SheFeatures: Caroline Webb
Name: Caroline Webb
Camera: Canon EOS R5, Fujifilm X-T5
Favourite type of photography: Wildlife and landscape
Instagram: @caswebb68
Location: Arnside in Cumbria, UK
How did you get into photography?
My parents were always taking photos when we were kids and it was a natural progression for me to do the same as soon as I was able to hold a camera.
Do you have any photographic qualifications or accolades?
No.
What's the first photograph you remember seeing or shooting?
The first photo I remember taking was of my mother, sister and dog sunbathing in the garden in the early 80s, though I'm sure there were others before that.
What do you love about photography?
I love that it allows me to capture a memory that I can look back at in the future and not only remind myself of that moment in time but also as a trigger to other associated memories.
What do you wish you'd learned about photography earlier?
Ironically, that sometimes you should put the camera down and live in the moment rather than viewing it through a lens.
Where is your favourite place for photography?
Locally, I spend most time at Leighton Moss, internationally India would come top.
Do you have a favourite photographic technique?
Focus stacking, it's so addictive.
Can you briefly outline your approach to image processing?
I load images to a Photoshop catalogue by date taken and do a very little editing. I typically make minor tweaks to the lighting and some spot healing and/or denoise, though I’ll spend more time on images that I’m going to mount on the wall or put in a book.
What's your favourite lens?
Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM
Do you have a favourite accessory?
My HikMicro Falcon FH35 Thermal Imager as it really helps to find well-camouflaged wildlife.
Have you found the perfect camera bag yet?
My Tenba Axis v2 16L Backpack comes close, but I don't think a truly perfect bag exists :-).
Which photographers have influenced or inspired you, and how or why?
Simon King and Heather Angel were my inspirations when I first started wildlife photography as they showed that you didn't have to go abroad to capture great wildlife images. More recently, Cristina Mittermeier and Margot Raggett have shown me how powerful a tool photography can be for conservation.
Please recommend 2 or 3 female photographers to follow on Instagram.
@daniconnorwild, @rosiebwild, @mitty (Cristina Mittermeier)
Is there a camera, lens or accessory that you don't have yet but you'd like to buy at some point?
Laowa Aurogon FF 10-50X NA0.5 Supermicro APO - it delivers from 10x to 50x life-size magnification for macro photography.
Is there a genre of photography that you love but you haven't tried yet?
Drone/aerial photography, even though I've got a drone I haven't really made use of it yet.
What's your proudest photographic moment?
Having an image selected in one of the SheClicks monthly challenges of course!
Take a look at the SheClicks Challenge Gallery Images
If you could have one superpower that could help you with photography, what would it be?
Adaptive camouflage so that I could blend in to the scenery wherever I am.
Your favourite baked goods are?
Lemon drizzle cake and chocolate fudge cake.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m Caroline, aka Cas, and I am based in the south of Cumbria at the northern tip of Morecambe Bay. I’ve been taking photographs for over 40 years, but still consider myself very much an amateur photographer.
My primary love is wildlife photography, and I have been lucky enough to take trips around the world to photograph some fabulous wildlife—Canada (bears, whales, orca), India (tigers, sloth bears), Uganda (gorillas, lions), Chile (pumas), Brazil (jaguars), Madagascar (lemurs), and the Galapagos (iguanas, boobys). I would love to see snow leopards in Ladakh, but we’re struggling to get enough people interested to make a trip viable so far.
Over the years I’ve had a wide range of cameras including a Kodak Ekta, Zenit E, Pentax P30, Canon EOS 500, Canon EOS 7B (both mark I and II), and a Fujifilm X-T3 as well as several compact cameras. I’m currently using a Canon EOS R5 and a Fujifilm X-T5, both of which I love – the former for wildlife, the latter for landscapes and focus stacking.
We recently uncovered some 100-year-old family negatives, and it was fascinating to reveal the ‘lost’ images after so many years and see how people lived and worked.
