Petzval LomoAmigo: Dale McCready

Dale McCready is a cinematographer working in the film/ TV industry and has worked on programmes such as Doctor Who and Merlin. He was one of our supporters for the Petzval Kickstarter campaign and recently used the lens to film for a new BBC drama, which is due out in March. Dale kindly shared some of his Petzval photographs with us and talked about his love for this lens. Read on for the full interview.

Please introduce yourself to Lomography Magazine’s readers and tell us about how you got into photography and film.

I’m originally from New Zealand but live in London now. I’ve been working as a cinematographer for film and television for nearly 20 years. I worked my way up from within the camera and lighting departments of television shows and feature films to the point where I shoot things like “Dr. Who,” “Merlin,” “Atlantis” and the upcoming “Cucumber” for C4. Ever since I started in the film biz at 17 I’ve been shooting stills with various cameras and lenses. Mostly I take stills for pleasure as I tend to shoot moving images for work so I find the stills give me a lot of freedom I don’t get in paid work to try weird compositions and formats.

How was it shooting with the Petzval lens?

I jumped on the Petzval bandwagon at the Kickstarter stage and to this day it’s still the most satisfying piece of crowdfunding I’ve been a part of (Vivian Meier’s book and documentary comes in second). Once I got the Petzval lens and stuck it on my Canon 5D I’ve found that for my personal photography there is no reason to take it off. I use it constantly and wish I’d ordered a second one. The combination of narrow depth at T2.8 or T2.2 makes portrait subjects pop from the background and the softened edges always kick light in really beautiful ways be it a natural scene or architecture.

As my main career is focused on moving images I’ve also found that I’ve managed to sneak the Petzval lens into my moving work too. On my last drama production, “Tatau” for the BBC we had various scenes that needed a more unusual look so I mounted the Petzval on a stripped back Red Dragon camera and shot with it as if it was a Hassleblad. I managed to get some fantastic wild footage to build up a sequence where a character was very angry and drinking heavily. I think it’ll really feel like his mood once it’s cut together.

What do you love about your job?

I get to travel a lot which is great and a little bad at the same time. I’m often away from friends and family but I also get to walk around surveying new places and sights, with different people, scenery and light. In the last year I’ve mixed up Manchester, Wales, Morocco, London and Rarotonga in the South Pacific. It was busy year and I got to see so many wonderful things and meet many great people. The Petzval is always a talking point and really helps me take more portraits as people like to talk about it and love to be shot with it.

In your opinion, what makes the perfect portrait?

The perfect portrait for me is engaging with the subject. I’ve spent a lot of time being shy and taking candid shots or just landscape so I’ve loved recently taking more direct shots of people I know or come across with their involvement. There’s nothing as satisfying as capturing a person in a great shot and revealing their personality in it. At the same time I love also grabbing a moment when a stranger turns or moves just so and I can capture that moment in time.

Have you had any difficult or challenging situations throughout your career?

Everyone’s career has ups and downs. Mine’s generally been on a steady incline as I’ve moved from smaller budgets to bigger shows and films but there are big gaps at times where you’re waiting for the phone to ring. I feel more lately this is easier as I’ve found that shooting for me has become more creative and less technical. I’m more willing to risk things technically for a more interesting shot and of course that sense of risk leads to better images.

Otherwise the most difficult thing in the industry for me has been knowing what you want to do but having to scrape to get the resources to do it. Or biding your time till you are able to finally do what you see in your head when the budget allows. I’ve been very lucky also that I’ve had great collaborators in directors and crew with very few tricky people to negotiate.

What are your plans for 2015?

This year I’m going to try and push into even more creative areas. A little less travel I think and more time with friends and loved ones but plenty more shooting. I’m hoping my images get seen by more people and that I get the chance again to add the Petzval into my kit for professional work. In the mean time I’ll keep walking around shooting with it I’m sure. I have a few jobs coming out which is exciting. “Cucumber" on C4 is coming soon and I shot two great Episodes of this (5 & 6) and they’re really something I’m very proud of. “Tatau” should also be out on BBC around March.

See more of "Dale McCready’s work on his website and follow all his adventures via his Twitter page @dalemccready.

written by hannah_brown on 2015-02-18 #people #accessories #films #camera-reviews #uk #lomography-gallery-store #gallery-store #analog-photography #lomoamigo #eastlondon #analog-cameras #35mm-films #londonsoho #petzval #dale-mccready #bbc-3 #tatau