Nicolas Cornet — Monochrome Landscapes of Huangshan

Through the Mist: A Conversation with Photographer Nicolas Cornet

I first saw Nicolas Cornet work at the Xposure International Photography Festival earlier this year, where his exhibition Huangshan, Monochrome Study quietly filled the gallery with mist, silence, and stillness. The photographs were stripped of colour, yet rich in atmosphere — an invitation to slow down and notice how light breathes through the mountains.

Finding Your Way Into Photography

What first sparked your interest in photography? Was there a moment when it stopped being just a hobby and became something deeper?

Back in the early 2000s, when digital photography was just starting, I stumbled upon a great deal on a Nikon D70. Since desktop publishing and graphic design were already my hobbies, I thought, why not give photography a try? For me, photography is a perfect blend of creativity, gear (we all love gadgets!), computers, problem solving and travel. It’s a hobby that suits my introverted nature since you can do it all on your own.

Things got more serious when I started working on projects. When connecting with professional photographers, they encouraged me to focus on specific projects rather than just capturing everything and anything. After years of photographing Paris, I put together a collection of images to create a book called « Lights on Paris. » After relocating to Dubai, I captured the Burj Khalifa in black and white. And after exploring the Huangshan mountains in China and visiting repeatedly, I had enough images to organize an exhibition, also in black and white.

The Beauty of Huangshan

Your Huangshan, Monochrome Study feels calm and timeless. What led you to approach the project in black and white, and how did you want to portray such an iconic landscape in your own way?

This project was inspired by traditional Chinese ink paintings – who are black and white. In real life, these foggy mountains and trees don’t have much color so why not ditch the colors altogether? That way, the focus shifts to the shapes, the arrangement of elements, and the overall mood of the artwork. It carries a certain elegance as well.

The photos selected for the exhibition all feature fog or mist – it’s fascinating how they transform a landscape. They reveal shapes, can give movement and create visuals that are very graphic. That’s what I tried to illustrate in my series.

Photographing Home vs. Away

You’ve explored Dubai in depth — from foggy mornings to architectural studies like 36 Views of Burj Khalifa. How does photographing a city you live in differ from working somewhere completely new?

Taking photos of your own playground has its perks. You can revisit the same spots at different times of the day or year, and you have the freedom to explore and find unique angles. In Dubai, it’s tough to get original shots as the interesting angles are from private locations : balconies or rooftops. Public viewpoints are well-known, and there are restrictions on tripods when shooting in the street. And from a light point of view, since it’s a desert, the sun is always shining, so clouds are rare.

Photographing abroad is a whole different ball game. You can use the same tools and techniques you practice at home, but I find it hard to get original shots on the first trip. At first, you’ll take the usual shots that everyone else has taken, but it’s only after you go back multiple times that you’ll start to find something truly unique. If I like a place, I’ll go back again and again to get the best conditions. Think Venice, Hong Kong, the Dolomites, or the fall colors in Japan. And of course, Huangshan in China, where I’ve been 8 times!

Lessons from Lumières sur Paris

Your book Lumières sur Paris was a massive project — 15,000 photos, countless walks, and endless light chasing. What did it teach you about patience and persistence as a photographer?

It was indeed quite a task to go from 15000 to 60 photos to show in the book.
Landscape photography is all about patience and persistence. In a city that’s been over-photographed like Paris, great light and unique compositions are the key to getting unique shots. So, it’s a lot of weather monitoring and exploring the city to find new angles. Waking up early and staying late to catch interesting light is also a must. As you take more photos and get better at it, you’ll learn what it takes to get those perfect shots. And, you might even end up shooting less. When I first started, I was shooting everything, but now I’m taking less shots than before. But when I come across a great scene, I’ll shoot a lot to make sure I don’t miss out.

Adapting to New Places

You’ve photographed all over — Iceland, Japan, South America, Africa, Venice. When you step into a completely new environment, how do you adjust your way of seeing?

In any setting, the basics stay the same: good lighting, the right angle, and the perfect moment. In cityscape photography, I usually shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon. For landscape photography, it’s mostly the same, but sometimes I can shoot all day, depending on the weather. As for composition, I usually take wider shots in cityscapes and mix wide and tighter compositions in landscapes – it all depends on what’s in front of me.

Planning vs. Serendipity

Do you usually plan your shoots carefully, or do you prefer to wander and let the images find you?

It all depends on where I’m shooting. For architectural shots, I plan everything out in advance. I do online research to understand the location, the lighting conditions, and the best time of day to shoot. Once I have the usual post card shot, I can then improvise and explore the area to find different angles and take my own unique perspective. For my work in Japan during the fall colors, there was a lot of planning involved. I would go to specific temples at certain times of the month as the fall colors changed from day to day. But once I was there, I had to improvise to find the right images to compose.

Tools of the Trade

Which cameras and lenses do you come back to most often for landscapes and architecture? Do you still use filters, or do you prefer to handle those details later in editing?

When it comes to photography, I’m a big fan of the Canon 17mm TS-lens. I attach it to my Sony A7RV, and sometimes I use a Canon teleconverter to make it a 24mm without losing too much image quality. In Dubai, where the buildings are so tall, I’ll use a really wide-angle zoom like a 12-24mm to capture as much as I can in one shot, if I have a good vantage point. For landscapes, I usually stick to the classic wide-angle and standard zoom. I really like the 70-200mm F4 because it lets me capture details in the landscape and create simple compositions while also playing with compression.

Back in the day, I used to use grad filters, but with the large dynamic range of modern cameras, I don’t need them anymore. If there’s a lot of contrast, I’ll take a few exposures and blend them together in post-processing. For fall colors, I always use polarizers to remove the glare on the leaves and make them pop. I do have an ND filter for long exposures, which I would use for waterfalls, and reflections.

Editing as a Creative Step

What role does post-processing play in your work, and what’s your usual workflow from a good frame to a finished photograph?

I try to be subtle in my editing so it doesn’t look too processed. It’s usually a multi-step process, and it’s different for different types of images. Architecture or cityscape shots usually require the most work. Here are the steps I usually follow, starting with Lightroom Classic:

• look at each corner of the photo and crop it to remove distracting elements.
• basic processing on the exposure and white balance using the basic modules.
• If needed, I can do local exposure by dodging and burning.
• basic cleanup on the image using the heal tool, like dust spots
• straighten the horizon and verticals if there are buildings. It’s really important to have straight building in an image. Even though I use tilt shift lenses, sometimes it’s a bit off, and they need some small adjustments in post.
• image sharpening

If I need to do exposure blending, I move to Photoshop to combine an under-exposed shot and the normal image to blend them using luminosity masks. In cityscapes, that would be useful for city lights, billboards, or elements of a sunset that the camera can’t capture in one shot.

The Place That Means the Most

Out of all the places you’ve photographed — Paris, Dubai, Huangshan, Iceland — which feels the most personal to you, and why?

Definitely, Huangshan in China. I fell in love with the location when I first visited in 2016. It’s a place that demands stamina, patience, and resilience to capture. The mountains are made up of countless stairs, so you’re always climbing and descending. It can be tough on the knees, so getting some physical preparation is essential. Every time I go, it feels like I’m on a mission! And when the weather cooperates, it’s an absolute blast. It’s like being inside a painting!

Showing Work at Xposure

What did exhibiting your work at Xposure mean for you? Did it change how you see your own photography, or was it more about sharing it with new audiences?

Working at Xposure in 2025 was an incredible experience, and I’m so grateful to the organizers for choosing me. It was my first exhibition ever, so it was a validation that my work is good enough to be displayed. I was touched when I entered my gallery and saw my work printed so large. It was a joy to share my story with the visitors, and I could sense that they connected with my work, whether they were photographers or not. It made me realize how important it is to develop a cohesive body of work on a specific theme to tell a compelling story.

In an exhibition, you can’t just mix and match photos of different places like Paris, an Indian woman, a landscape of Iceland, and a lion under the sunset. It needs to be consistent and tell a narrative. So, it’s all about defining your specialty, going deep, and assembling enough images to create a compelling story.

What Beginners Should Focus On

Many new photographers get caught up in gear, but your work shows it’s really about vision and patience. What habits or ways of seeing would you encourage beginners to develop?

I totally get what you’re saying. YouTube is definitely highlighting the gear aspect a lot these days. But let’s be real, most big brand equipment is perfectly fine and there’s no need to rush out and get the latest and greatest camera to create amazing work.

For beginners, here are four tips I can share :

1. Practice in your own backyard to learn how to read light and compose your shots correctly. This way, you’ll be ready to go if you ever travel to new places.
2. Develop your eye by visiting museums and admiring what makes a great visual piece. Painters are especially great to learn from. Dutch landscape artists and impressionists have been a huge source of inspiration for me.
3. Learn from other photographers. There are tons of great online tutorials available. For example, Elia Locardi’s series at fstoppers on landscape and cityscape photography is an incredible resource.
4. Show your work to other photographers to get feedback. Be prepared to be critiqued, that’s the best way to progress and improve your skills.

Looking Ahead

What’s next for you? Do you have a dream project or destination you’d love to explore one day?

I’m excited to continue working on my China project and would love to share it with more people. I’m thinking of showing it in galleries or other places that would be interested in it. I have a few other destinations on my list very different from each other, like Patagonia for the landscapes, Valencia in Spain for its beautiful architecture, and Gorillas in Uganda. I’m also going back to China in a few weeks to photograph Zhangjiajie, also known as the ‘Avatar Mountains.’ I can’t wait to capture those amazing landscapes!

From Inspiration to Practice

There’s something grounding about Nicolas’s story — the patience to return to the same mountain eight times, the curiosity to explore light over years instead of moments. His approach reminds me that good photography is rarely about luck or gear, but about attention, persistence, and care.

If this interview has sparked something in you — maybe a wish to take your camera out again, to slow down, or to finally learn how to use it properly — I can help.

I run photography workshops in London through DSLR Photography Courses, where our most popular one-day workshop is the Intensive One Day Photography Course. It’s the perfect place to kick-start your photography journey or reignite an old passion.

For those based further away, I also offer one-to-one online photography tuition — a personalised way to learn at your own pace, from anywhere in the world.

To see more of Nicolas’s work, visit nicocornet.com
or follow him on Instagram at @nicocornet.

And if you’d like to read more conversations like this one, visit the category Through Their Eyes — a growing collection of interviews with photographers and storytellers from around the world.