildlife so much that I wanted to create artwork that connects me to our planet on a deeper level. Art and nature are two of my greatest passions intertwined with my camera.”
How and When did you figure out your photography style?
“My photography style is ever evolving and changing but my goal is to have really compelling subject matter, bevhaviour or unique habitats be my main strength with subtle editing. I also prefer to take animal-scape type of photography so that my audience can see what the habitats look like so we know what it looks like in order to protect it. I like to have the animals in the scene smaller to show the scale as well.”
Does printing play an important role in your work?
“I print my images because I want my artwork to be immersive. I find that communicating a message or emotion through artwork is more effective through printing than digital display as you can view it as the artist or photographer may have viewed it while taking the image.”
What makes printing special to you?
“Printing is special to me because it’s a physical output that brings my fine art photography alive. It makes me relive the moments and it allows my clients to also feel the same emotion and to understand my photography on another level as it becomes a conversation piece.”
Since when are you offering photo prints and what made you decide to offer your photos as printed work?
“I have been selling fine art photography prints for 5 years or so. It was a way that I could offset my expensive camera gear at the time and to make this photography career a potential possibility.”
Why do you believe prints can not only be valuable, tangible pieces of art, but also support a greater cause? Can you affect people’s minds and hearts with the power of art?
“Limited edition prints are valuable pieces of art because they are the bi-product result of an intense artistic process that involves preparation, planning, traveling, the correct gear, opportunity creation, patience and creativity with technique and skill displayed all in one place which is the the final resulting print. With this process the photographer is able to bring people on this artistic journey and to help viewers establish a deep connection with wildlife or habitats which results into directly protecting and conserving Mother Nature. Without question art is one of the most powerful forms of communication. We are visual creatures so if we are able to educate, entertain and inspire people through our visual artistry and then tell compelling stories, we can directly affect people’s minds and hearts.”
Which is your favourite Hahnemühle paper to print on and why?
“My favourite Hahnemühle paper is Natural Line or Photo Rag. I really love the sustainability mission behind Hahnemühle Nature Line and I would eventually have all my artwork printed on it, but for now my current setup is 80% production on the Hahnemühle Photo Rag Off White Matte Smooth 308g. I love the muted black output and the colour tone consistently and of course for my clients, they appreciate the texture and final resulting products as it looks incredible once framed with no glare in sight.”
Is there a paper texture or surface you prefer over others?
“I prefer a bit more of the smooth surface. Just a personal preference!”
Have you considered our Natural Line papers, which are sourced ecologically?
“Yes I have, I just wish it was a setup with The Print Space UK which is my printing partner. I think this is a fantastic option and I’m hoping to switch over completely soon.”
How did you pick your favourite paper – testing, accident, recommendation?
“Testing them out and then choosing which paper type was available with my automation printing process.”
What is one of the funniest/ most spectacular/ formative/ emotional or unforgettable memory you have made while shooting and/or printing?
“I have had my fair share of unforgettable memories while in the Arctic but I would say on our photo tour swimming with wild Orcas every single time we have an encounter it is different than the last. You are so humbled by their presence and by their beauty as well as their intelligence. I had a moment while swimming in the Arctic Ocean with my wife during our photo tour with guests all around us and Orcas below where we had one juvenile Orca in particular come up to us while communicating with the family all the while making eye contact. Then out of the darkness behind the juvenile Orca, came 3 large male bulls, they looked at us and they then went back to the bait ball where we watched them for a few more hours. It just felt as if we were complete aliens and in a different world and that there was this mutual respect without saying a single word, just with our eye contact.”
Is there any advice you can draw from this moment/experience?
“The advice I would give from this moment is to do everything in your power to make this world a cleaner, healthier better place with your day to day habits and consumption habits – every little positive change makes a difference. And to be compassionate to all living creatures and to habitats.”
Is there an animal which you prefer to photography and why?
“I prefer to photograph either Polar Bears, Grizzlies and Orcas. Typically because in order to find and locate them, you need to go on an adventure in the wild and it’s difficult to have an encounter so that when you do see them, it’s an experience unlike any other. Maybe it’s just because I know we aren’t the top of the food chain and there’s a bit of a thrill seeker inside me.”
Why do you support Prints for Wildlife with your work and why do you think the cause is important?
“I was a contributing photographer last year and again this year because the selflessness and positivity of this campaign is unmatched. Marion and Pie created PfW to unite the global supporters of the African tourism industry to come together to create a profound level of stimulus to directly help the African Parks Network. The positive energy of the PfW initiative is something that our planet really needs right now and the ripple effects of this campaign are global. This collaborative approach of world class photographers, fans and supporters coming together via the PfW campaign for the African Parks Network is truly the easiest way that we can all give back and how we can make the biggest difference. I cannot recommend supporting this campaign enough as the supporters get breathtaking images for their homes, their friends, families or co-workers and all the funds go directly towards protecting the African wildlife for generations to come.”
Learn more about Chase’s work on his website, Instagram and Facebook.
Prints for Wildlife is a fundraiser aiming to ensure protected areas continue to deliver benefits to people and wildlife during the COVID pandemic. More than 170 wildlife photographers, including renown international and emerging and local wildlife photogrpahers, have come together to mobilise needed support for one cause: to continue the protection of vital landscapes in Africa. The fundraiser runs from 11 July to 11 August 2021. All funds collected via the print sale go directly to conservation non-profit African Parks. The price per print is 100 USA excluding shipping. 100% of the proceeds (after printing and handling) will be donated to African Parks. All prints are printed on our sustainable Natural Line Paper Hahnemühle Hemp from our Digital FineArt Collection.
Make sure to check out the images Chase donated to the Prints for Wildlife fundraiser.
For more information about this year’s Hahnemühle Photography Month follow our Instagram @hahnemuehle_imaging and Facebook @hahnemuehle.
