From Big Ben to Mongolia: Julian Elliott's Award-Winning Landscape and Travel Photography

We are excited to continue our new blog series featuring interviews with some of the world's most talented photographers with our second interview featuring Julian Elliott, an award-winning professional freelance landscape and travel photographer as well as an occasional writer based both in the Loire Valley, France and Wiltshire, England. He is a Brand Ambassador for different brands, including Vallerret. 

Julian is passionate about capturing landscapes and cityscapes along with the various cultures that inhabit them and has had his photography and stock footage sold across the world in nearly 40 countries through agencies such as Getty Images. He has also received awards for his work, such as the Countryside is GREAT section of the Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2015 and commended and highly commended images in the International Garden Photographer of the Year.

In this interview, you'll get to know Julian and learn about his approach to photography, his favorite subjects and techniques, and his inspirations. Enjoy!


Photo: Julian Elliott

Vallerret: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to yourself when you started learning photography?

Julian: If I knew what I know now, I would have said to have started earlier. This is certainly true of the stock photography side of things. I actually had a camera back in the 1980s but because I had no idea and no real inspiration it any particular subject the camera was sold.

In terms of marketing myself and what I do then paying more attention earlier on to the social media side of things as in the early days the various platforms weren't crippling posts as much as they are now.

Vallerret: What is your favorite subject to shoot?

Julian: This is very difficult to answer I travel so much across the world. I would say that it's not necessarily the subject but the variety of people that I meet. From everyday people to indigenous people. It's here that you start getting the stories that make the work fun to do.

But of course if you were to push me then evidently the landscape as that's where my love of photography started. But it's too hard to pin down one particular place or country. There's amazing things all around us.

Photo: Julian Elliott

Vallerret: Whose work has influenced you most?

Julian: That's easy to answer but comes with several responses.

In the beginning the first inspiration that I had was from a photographer named Lee Frost. He had written a series of books on photography and I was interested in his use of filtration and night photography. This was the real beginning for me as I sought out information that we now take for granted.

Next up was the travel photographer David Noton. I came across his work when I was searching out how to properly use and understand graduated filters. His work inspired me to not only look at sunset but also sunrise. It began for me the early mornings and getting used to waking up at silly o'clock in order to capture that beautiful first light of the day.

His travels to varying parts of the world had a massive influence on what I currently do and how I continue to work from day to day.

For landscape photography it has to be, what are considered to be, the top three in the UK. Charlie Waite. David Ward and Joe Cornish. Their work was and continues to be outstanding. Charlie produces those stunning painterly landscape images. He's the modern day John Constable with his use of light and cloud structure. David Ward produces intimate landscapes whereby he distills down the very finest points of what he calls the landscape within. Joe Cornish is a mixture of the two of them and his work is celebrated for its stunning visual quality.

Lastly, the work of Galen Rowell was for me the last photographer who rounded off what I loved about landscape photography. He was, if I remember correctly, a huge influence on Joe Cornish. Galen used Nikon cameras instead of the large format that Joe adopted but produced imagery that was visually just wow. He would also use flash within the landscape to open up the dynamic range within an image. Sadly he passed away a number of years ago.

Vallerret: Do you think that you have a unique style and how did you develop that?

Julian: I believe that I have developed my own style over time as I worked full-time more and more. Tilt-shift lenses certainly helped me achieve a particular look within my images as they allowed me to capture the scene in front of me in my camera.

Vallerret: If you could only shoot with one body and one lens for a year, what would you choose to use?

Photo: Julian Elliott

Julian: Canon 5D Mark IV and Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L Mark II. This is the lens and body combination that gets used most of the time according to the EXIF data in Lightroom so why break the habit. They allow me to capture the majority of what I capture out in the field.

Vallerret: Which is your most memorable/favorite image that you have captured and why?

Julian: Earlier this year I had the good fortune to go to Torres del Paine national park in southern Chile as part of a commission.

Known for its stunning landscapes, the national park is somewhere that had been high on my list of places to go for a long time. I've seen plenty of images from there and it's on many photographer's bucket list and quite rightly so.

The icon of the national park is the view to the Cuernos del Paine. A series of jagged mountains that are breathtakingly beautiful and work at both sunrise and sunset.

During my trip there I was scheduled to capture the sunrise with my guide. It was an early start as I was visiting during the summertime. But the problem initially came when my guide didn't hear his alarm so the hotel had to hurriedly get a replacement so that we could go off to the view they told me about.

Arriving at the parking area I said that we'd take a little rest before heading over. So 30 minutes before the sun was due to rise above the horizon we took the short walk to he viewpoint.

Upon out arrival the sky started illuminating to what you see in the image. It was the most incredible sunrise I think that I have ever seen.

A fellow photographer who we met there said he'd been waiting several days for it to happen and did it ever happen. Just after the actual sunrise the cloud came over and it was gone.

Arriving back at the hotel the guide who was supposed to get up came up and apologized for not being there. He said he was going crazy because he could see what was happening out of his window knowing that I may not have got it. Having teased him I then showed him the back of my camera and told him not to worry. It was amazing!

Photo: Julian Elliott

Vallerret: How do you stay motivated and consistently get great shots?

Julian: That's an easy one. I just keep finding inspiration everywhere be it through magazines or seeing imagery when I'm out and about. I love travel and the world is full of amazing things that I've yet to see.

Vallerret: When you go out to shoot, do you take any essential items other than a camera and lens?

Photo: Julian Elliott

Julian: If we're talking winter time then outside of my camera gear the most essential thing that I use is clothing. It's an area that people seem to disregard but if you go to the frozen landscapes of Norway or Mongolia then you need to wrap up warm in order to work properly. This is where Vallerret comes into the equation because I have successfully used my gloves in each of the aforementioned countries. Each time they have ensured that my hands have stayed warm in temperatures down to -18°c.

Currently I'm using the Tinden gloves and if I feel it's going to be extremely cold then I'll use the Alta Over-Mitt to ensure full warmth and comfort.

Photo: Julian Elliott

Vallerret: Any news/events/projects you want to share?

Julian: I'm currently trying to engage and encourage people to go to Mongolia and Nepal. I work with two amazing ground agents in each country and I really would love people to see what each place has to offer. Mongolia is difficult at first for people as they will get totally cutoff from the outside world. But if you can get over this then you'll get to capture one of the most unique places, and cultures, on the planet.

Photo: Julian Elliott

Vallerret: Where can we find you? (channels, social handles, youtube, website, or similar)

My website: http://www.julianelliottphotography.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julianephotography
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julian_elliott_photography/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5_iRLwkYBj09gUZGlXb4GA