Michel Denis-Huot(France)
Michel Denis-Huot has always loved nature; he fell in love with the great wild landscapes of East Africa when he first travelled to Kenya in 1973, at age 20. Since then, he has been spending several months each year in the jungle, mainly at the heart of Masaï-Mara, where he has been observing and taking pictures of the African wildlife and their environment with his wife Christine. As privileged witnesses of the beauty and fragile state of nature, they explore independently the savannah in their SUV. They were nominated for the World Press Photo and other competitions several times, thanks to their photo reports on wildlife, published in France and abroad. They are also co-authors of many books.
For Michel, photography is not only a job; it is above all a way of expressing his deep commitment to nature and freedom... His photographic work offers an intensely moving look at big cats especially - lions, leopards, cheetahs - which he sees year after year. He knows how to capture the atmosphere and lights of these magnificent landscapes, how to show their wonderful wealth and the amazing liveliness of animals.
“How can I explain my encounter with the X-T1? At first, I was very confused with this camera. It comes with amazing lenses, which is very disturbing for a photographer, who usually uses "conventional" equipment!
I was saying to myself: "What's this damn viewfinder that does not deliver a clear and bright image?" Well yes! In fact, what I see is what I will record - if it is not well exposed, I can see it! And what happens if it is too dark? No worries, with a slight exposure compensation, everything will fall into place... And it works in the other way round too...There is a colour cast? It's a snap; I just need to adjust white balance! The icing on the cake: I can control depth of field as desired!
And there are lots of other things! I want to shoot from the ground level. No problem, I can use the rear screen, no need to smell hippo droppings to take pictures.
I want to change the composition, what if I do not want to use a screen? I want to aim for real, with the eye on the viewfinder, standing as a photographer, which means the shooting is more stable and I can concentrate on the subject! Well, as if by magic, the viewfinder turns on as soon as my eye gets close and then I can do whatever I want with my settings and compositions! It's even too easy to control the image!
Anyway, the only downside with the X-T1 and its lens range is that I would need a long, very long focal length! So just "wait and see", it's been announced, the time will come!"
