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Into the Wild with Landscape Photographer Leroy Souhuwat

Hailing from the Netherlands and with roots in South Maluku, Iceland-based nature and landscape photographer Leroy Souhuwat brings an exploratory passion and a worldly perspective to his images, which are punctuated by raw, powerful landscapes – and the odd adorable puffin or two. Leroy’s work aims to inspire humans to reconsider their relationship with nature, particularly when confronted with its enormity and unpredictability. We spoke with Leroy about his photography journey and how the untamed landscapes of his new home, along with the support and encouragement of the wider photographic community, have inspired his creative endeavors.

How did you get into photography?

In 2018 I moved from The Netherlands to Iceland, it was a very impulsive move, but it might be one of the best decisions I have made so far in my life. In that first year, I went on many road trips around the country and took all my photos with just my smartphone. I wanted to share all the incredible views with my family and friends abroad.

Then I got so into it that I decided to buy my first professional camera in early 2020, which was the Fujifilm XT30. After extensive research, I figured this was the camera that would fit me the most. The overall look, size, physical dials, and astonishing straight-out-of-camera shots were all factors that pleased me a lot. After just a few months, I sold the XT30 and opted for the XT3 and X100V, which are now my main weapons alongside my DJI Air 2S.

How did you turn your hobby photography into a profession?

After posting my photos on different social media channels, I noticed that there was a lot of positive feedback on my work, not only from my family and friends but also from many other creatives out there in the world. This motivated me to create more content since it was inspiring others. I really felt my work was appreciated. Not long after, I started being recognized as a photographer in Iceland, and that opened doors to the world of freelancing.

All of a sudden, I was receiving inquiries for event, portrait, and food photography shoots. I was super stoked about it, but I figured I needed a speedlight, especially with studio work. So I purchased the Godox V1 and a softbox. After many sleepless nights and hours of watching YouTube videos on how to work with flash, I practiced and became more and more confident in using it. That’s when I knew I was ready to take on paid jobs.

How would you describe your photography style?

My usual landscape/nature work has a raw and moody vibe, I would say. Since my ancestors grew up in the Maluku Islands and I am now living in Iceland, I want to show how that feels for someone who still has tropical genes running through his body. I try to capture that raw and moody feeling that the nature in Iceland gives me through my work.

How do you capture your subjects?

The lenses I use the most when going out for nature shots are the Fujinon 10-24mm and the Fujinon 70-300mm. I enjoy capturing wide, but I also love to zoom in and isolate a subject. It depends on how I feel in that moment, I am constantly looking around for things that catch my eye and switch lenses quickly when needed.

What is some advice you have for up-and-coming landscape photographers?

A major tip for any landscape photographer just starting out is to learn how to read the histogram on your camera screen. In the very beginning, I had no clue how it worked, so I just shot photos like there was no tomorrow, only to figure out afterward that I had completely blown out the highlights or crushed the shadows and there was nothing to recover. Do not rely solely on your eyes or your LCD screen on this one. Just make sure the histogram graph doesn’t spike all the way to the left or right but try to keep it all even and balanced in the middle where possible.

And invest in a tripod. You’ll thank me later when you discover the world of long exposures. It also gives you that extra stability for example if you need to lower your shutter speed in case of a low light situation.

Why do you use Capture One?

Capture One has been my main editing software since I began my photography journey. I tried several different programs and I noticed that Capture One handled Fuji files the best. The fact that it offers tethered shooting is also a big plus for my studio work. The layer system is also convenient to have. Plus, the color editor is one of the most advanced I have seen and a real joy to work with as a photographer.

The new HDR and Pano tools are a blast to use. I can finally stitch photos together and use the HDR merge to create shots I couldn’t take before. It works super easy and is so convenient – I really can’t wait to produce more content through these new tools.

Using Layers (Part 1)

Make the most of Layers with this in-depth look at Capture One’s layering capabilities – which have grown significantly over the past few years. In this two-part series, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using layers in Capture One, to make your editing more useful and targeted.

In the first part, we’ll walk you through:

The concept of Layers
Different ways to draw masks
Brush settings like Hardness and Flow
Style Brushes

Download a 30-day trial of Capture One.

Using Layers (Part 2)

Go even deeper with Layers in the second part of our two-part series on Capture One’s layering capabilities. In this session, we will wrap up what you need to know about using Layers and run through some practical examples of using layering in your editing.

In the second part, we’ll cover:

Healing and Cloning
Luminosity Masking
Refining, Feathering and other ways to modify Layer masks

Download a 30-day trial of Capture One.

2021 – What a year for Capture One

Wrapping up and looking ahead: 2021 was just the start

2021 was a busy and exciting year for Capture One.

Throughout the year, we released a succession of fantastic updates to Capture One 21 and rounded it off with the launch of Capture One 22 in December. Together, this delivered must use new tools like Style Brushes and the Magic Brush, highly requested features like Panorama Stitching and HDR merge, updates to our core workflows like the redesigned Importer and Exporter, wireless tethering for select Canon cameras, and a long list of newly supported hardware.

We’ve also invested heavily under the hood over the last year. We ported our Mac codebase to run natively on Apple’s M1 silicon, and brought code and speed optimizations to Windows, making Capture One noticeably snappier and more stable on both platforms.

It was also a year of great growth and development for our Community engagement programs. We received plaudits where we deserved them and we stood to listen when we didn’t get things quite right. We welcomed a new and diverse slate of Ambassadors who continue to awe us with their work, their creativity and their innovative approaches to professional photography. We hugely value our Community, so we’ve world tiredlessly to follow up our words with actions, and are committed to continuing to do so.

Inside the house, we’ve also been very busy hiring a new team and building the infrastructure required to run Capture One as an independent company, with about one-third of the Capture One team joining in the last year. We also expanded our footprint in Athens, where we opened an Engineering site in the summer of 2020, and moved into our permanent office there.

We can’t wait to get started with 2022.

To some extent, 2022 started early for Capture One. We gave you a sneak preview of Capture One Live, our first Cloud product, we disclosed our progress on porting Capture One to the iPad and we introduced stable and reliable wireless tethering.

We’re incredibly excited about the future of photography.

We are witnessing the emergence of a multi-device, collaborative photography workflow, including Cloud, Mobile, Social and Collaboration platforms, and we understand

the importance and value of bringing our core strengths in image quality, reliability and efficiency to meet the rapidly evolving requirements of photographers and image creators.

We’re pumped about our plans and we hope that as all the parts start to fall into place, you will be too.

Most importantly though, I would like to heartfully thank our worldwide community of photographers for your engagement and custom. The work you do tirelessly, your diversity, your creativity and your wizard-like skills inspire us to do our best work.

Thank you for your support in 2021, on behalf of the Capture One team around the world, I wish you and your loved ones all the very best in 2022.

Rafael Orta
CEO