Did you know, the average person opens 20 new tabs each day? 🤓

Our feature, Gener8 Tabs, was built to inspire our users every time they opened a new tab. To take a minute to admire breathtaking scenery, and to showcase the talents of our content collaborators ⚡️📷.

Last week, we caught up with Hamish Kale, whose images have featured on Gener8 Tabs in recent months. Hamish is a Marine & Natural History Photography graduate from Bath with some incredible stories behind the photos he captures. Read on to find out more about the creative behind the camera 📷⬇️.

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Hamish Kale

📷 When did you first pick up a camera?

It was probably around 2013 or 2014 – so about 8 years ago.  I studied photography at school for two years and then another two years at college,  before studying Marine & Natural History Photography at university.  

✨ What was it that inspired you to take photographs?

I’ve always been quite arty but can’t draw very well, so that was my original thinking, ‘well if I can’t draw then I can do photography in school instead!’.  I’ve always really enjoyed travelling, too. I come from quite an outdoorsy family and so the two sort of made a good link.  By the time I realised I could study photography at university, I was already quite hooked.

🌱 How would you describe your style of photography?

I’d probably describe it as outdoorsy and adventurous but it often changes! I wouldn’t say I have a set editing style. I know some people on Instagram have their feeds very similar throughout, but I’d say mine changes from place to place depending on how I feel those places should be represented in the photographs.

✈️ Do you travel a lot to capture your images?

Yes, a fair bit! I spent a month in Zimbabwe in 2017, doing lion conservation. We’d do behavioural data checks and take photos of the lion cubs 🦁 for the conservation company’s advertising. 

Then with my university, we travelled to the Red Sea for a dive trip 🤿 which was just basically to let you get as good as you possibly could with an underwater camera. 

🌎 Where is your next destination? Is there anywhere that would be your dream place to take photos?

My dream destination changes all the time but I have always really wanted to go to Patagonia in Chile. That would be really cool.  But the next destination will probably be Germany 🇩🇪. I have a friend there and he wants to go and take photos in some German forests, so we’ll head out there sometime this year. 

🌟 Do you have anyone that is an inspiration to you photography wise?

Photography wise it would be Chris Burkard, he’s pretty insane. He does a lot of cool trips and in his most recent film, he cycles across Iceland in the middle of winter. 

In terms of storytelling, I’d say Casey Neistat is a really good representation of a YouTuber. He got famous basically from making vlogging popular. The way he tells a story from the most inane subject and makes it really interesting is quite a useful way to go about thinking when you’re planning a new project. 

🦀 What’s the most challenging photo you’ve taken?

 The most challenging photo I’ve taken would be one I took of a crab in Egypt. It was underwater and on a night dive.  Diving at night is pretty freaky because you can’t see anything in front of you, it is literally pitch black, so you get really weird vertigo. You dive down a few metres but you don’t know how close you are to the top or the bottom of the sea. 

We weren’t going very deep, probably about 7 metres or so, but I found this piece of coral that had loads of these little crabs on. Using a macro lens (which lets you get really close to things), I spent the best part of half an hour just on this tiny little piece of coral, taking a photo of a crab that was probably the size of half your thumb.  The crabs guard coral from starfish (who eat the coral) and there were a fair few of them moving around on it. They’re called red spotted guard crabs.  

🍁 What’s your favourite picture and the story behind it? 

My favourite photograph is one I took in Canada.  It was at Lake Louise, a place I always really wanted to go to.  I was there in late October, and if you get it right, you can see the season change from autumn to winter. Virtually overnight, it snowed and there was no greenery left.  This photo I took at Lake Louise is of me (taken with self timer) with the lake behind me.  It was just a really cool day. 

If you’re a creative or you know a creative who would like to be featured on Gener8 Tabs, simply drop us a message at [email protected] to find out more information 📷