into the wild: a conversation with jason charles hill, part one

Jason charles hill went from a 9-5 office job to shooting some of the most remote and treacherous landscapes in the world. his vast portraits are awesome in scale, rich in emotion, and truly breathtaking - Think brooding, baroque landscapes infused with the sheer drama of the natural world. he’s produced commerical work for qantas, 100% new zealand, and tourism australia, and together with his equally as talented other half, emilie ritveski, hosts a yearly photography retreat in namibia (their 2022 trip has already sold out).

We were lucky enough to have jason and emilie join us on a photography retreat to mungo national park earlier this year. Below, part one of our conversation with jason on how he got his start, his most memorable encounters while shooting, and finding the beauty in the everyday.

So, Jason, we’ve found ourselves in Mungo National Park, which is a place not many people have heard of but is a bit of a dreamscape. Can you tell people that might not have heard of it what it’s like to be here?

It’s pretty wild out here. You get the feeling that you’re really immersed in the Aussie outback. It’s a place that’s truly special, with cultural significance and an amazing landscape. What we really enjoyed is that it’s off the beaten path. We’re finding that covid has presented a great opportunity to get out there and explore some places that we haven’t had the chance to see. Mungo has been the ideal destination to come and try something new and feel more connected to our homeland Australia.

It’s been cool because it’s like a Mars lunar landscape, but then you also have these flat plains as well, so it’s been quite interesting but also maybe challenging to shoot because we’ve got like the full moon (fortunately we’ve been here for the full moon) on one side, and then the sunset another side. What’s really been clear is how it’s so important to capture the light at certain times of the day - Sunrise and sunset is the most crucial time. 

Yeah, I mean it’s stunningly beautiful. I think the word that keeps coming back to me is vast - it’s wide, it’s open. The great thing about that is it’s like a blank canvas. It gives us the opportunity to utilize light, and really try and let those creative juices flow to come up with something different. The way the light hits certain bits of the landscape here is unlike anywhere else I’ve seen in Australia before. I think as you alluded to, it’s kind of like a lunar or Mars landscape. What makes it even better is it’s so underrated, so there’s basically no people around getting in the way. You have the absolute freedom to get out there and create something different that no one’s ever had the opportunity to do before. This is a place I know I could personally keep coming back to. The way that the light and the weather is out here, you could create something different basically each and every time you come out here.

You are an amazing photographer, and incredibly talented. How did your career in photography start? When did you first pick up a camera?

For me, it just kind of happened. I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors, hiking and just immersing myself in wild spaces. I loved New Zealand, I really loved Tasmania, as well as all the places where I grew up. I used to take a camera along with me – a really bad little camera I got for Christmas maybe 15 years ago. I really enjoyed using that and just taking some happy snaps. I guess my love for photography started there, and then just grew into a passion, pushing me to grow and get better and better. I used to work a normal job and I guess that was something that wasn’t really inspiring me at the time. You get stuck in that day-to-day monotony, working for the man kind of thing. I was always looking out the window, looking for something different, asking myself if this was really what I wanted to do with my life. Photography filled that creative void that I was missing. When I made the decision to dive right in and commit to it 100%, that was the best decision I ever made. And look at me now, we’re out in Mungo National Park, probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in Australia. Photography has been one of the most pivotal and important journeys of my life. I’m so thankful for it. One of the things that I always tell people when they ask me what the biggest positive of photography is, is that it inspires me to push myself and see these amazing destinations in the best conditions and the best light. It’s one thing rolling into a carpark at 1pm in the afternoon and just taking a few photos, but when you’re coming back for sunrise or sunset and seeing the way that the light cascades across that landscape, or in that destination, it’s something else. I’m forever thankful for that and having those experiences.

“I guess I don’t have favourite images, but favourite moments more than anything. It’s not always about the image, it’s about the story behind the image - how does that connect with you?”

You have a way of really showing emotion in your photos, and it evokes this sense of awe and wonder. I think one of the most amazing photos I’ve seen of yours is with lion cubs in Namibia. Do you want to talk us through that photo?

It’s hard to talk about how I get emotion into my photos because it just kind happens. The shot of the lion cubs was really a once in a lifetime shot. Would I have been in that situation if I wasn’t into photography? No, I wouldn’t. We were out in Namibia hosting our yearly workshop there. We were out there in the bush and had been smelling this scent for a few days when we happened to find this elephant carcass. It was quite a graphic scene. It was pitch black, and we shined a torch on the carcass, and didn’t see anything at first. All of a sudden, we hear these noises, and I think to myself, ‘imagine if there’s some lions, and some cubs here. Wouldn’t that just be the dream shot’. We shined a torch on the lion again, and there was a lion cub directly on top of the carcass. It was probably one of the most striking things I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s one of those images that you just dream about capturing but you don’t ever think will happen, because those kinds of elements just don’t align – you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. The image you’re probably talking about is this image of a lioness that I was able to capture just after sunrise. She’s looking at me but also looking into the sun behind me, and the light luckily has just gone across her eyes and her mouth, but she’s also in the shadow inside of this elephant. It’s quite an interesting image the way the light and the shadows play out, but also because of the story behind it. There’s the grief of a dead elephant, but also a lioness who’s caring for her cubs and feeding her family. It was a special, special moment and something I always look back on, and am just thankful for having been there.

If you had to choose one photo that’s your favourite what would it be?

I guess I don’t have favourite images, but favourite moments more than anything. It’s not always about the image, it’s about the story behind the image - how does that connect with you? That lion image is definitely up there in the top moments I’ve ever had. A lot of other images come to mind. Some of the aerial images that I’ve captured in New Zealand, for example. There are moments where we’re not sure what we’re going to capture. We invest our time to go fly through these clouds and come to these mountain peaks, and you just never know what kind of light there’ll be or whether you’re even going to be able to access these regions. You spend all this time planning, and sometimes luck comes your way. Because of this, the mountains of New Zealand have always been a truly special place to me, and the few collections of images I’ve captured there have definitely stuck with me. There are some images from Greenland that I’ve definitely enjoyed too. I try to get at least one image that resonates deeply with me on each trip. I know for a fact there’s some images from this trip that I’m going to look back on in the future and go, ‘wow, I can’t believe I was there’. Photography is a journey, and I’ve had so many unique experiences it’s very hard to pick out just one image that’s my favourite. There’s a whole host of images that resonate deeply with me.

Do you think that the process of photography makes you more present, forcing you to be really observant so that you pick up on things that really pull you into the moment? It’s probably quite a beautiful thing to go out and shoot sunrise and sunset every day.

I guess before photography, you wouldn’t look at the way that shadows get cast, or light. You wouldn’t look at a composition and question what it would look like from down low, or up high. Photography really forces you to ask all these questions, to consider every individual element of your surroundings. Having a passion for photography, and a love for the outdoors has connected me more deeply to how things work, putting myself in that landscape, and coming up with new ideas to create the perfect image. It’s probably one of the most rewarding things, when your vision of how the light is going to react, and the end product align. I’m just so, so, grateful to be able to do the job that we do. It really is a pleasure to just put myself in these kinds of places and experiences.

Absolutely. Do you get goosebumps when you’re shooting? Or do you get them when you’re looking back at the photos.

I get adrenaline. Definitely. It used to happen a lot, when I first started, but it probably only happens a couple of times a year now when I get a real adrenaline rush. For example, that lion that we spoke about earlier, that was a full-blown adrenaline rush where I could just feel it come through me, knowing that I was creating something so unique and special. Not only is this so beautiful to capture, but also just beautiful to look at. One of the key things I mentioned to a few of the guys here is the importance of taking some time to put the camera down for a second and look at what you’re actually experiencing. We were photographing the moon last night and it was an incredibly difficult scenario to photograph. But if you just put your camera away and look at what was unfolding in front of you, you’d experience one of the most remarkable scenes that you could see. I love that feeling of knowing I’ve created something, but I’m also very anxious about whether I’ve got the shot. That’s something I do battle with, whether I’ve done justice to the landscape. I try to make sure I’ve done this while I’m on location, but it’s not until I get back and have a look at the files where I either breathe a sigh of relief or regret not taking that one step to the left that would have made the perfect shot. It’s all those details, because in the moment you have to make sure you slow down and take it all in. Those moments are so fleeting and everything passes you by really quickly.

Yes, it’s an endless pursuit, I imagine. Even when you’re at home you’re taking photos, and you’ve been doing some beautiful things with mist. You don’t necessarily need to be somewhere like Machu Pichu, or Uluru to capture something beautiful. How do you look at a landscape that might be quite boring, or not obvious to some people, and capture something special? Do you think that you can turn any landscape into something magical?

That’s a good question. I think it’s challenging. I guess through experience as your eye develops you learn to look at things differently. Each landscape is beautiful in its own way. What you find is when you’re standing at eye level, most things can be quite bland and boring. For example, we did a freestyle shoot yesterday with the group. If you looked at the landscape just on eye value, it was quite bland, there wasn’t much going on. But we ventured down into the bushes a little bit and found some undulating hills and some small dry riverbeds. We were able to create some magic photos just by shooting down low and trying to use some foreground and find something interesting. If the light is on your side, you can create anything. I guess, if it’s not working with a 16 to 35mm wide angle lens, why not a different lens to change that perspective. That’s a huge thing - not being afraid to try something different. It doesn’t have to be the wide expansive landscape; you can hone in tight on the details and really try to capture something different. Something I really enjoy doing is going to some of these challenging destinations and trying to put my spin or perspective on them to create something that’s unique.

Jason’s work can be found on https://www.jasoncharleshill.com/ , and on instagram @jasoncharleshill.

All images courtesy of jason charles hill.