For me, Eila is a mystical place, full of atmosphere, the place and the people really
touch me.
The core of my ELIX project is really in the title, ELIX being people of Eila.
At the heart of it, it is about the craft of photography, from capture to putting ink
on paper, it's about print.
Initially, at least, I wanted to focus on my work with the Eila on a line.
You have a tremendous respect for the crew of the lifeboat because they do literally
put their lives on the line for complete strangers.
The majority of the people on that boat are volunteers and I thought wouldn't it be interesting
to photograph those same people but in their everyday lives and to really illustrate that
these are ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
The respect for these people just grows and grows.
The more you get to know them and the more time you spend with them and their families,
you just realise exactly what's at stake for these people.
It's very important that this project gives something back to the people of Eila and what
better way than to put on an exhibition.
I wanted to create big impact, flood printing at A2 with the Pro 1000 enabled me to do that.
The 5DS and the 5DSR are the absolute perfect partners for a project like this.
You really felt like you got a medium format camera in your hand that delivered the most
extraordinary level of detail in print.
I don't know of another way of showing that camera's capability than to make beautiful,
beautiful prints from it.
It's the ultimate way of expressing yourself in the medium of photography.
Each printer's got my DNA stamped right inside it.
Putting on the exhibition was a uniquely special experience for me.
The reactions were beyond any of my expectations.
It's incredibly special and something I'll never forget.
Print is tactile.
Print is emotive.
Print is a magic in ink on paper.
