Here is this week’s interview with Robert Hitchman, synonymous with the “Photograph America” newsletter. For those interested in landscape photography, at some time or another, you will bump into this newsletter. That’s how I got to ‘know’ Robert Hitchman – through this excellent publication.

Here is how Photograph America is described in its website: “Photograph America Newsletter is a 12-page travel newsletter for photographers, published since 1989. Each issue of the newsletter describes in detail where to photograph North American landscapes, wildlife, hidden waterfalls, remote beaches, slot canyons, wildlife migrations, and much more. Learn where, when, and how to discover the best nature photography in America.”

I am a big fan of this newsletter, and have been subscribing to it from the day I stopped being an impoverished student. Robert also has some very good travel photography articles on Apogee magazine here. It was one of these articles which led me to first photograph Bowling Ball beach. You can look at the bottom of the article for some more locations.

Anyway, here is the interview.

Oh by the way,if you liked any of his articles, do go subscribe here: http://shop.photographamerica.com

Bighorns, Wyoming, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: Tell me a little about yourself. How did you get into photography?

RH: As a child, I was interested in drawing and creating puppet shows. Gas-powered flying model airplanes became my passion in grade school. In high school, I worked on short Super-8 films with nature themes. I got into photography at San Jose State College taking Industrial Design classes. My first photo experiences involved very intensive training on the basics of optics theory, film chemistry, and darkroom techniques. In 1960, I was given a 4×5 view camera (red and grey Calumets) and sent outside.

In 1962 after college graduation, I enlisted in the US Army when I was guaranteed that I would be sent to the Army Photography School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. After a great year of shooting the New Jersey coast and Manhattan, I was sent to Germany to head up Special Services Photo Lab and did a lot of accident investigation photography (with a Speed Graphic) for the Military Police. The Post Commander liked my very large black-and-white prints of Black Forest landscapes done with a Linhof 4×5 monorail camera. My first Nikon F got me started in 35mm photography and I shot in Paris for a month after being discharged.

After returning to California, I was hired by Raytheon Electronics to start a new multi media production department in Sunnyvale, California. We bought a new 1964 Oldsmobile convertible and had it converted to right-hand drive for use as a camera car to shoot driver-training films. A French 16 mm Éclair motion picture camera with a wide-field lens was mounted behind the steering wheel and gave us a realistic driver’s point-of-view. In my free time, I used Raytheon’s darkroom to make color prints of my Hasselblad images of nature.

In 1968, there were very few large, framed color photographs displayed or sold in shops and galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area. I hung thirty of my framed color nature images in a local bank and sold them all in two days. I started displaying and selling my work in galleries outdoor art festivals, and furniture stores from Los Angeles to Carmel to Lake Tahoe. In the late 1970’s, I offered color darkroom classes to photographers wanting to print and sell their own work. My darkroom classes expanded and I began taking workshop groups into the field as Pacific Image Photo Workshops.

Willets, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: You publish the “Photograph America” newsletter about photography locations in the United States for the past 20 years! How did this come about?

RH: After fifteen years of travel with photo workshop groups, I started publishing a newsletter called the “Contact Sheet” to keep my workshop people informed about where we had been and where we were going next. In 1989, the Contact Sheet evolved into “Photograph America Newsletter,” covering: “Where, when, and how to discover the best nature photography in North America.” Issue #1 was Death Valley, one of my favorite locations for photography. Starting with a few subscribers, and one of the early Macintosh computers, the newsletter has been enjoyed by thousands of photographers over the past twenty years. The newsletter is now offered through my website as printed newsletters and as instant PDF downloads of 108 issues.

Travelling, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: Researching, travelling and shooting in these locations for “Photograph America” must take a lot of planning and effort. Can you share with us your preparation, what you are looking for and your frame of mind on one of these trips?

RH: In search of and preparation for newsletter locations, I collect travel books and have a room filled with guidebooks and maps. I use the suggestions for locations received from my subscribers to research possible newsletter locations. I also research locations through the Internet. If there is little in my library on a place I am interested in, I make a trip to a bookstore that specializes in travel books. All my notes are pinned to my “Year at a Glance” calendar, as I shuffle new locations around, with special attention to the seasons. Some locations have been on the list for years, while I look for optimum weather conditions, airfare bargains, or guides that know the area I want to visit.

My frame of mind on trips
Prefer driving. Dislike flying.
Like hiking.
More motels. Less camping.
Balance time to shoot with time to write.
Pack a laptop.
Always thinking about how to tie everything about a location into an interesting story that makes a reader want to go there.
Concentrate on locations with accurate directions, rather than on photo techniques as F-stops and shutter speeds.

White Pocket, Arizona, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: What are your plans for the future for your newsletter? Are you planning an international edition, maybe the bordering countries of Canada and Mexico?

RH: My plans are to include many more fascinating locations in North America that nature photographers would want to know about and visit. My readers are always looking for new locations in photographing America. Last month I covered Wyoming’s Bighorn Sheep. I have focused on North American locations, including Canada. I concentrate only on North America locations. Another remote Southwest location, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and New York’s Fingerlakes District are on the 2009 schedule.

Katherine, my wife, is the technical associate, creating and maintaining our website. She takes care of the office and the business while I’m on the road.

Palm Oasis, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: Can you sum up your philosophy about photography in a few words? What would you be if you were not a photographer?

RH: I am fascinated by the many ways people use photography for their own purposes, as different from my own. Some are driven to produce new and better images of the nature world. Some use it as a reason to travel. Others use photography for teaching, sports, relaxation, and recreation.

If I were not a photographer, I would be a famous architect.

Bob in Zion, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: Any recommendations? (like Photographers, Photo techniques, Music, Books, quotes, food..anything?)
RH:
Nikon Cameras
Hoodman Loupes
Mac computers
HP Laser Printers
Toyota 4Runners
Pomegranite juice
LoCoco’s Pizzeria in Terra Linda
Laurent Martres’ books on photographing the Southwest

Cape Aialik, Alaska, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

SU: Can you mention how people interested in your work can contact you?

RH:
Via email: hitchman@photographamerica.com
Via phone: 415-898-9677
Via website: www.photographamerica.com

Stovepipe Wells, Photograph by Robert Hitchman, All Rights Reserved

Photos hosted on Flickr

Thanks Robert!
And readers, we would love to read your comments!