Dean Van’t Schip gives us everything—everything that matters in a shot: stillness, movement, detail, panorama, colour, texture. It’s all there in his compelling nature photography. So it’s no wonder that his work has been published in countless magazines, books, calendars, and cards. Communication is at the heart of his creations. He describes wanting viewers to really share his eye and to “. . . feel as if they are there experiencing what I am at the moment an image is captured.” With this in mind, nearly all of the work is done with the camera out in the field. He uses his editing program only for “minor tweaking,” he says.
Having grown up on the Sunshine Coast, Van’t Schip knows where to go for great photos, and he covers a wide range of territory. The place has changed a lot since he was a child: “I’ve seen it get increasingly busier and more populated. More photographers and artists around has meant more competition, but it has also built up an extensive creative learning pool.”
Van’t Schip has always seen strong local interest in his wildlife, land, and seascape photography, but as with everything, the market has changed. “In the last few years,” he says, “the stock photo industry has become increasingly more difficult for sales due to an increase in digital photography. My more interpretive work has been recognized in the arts community both here and abroad, and I’m excited to see where my camera takes me next.”
We are too, because the results are riveting. His forest shots carry the viewer right off the page into the expanse, his ocean pictures are timeless and energized, and every wildlife shot contains an exquisite moment as well as an eternity. These photographs show you more the longer you look.
