THE INTERVIEW

Q.  Through the years and your careers leading up to the 1998 launch of the Starship Millennium Voyage, did you always have an interest in the art of photography?

A.  Not a whole lot.  I was very keen on photography as a teenager, but with my business taking
“center court”, my photography passion got buried for a while.  Only in my mid thirties did it surface again.  But I only started calling myself a photographer about 5 years ago
 
 

Q.  What was it about that documentary voyage of discovery that motivated your passion for photography?  What moved you forward?
  
A.  I asked myself in my mid thirties, “What really makes me happy?”  After much soul searching I realized that being in nature is really important to me.  So starting the STARSHIP Project was really a way for me to see a large part of the less traveled world and I found that taking pictures along the way very rewarding.  And the first “serious” digital camera bodies, like the Canon/Kodak DCS560 had just arrived on the market (that was 1998), so being able to share that digital experience on a daily blog (the name “blog” did NOT exist at that time) made it even more exciting.

 

Q. How did you learn the technical aspects of photography and what are the most important aspects of what you learned about your equipment?

A.  I was all ways very comfortable with all kinds of gadgets, so understanding the technical basics of photography came very easy to me.  It’s very much learning by doing and that also applies to the digital aspects of things.
  

 
Q.  Did you have photographic mentors and how did they help and inspire you?

A.  I had a few friends that were photographers and every once in a while I picked up a tip or two, but most of them were in advertising and working in a studio environment, so that really didn’t help me a lot.  But I think it’s fair to say that I owe some inspiration to David Doubilet.  His underwater photographic style is atypical.  The images had a magical dimension to them--special lighting or special framing.  Something was different! 

When I moved to South Africa in 2002, I spent much of my time in the bush.  It was then that I started to playfully experiment with my photography.  I wanted to emulate the atypical image compositions of David’s within my own images.  I set out to capture a new look to the age old subjects of wildlife and landscape photography.

 
Q.  Are you a source of your own inspiration?  

I believe so, and shooting digital really helps in that regard.  Having an opportunity to see the image on the LCD screen right after I take the shot usually inspires me to try something different; change the angle a bit, go closer, improve the shot further, etc., etc.  Now in nature, you can often lose your opportunity within seconds, so that doesn’t always work, but it’s the catalyst to the flow of ideas.

 
Q. What was the subject of the very first photograph you shot—the one you felt “jump started” your career as a photographer?  How has your technique or style changed since that first shot?  

A.  That’s a difficult one.  There was not a specific image that got it all started.  As to my style, I think it’s still a work in progress.  But please don’t forget that as a wildlife photographer, I am very much an opportunist.  Often a special moment only lasts for a fraction of a second.  You miss that moment--you don’t have your shot!  So as much as I have hopefully developed my own style, I am also very dependent on what nature provides me.


Q. You have a remarkable “eye” for color and composition.  How did your style and artistic approach to photography develop?  What are the key photographs that exemplify them?

A.  Well, I believe my style only developed about 6-8 years ago.  I was photographing African wildlife and thought, there are a million pictures of elephants and lions out there.  I saw no point in capturing just another image of them unless they looked different.  So I tried looking at wildlife more in an artistic way and less in a documentary way.  Is that something I learned?  I don’t think so.  I think that was just there...
 

Q. Because we live in a digital world, to what degree are photo enhancing techniques used, if any, to produce the final images?

A.  Not much.  I am shooting RAW, so obviously I will make some small adjustments in the white balance, shadows and lights, maybe a bit of noise reduction and/or sharpening, but in general I try to show the image as my own eyes saw it at the time of capture.  And that clearly means I would not make any major changes with the original photo, just as adding or deleting animals or changing their positions.


Q.  You have had images in your “mind’s eye”; you’ve waited patiently for just the right light, the right shadows or colors to capture that image.  What percent of your images came “out of left field”—the unplanned, unexpected treasures?  

A.  I think about 90 percent is a product of LUCK, which by my definition means, “When preparation meets opportunity”.
 

There are a few images that I had hoped for and anticipated, like the walking elephants and their shadows aerial shots, but hardly ever do I have a specific shot in mind when I wake up in the morning. 
 

© Michael Poliza Photography  All rights reserved.

From the book AFRICA:  Marching Desert Elephants, Damaraland, Namibia

Q.  What has been your most dangerous encounter while photographing?  How about your funniest encounter and the one that most touched your heart?  

A.  So far, animals have not put me in any real danger.  But a few years ago I was very keen on photographing walruses for my ARCTIC /ANTARCTIC book.  To get to some of the more remote islands in the Hudson Bay involved chartering one of the most perilous boats I have ever seen.  It was the only floating thing within 500miles, so I had no choice.  In the middle of our 10 hour trip to the Walrus Island, the weather changed and we found ourselves in the midst a very rough storm.  We ended up canceling the expedition and made it home in one piece, but not without a few very scary hours.
  

Q.  Among the thousands and thousands of photos you have obtained over the years, what are your favorite subjects?  What makes you return to those themes?

A.  AFRICA and the large cats really do it for me.
 

© Michael Poliza Photography  All rights reserved. 

From the book AFRICA:  Relaxed female Leopard, Mombo, Okavango Delta, Botswana
 

 Q.  Though your books are very limited in text content, what would you want your images to convey to the viewer if there were no text at all?  
 
A.  I intentionally wanted to let the images speak for themselves.  I hope that if something touches you emotionally and you are able to connect with it, you will then be willing to defend it and fight for it.  It is my hope that my images convey exactly that.  And it is my ultimate hope that people will engage with those feelings, so they take on some responsibility to keep our world intact.


Q. If you were to mentor an aspiring photographer, what words of wisdom would you share with them?  How would you encourage them to grow and become the best they can be?

A.  Play and experiment and find your own style.  Know the rules, apply them, and then break them again and again.  I believe I have quite a few images that depict that belief, like the portrait of a lion that I took without showing its eyes. 
 

© Michael Poliza Photography  All rights reserved.

From the book AFRICA:  Lion king, Duba Plains, Okavango Delta, Botswana