We speak to William Neill, photographer-artist and connoisseur of the American landscape who learned his craft from Ansel Adams
Hello, I’m William Neill – I’m a landscape photographer and I’ve lived in the Yosemite National Park in America since 1977.
What do you like to do for fun?
I enjoy nature, whether camping or exploring my backyard. I like hanging out with my family and playing golf.
When did you start photographing?
I have been making images since 1974 and working professionally since 1980.
How did you find your “photographic eye” for pictures?
I studied photos by masters who I admire. I spent a lot of time looking at photo books, in bookstores and those in my book collection. I learned early in my career to trust my instincts and believe in myself as an artist. I search for fresh viewpoints, in both physical locations and emotionally speaking. I have found that a spirit of exploration and a sense of wonder have kept me energized and looking for new ways to express myself. 
Boulders on beach at sunrise, Maine 1992
It’s interesting that despite your time spent with the great photographer Ansel Adams, you only recently started producing more monochrome work: why do you think that is?
I have started working in black and white mostly for expressive reasons. My earliest inspirations in photography were the photographs of masters such as Adams, Edward Weston and Paul Caponigro. I have always loved the emphasis on the graphic qualities and textures in a subject that great B&W images have, and the great control and ease of making conversions in Photoshop has opened the door.
Do you think there’s an “Ansel Adams” of landscape working today? Do other photographers inspire you?
No, I don’t think there is another Ansel Adams. When they made him, they broke the mould! Many have followed his lead: some creating great B&W images, others have made significant contributions to the environment with their photographs, but no one has combined it all together like Ansel did. My early inspirations were Minor White, Edward and Brett Weston and Paul Caponigro. Some contemporary photographers include Michael Kenna, John Sexton, Bruce Barnbaum, Chris Rainier and Huntington Witherill.
Which non-photographers inspire you? Why?
Andy Goldsworthy for the way he connects us to the magical processes of nature. His video River and Tides was amazing! 
Corn Lilies, Summit Meadow, Yosemite National Park 1988
Some of your work is “sharp”, and some is more impressionistic: how do you decide which to use? Has the advent of digital enabled you to experiment with both?
Yes, the digital revolution has given me, and everyone, a great deal of options and flexibility. For twenty years, I used a 4x5 view camera and made my images as sharp as possible in nearly all cases, often using very small apertures. My Impressions of Light series was made possible by the modern DSLR, especially the preview aspect on the rear LCD. Simply, I select “sharp” vs. “impression” based on my interpretation of the subject. Some subjects I find work only for one approach or the other. It also depends on what I am working on – there was a stretch of time where I was very focused on the impressionistic work. That was all I was looking for, so that is what I found.
What processes do you use to create your black and whites?
We use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS4 for our conversions. The image’s potential is tested in Lightroom using the Develop mode’s Grayscale option, then rated and put in a Collection. Images from film and digital captured files are opened in Photoshop for fine-tuning and finishing with Adjustment Layers. In Photoshop, we use the Black and White adjustments option (Layer › New Adjustment Layer › Black and White).
What do you think about digital manipulation of images - do you prefer to get it right in camera?
I prefer to create my compositions as “final” as possible in camera. I don’t often “clean up” the original scene, but will on occasion. As far doing this in post-processing, I will clone out a distracting element when necessary. I wouldn’t call this manipulation, but it is more like touching up the image. I don’t move or remove major objects. 
Petrified dune formations, Arizona 2002
What photographic kit are you using at the moment?
The camera I use is the Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III. My lenses include:
• TS-E 24mm f/3.5L
• EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro
• TS-E 90mm f/2.8L
• EF 16-35mm f/2.8L ll
• EF 70-200mm f/2.8L
• EF 300mm f/4L
• Extender EF 2x
• Extension Tubes EF25
What kit did you start with?
I started my photographic career in 1974 with a Pentax Spotmatic film camera, 50mm f/1.8 lens and extension tubes for macro imagery.
Is there any particular piece of equipment that you’d love to use?
I have heard great things about the super high-res medium format camera.
Do you still use film? If so, why?
No. I am pleased with the quality of my digital captures and don’t miss working with film.
Artists tend to have favourite brushes – are you sentimental about your cameras? Would you miss specific bits of kit even if they could be replaced with the same model?
Interesting question. No, I don’t feel attached that way to my cameras or lenses. However, I do feel that way about certain landscapes that are being destroyed or over-developed.
What’s your favourite lens? Why?
The lens I use the most is my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I love to extract details of a landscape, to simplify my image design by zooming in tightly. This approach helps me find fresh views, whereas wide views often encompass the more typical views made by others.
Does your standard kit differ from season to season?
Not when photographing nature and the landscape. For a recent trip to India, I tried out some new lenses, Canon’s 24-105mm f/4 IS and their 100-400mm zoom. These lenses worked very well for the portraits and wildlife photography I did during my travels.
Is there a particular season that you prefer to photograph?
In my home area of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I love all seasons but especially winter, when the landscape is simplified by snow and bare trees with more dramatic clouds and weather. Spring and fall are wonderful here too!
Where’s your favourite location to photograph?
I don’t have one location that is my favourite: I have several! Besides the Yosemite area where I’ve lived for 30 years, the landscapes of Death Valley National Park and Big Sur in California draw me back over and over again.
And finally, if you had any advice for a new photographer who wanted to create images of nature, what would it be?
My advice is to push yourself creatively and work hard to develop a style before worrying about selling and marketing. The marketplace can force you to photograph only what sells. Also, spend the time and energy to develop themes within your overall photography. I teach a Portfolio Development course online for BetterPhoto.com that is designed to help photographers edit, organize and add new work to themes to develop coherent portfolios.
www.williamneill.com --- Meditations in Monochrome: Digital Edition
www.williamneill.com/books/meditations
William Neill has recently published a new ebook, Meditations in Monochrome. Although the great Black and White masters like Ansel Adams and Edward Weston have inspired him, he has pursued colour landscape photography with a passion for 30 years. However, with the use of Photoshop conversions to B&W from the digital scanning of 4x5 film as well as digital capture, he has revisited the roots of his photographic inspiration with this new portfolio.
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