Catherine Simard — Photographer of the Month — January 2020
Catherine Simard has during the past years established herself as a major influence in the landscape community with images that are striking, creative, artistic and which, I would say, insist on a response from the viewer like great art should do.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 30 year old French Canadian based in Quebec. Currently I lead adventure photography workshops around the world, and I’m a brand ambassador for Sony & The North Face.
What made you start out with landscape photography?
In 2016, after completing 2 years of farm work in Australia, I decided to go on a 3 month solo trip covering Indonesia, Hawaii and western Canada. I had never before seen such huge mountains as when arriving in Alberta. The feeling I got when I saw them for the first time is indescribable. It was in Alberta I discovered my passion for hiking and I got introduced to scrambling, which allowed me to access more remote areas. I was doing a bit of photography at the time but only shooting in full auto mode. I started to document my adventures and fell in love with photographing the mountains.
What do you want to communicate through your photos?
I want to inspire people to go outdoors more often so they can get a better sense of how beautiful our planet is and why we must protect it. I frequently showcase my solo adventures on social media and I hope to inspire people to spend more time alone in nature for self improvement and healing. Solo road trips have done so much for me and my mental health. I really wish people would stop being so scared of everything and just go. I’d also like to inspire people to be more creative and extend their horizons creatively speaking.
What has photography done for you?
Photography is really a therapy for me. It gives me a purpose and allows me to express myself creatively.
How would you describe your work, and how has it evolved since you started out?
I’d describe my current style as adventure-type and fantasy-like landscapes with a cold side. I started off in 2016 with simple single-shot images, but only a couple months after digging into editing I rapidly started to explore composites which are a major part of my work today.
I suppose most of us have periods when we seem to lose the fun of photography. Have you developed any strategies to keep the fire burning?
I haven’t had many moments where I’m not inspired, but when this happens I always try to identify the problem and fix it. It turns out that most of the time uncreative periods come from personal issues such as toxic friendships, stressful periods, staying inactive for too long and so on. As soon as I address the problem and find solutions my creativity returns. At other times when I lose inspiration I try to learn new techniques so that I can look at my images from another perspective and approach them with new tools.
Have you ever been severely criticized for your work? In that case, how did you handle it?
It has happened many times since my very beginning. As mentioned, I started creating composites at a very early stage in my learning process. At that time I didn’t realize how controversial this subject is. Compositing has always been a purely creative way for me to share and express myself so I have to say I was quite disappointed when I learned how much this kind of processing could attract negativity. I still get lots of criticism despite being 100% transparent with my process. Most of the time I describe on social media exactly how I create my images. The moral of the story for me is ignore negative comments and only take constructive criticism from people I trust and who I know truly believe in me and appreciate my work. Everything else doesn’t matter.
Have you any hobbies besides photography or is photography both your occupation and hobby?
Quite often I’ll go backpacking or hiking without my camera. Having a connection with nature is by far what’s most important for me.
It must have been a huge leap of faith going professional. Have you any words of advice to those who are considering becoming professional landscape photographers?
Trust your gut. Make a business plan. Don’t wait to be perfect to get yourself on the market and take jobs. I got my first photography job when I was still shooting on an iPhone 5 and learned how to use a camera through this job. Make sure you are ok with having an unstable and unsure income and be ready to work much more than 40 hours per week.
What do you find most challenging in your line of work?
I’d say the business side of photography aka paper work, permits, visas, seo, etc. These things are extremely annoying and boring for me, but are absolutely necessary in my line of work.
In which direction do you believe landscape photography is heading?
Every day we are bombarded with thousands of incredible landscape images so one of the only ways to stand out is through pushing your creativity, shooting original compositions, never seen before locations and achieving a distinctive style through post-processing. My guess is that this will result in more exploration, higher standards, more creativity and perhaps more extreme edits.
However, I think traditional landscape photography with a purist approach will always be a part of the landscape scene and will stay in trend in the print industry because those images have more of a timeless feel.
What is the most amazing place you have visited? Is it possible for you to articulate why it made such a huge impression on you?
I simply cannot choose between Patagonia and Peru. I love the variety in landscape and wilderness that Patagonia offers and the remoteness and untouched beauty of Peru. Both places demand that you have to put work into creating great photographs. Especially Peru, since you need to trek in high altitude for many days to reach interesting viewpoints. This might sound weird, but in general, the places that have the most lasting effect on me are the ones that require of you that you suffer a little bit, that is, sacrifice some sleep and that you have to work physically to get the images. I guess it’s the reward that’s behind it that I appreciate.
What inspires you?
I’m mostly inspired by professional explorers such as Mike Horn. They inspire me to push my limits and think bigger. Also, visually speaking, anything with mountains and lakes. The Remoteness, the otherworldly, the uncommon, the weird and remarkable, and of course, the blue colour.
Do you have a piece of advice for young aspiring landscape photographers?
Pick your three favorite photographers and make a list of why they inspire you. Make this list your goal for your own career. Visualize yourself being at the same level as them in the future. Making this will help you push yourself to improve, work hard and never give up.
