Rachael Talibart

Landscape | Last Updated: July 14, 2021

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Hi! I am a full-time professional seascape photographer based in the south of England, working mainly for the gallery and collector market. I also own f11 Workshops and I lead photography holidays for Ocean Capture.

Much of my childhood was spent at sea and I have been fascinated with the ocean for my whole life. For me, the coast isn’t the end of the land; it’s the beginning of imagination and possibility.

I am most well known for my Sirens series, a portfolio of storm waves named after mythological beings.

I love the ocean on stormy days. It’s incredibly exhilarating. Our lives these days are so complicated; it’s easy to become bogged down. The sea is an antidote. Elemental, indifferent and mysterious, it makes me feel small and it makes my petty issues seem insignificant.

A visit to the sea resets my internal compass.

My gear has a hard life – seawater is not kind to equipment – so it has to be rugged, and good weather sealing is one of the main concerns for me when choosing a camera.

For most of my still work, I use my Canon gear, and I have thoroughly tested its ability to withstand weather! I also run a parallel set from the Fuji mirrorless system which I mainly use for video or when I need to travel light.

I have a wide range of lenses. Possibly my most-used lens is the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. All of my Sirens were photographed using this lens. It’s fast, responsive and really tough. My favourite lens.

My tripod spends a lot of time standing in the sea so I chose the Benro because it’s sturdy and solid. Also, I prefer twist locks as they’re easier to take apart and clean, something I have to do after every shoot.

My photography is supported by LEE Filters but I was already using the system before that happened. I find it easy to use, and the filters deliver the quality I need.

I try to spend as little time at my desk as possible but, when I have to be there, I edit using a 27” iMac and I do almost everything in Adobe Lightroom. I currently edit video in iMovie.

All of my files are stored in mirrored RAID drives by Lacie and they are also backed up online using Backblaze. I also have a Macbook that I use for teaching.

As I work for the fine art market, printing is a really important part of my workflow and I use a Canon Pro-1000 printer and fine art papers by Fotospeed and Hahnemuehle.

My camera bag is a very old Lowepro Mini Trekker AW. I’ve had it for longer than I can remember. Occasionally, I think I ought to get a new one and I even bought one a couple of years ago from a different brand but I quickly went back to my trusty Lowepro.

It’s comfortable, carries two bodies, 4-5 lenses and a laptop with room to spare, and it easily satisfies every airline’s carry-on limits.

Inside my bag:

Canon 5DS R (x2)
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-70mm f/4
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
Canon EF 2x III extender

Fuji X-T2
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8
Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4
Fujinon XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8

LEE Filter system, including landscape polariser, hard, medium and soft graduated filters and ND filters from 3-stops to 15-stops
Benro Mach 3 TMA37A tripod and B1 ball head
Canon remote switch RS-80N3
Pixel remote switch RC-201
Rode VideoMicro Compact on-camera Microphone
SanDisk CF and SD cards
Rosco lens tissues and LEE Filters cleaning fluid
Lowepro Mini Trekker AW
iMac, Lacie hard drives, Adobe Lightroom and iMovie
Canon Pro-100 printer
Fine art papers by Fotospeed and Hahnemuehle