








Rachael Talibart
Landscape | Last Updated: July 14, 2021
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
www.rachaeltalibart.com | @rachaeltalibart


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Hi Rachel,
I’m working on a book on surf photography and wondered when you started to photograph seascapes, especially storm waves.
Hi Rachael,
I admire your photography a great deal. I was curious to know which camera system you prefer to use most often. I also have a Canon full frame and a Fujifilm X-H1. I like both of them and find myself going back and forth between them, depending on how much weight I’m willing to carry that day as well as what I’ll be photographing.
Keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Best Regards,
John Almonte
Thank you for your interest in my work.