Photos

So you are currently studying at Norwich School Of Art And Design; Tell us about the school and why you decided to go there?

Yeah I’m at NUCA, they changed their name to Norwich University Of The Arts, I have no idea why but whatever. My school is brilliant, but I somtimes wished I had looked into university’s more because it was the only one i applied for after finishing my a-levels. I wanted to stay in Norwich, but I think that’s more to do with the fact I still live with my parents which is cool I love it, and it means I don’t have to take out a student loan, yay no debt for me when i graduate!

In the past year who as been the most influential person in helping you discover your photography style

In the past year?! Nobody really to be honest. If anyone if would be Hedi Slimane, but I only recently deiscovered him because someone mentioned my work was a lot like his lately. I don’t know when i directly get influenced by someone, i don’t think, I knwo I am often influenced by lyrics from bands, or just music in general. I listen to music all the time, like I mean all the time! So music more than anything i guess!

What are you currently shooting with and what do you hope to be shooting with in 2 years?

I’m currently shooting with my Nikon D200, but also using my Yashica Mat-124G on the side with 120 film, just never scanned any results! Also using a 35mm SLR canon as well. Erm in two years A D3X would be very nice haha, I can’t imagine it happeneing atm though!

In your flickr profile you mentioned that people like to send you pictures of their naughty bits… Does, this happen a lot?

Yeah I dunno why but some random people on flickr seem to think I would love to see their bits or ranodm, ergh, makes me shudder thinking about it! It’s well inappropriate as well, cause sometimes im at collage in a huge room full of people and voila, i get porn on my screen, its not a good look! Haha.

Do you have anyway for people to purchase your photographs online?

Yeah I use redbubble.com so people can purchase work but i dont have all of it on there, so people can request if they wish.

I noticed you have one or two photographs that have nudity in them, How did your parents react to those photographs?

Yeah it took such a lont time for me to decide whether to post the nudity ones, but i went for it because to me its not about nudity its about the vunerablilty and essence of the photograph. My mum doesn’t mind at all, she’s up for anything i do, she does think i’m insane though, haha, especially last night when i photographed my nose bleed… hehe.

If you can photograph anyone living or dead who would you photograph?

Oooo I would photograph Jeff Buckley, without a doubt. I’m in love with him.

Do you do the make-up in all your photographs or do you have others help you?

Yeah i’ve done all the make-up in my photos, i havent had any training but i think it looks okay so meh! Sometimes in the middle of the night you can’t rely on people getting to you to help out with an idea for make-up purposes lol. But I have recently been in touch with a couple of makle-up artists interesting in collaberating on location shoot. so yay!

When you first started getting noticed by the flickr community how did you react to all the attention you were getting with every new photo?

I was really suprised at first, it was very ego boosting and this attention and critism i get strectched me further than my school did and does, so it’s been a brilliant process to go through.

What is one impression you hope the viewer takes away from your photographs?

I hope that people feel maybe a little inspired or thoughtful after seeing my work. All my work expresses a part of me, something much deeper than i’d be ever able to explain properly. So I hope people will either subconciously or conciously pick up on that.

Photos

What’s the best and worst thing about posting your photos online?

Sharing photographs online has both its perks as well as several drawbacks. Overall I feel that posting my photos online (specifically, on Flickr) has been a positive step, as it has allowed me to connect with other photographers all over the world. The best thing about it is that it is a fantastic way to get feedback about my photos and make connections, however small or large, with others. At the same time, however, the Internet has a way of being a bit invasive. My photos are often very expressive, and so at times I feel like sharing a photograph online is like revealing the most personal of my emotions to complete strangers. Sometimes that is the most beautiful thing, but at other times, quite scary. That fact that I never really know who is looking is probably the worst thing about posting my photos online.

Who was the biggest influence on you taking up photography?

When I actually think about it, I can’t really think of any specific person or name any one experience that influenced me to get into photography. It just kind of happened. Even as a little girl, I was always begging for my parents to buy me disposable cameras to take to school or on vacations. I suppose it was traveling that has been the biggest influence on my taking up photography, as I have been very lucky to have had the privilege to travel quite a bit throughout my childhood, and during these travels a camera was always present. The habit of documenting travel experiences through film probably developed into a desire to capture images of the everyday moments and emotions in life that has only deepened over time.

Some of your photos are accompanied with poems, which takes longer photo processing or writing?

It depends on the photo. Generally, the writing takes longer. Photo processing is usually relatively light and not very time consuming unless I make use of textures, but hunting for just the right lyric or poem to accompany a photo can take time. At the same time, though, sometimes it is actually the piece of writing or music that inspires the photo, and in this case, the photo processing is more time consuming.

Do you ever have help with setting up your self-portraits?

The only help I get setting up my self-portraits is with a tripod. Believe it or not, I am actually quite camera shy unless it is me who is behind the lens.

How long have you been shooting and where would you like to end up with your photography?

I have been shooting since a little girl, but only seriously for about two years now, after I started using my Nikon D50. Although there is always that hope of being able to incorporate my photography within a career, I honestly cannot see it as anything more than a tremendously fulfilling hobby and way to express myself, and I would be completely okay with that. However, I know that the skill may prove to be useful in pursuing my degree in journalism.

Over the last 3 months how many photos do you think you have taken? & how many have you published online?

Wow. Let’s see… over the past 3 months I am sure I have taken well over a hundred photos, although I’ve only published around 20 of those online in the same span of time. When I am studying at the university, I usually have less time to take photographs, but whenever I get the chance, I always take advantage of it.

Have you ever displayed your photos in an art gallery?

No, although I would love to. I think if I put a little more effort into trying to get my photos out there it would be a possibility, but at the same time, there are so many amazing photographers that I’m not quite sure if my skill level is up to par. Maybe someday.

Why do you like taking self-portraits?

Self-portraits have always been one of my favorite kinds of photos to take, almost as much as portraits. There is something oddly therapeutic about capturing my emotions exactly as they are occurring. I first started taking self-portraits around the age of thirteen or fourteen, so over the past four or five years I have been able to document my growth as an individual and person, not just in terms of appearance, but in reflecting the emotions, attitudes, and maturity expressed within my photos. In a way, self-portraits are a way to be completely honest with myself, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do. When someone else is taking a photo of me, I am more prone to painting on a smile and trying to give them what they want – I’ve always been like that in all aspects of my life. But when I am the one behind the lens, there is a certain sense of freedom to just be precisely what I am at that exact moment. It’s liberating, really, and when I look back over my collections, I can associate my self-portraits with where I was at a particular moment in life. How I was feeling, what people were influencing me, what music filled my head, my state of mind. And there is great power in reflecting upon my life and how far I have come from any set point in time in my past. It’s invigorating.

What are your plans for your photography in the next 12 months?

Well, this July I am leaving to study abroad in Australia for five months, so I am very much looking forward to using photography to document my experiences in the land down under. It will be the only way to keep connected with all my loved ones back home and show what I am doing, so I am looking forward to setting up a photo blog that people back home can follow.

Who is your favorite Flickr photographer?

That’s a tough one. There are so many amazing photographers on Flickr, and many of them do not receive the credit they deserve. It really amazes me the talent that is out there. I have to say, though, that Ross Reyes is one of my all time favorite photographers on Flickr. I happened upon his work a few years ago and have been following it ever since. His portraits have always struck a chord with me, and I am absolutely in love with the perspective of California he produces in his images, as well as the many other locations he has traveled. The ability he has to capture the little things encountered in life is unprecedented, and that is one of the things I adore about his work. Always honest, but completely creative – he always makes you look closer.

What are 5 things you would like to photograph?

1. The person I fall in love with.
2. My children, if I have any – I want to document every single, solitary second of their lives. If I have learned one thing from being a big sister, it’s how fast time goes by. I want to remember every dimple and freckle on the face of my child, from the moment they are born to the moment they are married and beyond – precious little moments that I don’t ever want to forget.
3. Matthew Fox. Yes, I’ll admit it. I am completely obsessed with him on “Lost,” so the girlie side of me is not going to lie about how amazing it would be to do a shoot with him.
4. Strangers. I wish I did this more often. Living in the city, I am always passing by people, beautiful and interesting and unique people with their own stories. I want to capture a piece of their story.
5. My mother. She is the most beautiful person in the world. I know every daughter thinks this about her mother, but she really is one of the most beautiful people you will ever come across. And the best thing about it is the fact that her outer beauty only reflects that which I love about her most: her inner beauty and tremendous heart.

What are the 5 things you wouldn’t photograph?

1. Male Abercrombie models
2. 99.9% of politicians
3. Public Restrooms
4. Bill O’Reilly
5. Oil spills

Okay, half joking. Truly, I feel that everything in this world has a need to be photographed in its own right. Even the ugly things in this world contain beauty, even if only an ounce. Everyone and everything has a story that needs to be told, and sometimes photos can be the best way.

If you can impose one feeling, emotion or thought on a person through your photographs what would that be?

That is a really tough question. To honestly answer that, I have to say that it would be the greatest gift to impose ANY kind of feeling or emotion on a person through my photographs. I think that is the utter heart of photography – to make someone feel something, anything. I feel like if one of my photographs stirs any kind of emotion in an individual, I’ve succeeded as a photographer and artist, and truly, as a human being. There’s nothing worse in this world than feeling nothing and being numb. To bring forth raw emotion or unfold a quiet thought is the greatest gift I think I could give and receive as a photographer.

Linkage

Ari Winkle on Flickr

I want to thank Ari for allowing me to ask her a bunch of random questions both personal and photography oriented.

Photos

Who or What got you started in photography?

I got into photography because I couldn’t draw. My mother’s side of the family were all artists, and after years of classes at the Delaware art museum as a kid, the drawing gene just wasn’t past onto me…

So my grandfather gave me an old Nikormat 35mm and a few lenses when I was about 12 or 13… and that was it; I haven’t put a camera down since…

What are your two favorite subjects to shoot?

I have a fascination with abandoned buildings… not really sure why. I have traveled all around searching them out, from Eastern State Penitentiary in Philly to whole abandoned towns in New Jersey to the farms of Maryland…

Second would be photographing people with my ‘toy’ cameras. I love taking portraits, either on the streets or at an actual ‘session’. I really like the way the Holga settles people down and makes them comfortable people seem to be more relaxed with a toy cam than a big formal camera…

From viewing your photographs your mainly a film guy. How do you feel about the rumors of Kodak shutting down consumer film production and focusing more on digital?

I think there will be film for quite a while; although, I have a second fridge at the house with hundreds of rolls in it. There is a giant resurgence in film photography in Asia — most of my blog reads are from there — and new films are being produced and marketed.

Film isn’t going to go away, but it will become more scarce, and probably more expensive. I buy large blocks on eBay and stockpile as much as I can… with the release of cameras like the Holga 135, the Black Bird Fly, and other new 35′s there are a lot of people getting back into it. Not to mention the Lomo enthusiasts that have been doing it for years.

So your website has been online for 10 years. How has the internet changed your photography, either by interaction via email, your site, Flickr or any other photo sharing sites?

Good question. I am actually writing a piece right now on the need for a web presence, and if Flickr or a ‘Lomo home’ is enough. In ’98 when I started my site it was a way for me to get images out there and share them with people around the world.

Lomo home?

Oh, lomography.com, they have ‘homes’ that people can make; their own site within a site.

I have worked for the first photographer to go all digital on the east coast for about 15 years, and as interns here we had access to all the equipment all night long; scanners, big digital back on Hasselblads, SGI machines, a 5000 sq foot studio.. So I had the luxury of being able to get my work onto the computer with ease, and the tech to build and update sites so I spent time taking my personal work and getting it online before a lot of people were doing that. All that tech has made me shoot only film for my personal work, so the internet has really made me go analog, stripping away filters, effects any of that stuff go back to the basics simple, html…

The blog has really changed everything the most. I had no idea how many lo-fi shooters there were around the world, and its really made me push to find more and more cameras, films and accessories to shoot with. So I think the blog, more than anything, has effected the way I present and interact with the images and viewers…

How much post process work goes into your photographs either Photoshop or in physical darkroom?

None. I am really against post processing. My theory is this: if you have to rely on gimmicks and filters to make your images look good then you didn’t start with a good image. I do it in camera make a good image first, and you won’t need anything else. Most of the stuff on the site are raw scans. All film shot is processed at a local lab and then scanned on a Nikon LS-9000 scanner.

When it comes to printing what size do you like to display your work at?

I like at least 12×12 inches. Usually larger. I purchased an Epson 7880 recently that will do 24″ wide. So the next round of framed images I think will be about 20×20 inches.

When it comes to selling your prints who are your target buyers?

For larger prints, its photography collectors and enthusiasts. People will usually purchase something they have a connection to; the image I took of NYC a year or so before 9/11, or the image of Amish women waiting at Penn Station in Philly seem to be the most popular.

Name one thing you haven’t shot yet but always wanted to.

Japan/Asia. The Buddhist temples and the people who visit them they seem to be the most at peace people in the world. Japan seems to have some of the most serene countryside, little villages, temples, the houses on the water…

If you can impose one lasting impression on the view of your images what would it be?

I like to think that I am capturing something honest with the images I create. I try to strip them down to the raw image, and present it to the viewer as I have seen it. When I toured the Farms of New Jersey, or Eastern State Penitentiary, I chose the best film to convey what I saw, rather then doing anything in post.

I want to leave the viewer with a sense of the gritty, visceral, bleakness of the locations. When I shoot things like the Carnivals, Parks, Flowers and Children with a Holga, I want to convey the fun, colors and hope of that moment. Either way, I want to leave the viewer with an image that they won’t forget.

Linkage

NicNichols.com

I just want to thank Nic for taking the time to do this interview with me with both our busy days.

Photos

You take some very interesting photos of insects; what attracted you to photographing these tiny creatures?

After experimenting around with various ways of taking high magnification macros, I realized that nothing man-made is really all that exciting up close. I realized pretty quickly that bugs were one of the only things worth the effort. Nothing compares to the complexity, color, and intricate detail of arthropods up-close. Also, there is a seemingly infinite number of subjects when it comes to bugs.

How do you get a hold of all these tiny super models?

Finding them isn’t usually too hard, I just go outside and know where to look. After a year or so now of hunting for bugs several times a week, I know where to look. The difficult part is knowing how to approach and photograph them. Some bugs could care less about me and are easy to photograph, and some are so difficult I don’t even attempt to photograph them.

Are any of these insects dangerous?

Sure, though I’ve never really been bitten or stung by anything serious. Just a few days ago I found a brown recluse spider which is capable of quite a bit of damage and I also recently came upon a tarantula hawk wasp, which is an enormous type of wasp that kills tarantulas, and supposedly its sting is extremely painful. I’ve even read that some of the jumping spiders I photograph can deliver a pretty painful bite, even though I’ve never been bitten and I doubt that it would be that bad.

Could you tell us a little bit about what you use to capture such these tiny portraits?

I use a Pentax *ist DL dslr camera body and several different lens set-ups for my macro work. The main lens I use is a 1980′s 28mm Pentax Takumar (Bayonet) prime lens reversed to either a bellows, some extension tubes, or a 2x teleconverter (and rarely a combination of those). For lighting I have an old Vivitar Zoom Thyristor flash mounted to a flash bracket diffused by a homemade flash diffuser/softbox.

How much post-process work do you put in to the photographs after they are taken?

 I try to do as little post-processing as possible. I have to remove spots due to dust that collects on the sensor, which is unavoidable with macro work (though I only remove the spots from the out-of-focus background in the image, and not from the bug itself to avoid altering the bug in any way). I adjust the contrast and color balance a little, crop if needed, and apply a noise reduction filter to the background if it needs it. Occasionally, I will focus stack an image to provide more depth of field, which I do manually in Photoshop. Regardless of whatever work I have to do to an image, I never physically alter the color or structure of the bug in any way.

Have you looked into sending your pictures off to any wildlife magazines or publications?

No, not really. Though I would like to have my work published in some form some day.

What’s one of the current insects you haven’t shot yet but is at the top of your list to find?

 Nearly everytime I head out to search for bugs and spiders, I end up seeing more bugs than actually getting good photos. There are several types of jumping spiders I would love to find. Probably among the most notable of these would be an adult male Phidippus putnami or Habronattus americanus jumping spider. Both of these spiders really have some unequivocally beautiful markings and coloration.

Do you currently sell your prints of your work anywhere in person or on-line?

No. I’ve never really thought about selling them either. 

What is one impression you hope the viewer takes away from your photographs?

That they benefit and learn from them. I don’t consider photography art. I’m not creating beauty, I’m just recording and translating what is beautiful. Much of my photography is of details and subjects not visible to the human eye. I want to express and reveal to others the abundant, amazing world of arthropods and science.

Linkage

• Opo Terser ( Flickr Photostream )
• Kings of Kays ( His other passion vintage electric guitars. )

I hope Thomas will in the future sell some prints of these in a large format like 16×20 or maybe some day grace the cover of Natural Geographic. 

Photos

How long would you say on average that you spend working on a single image before you present it to the world?

I guess I spend about ten minutes to one hour retouching in some cases, when necessary. Of course I spent a long time walking along the lanes; before finding an interesting thing to shoot.

You shoot with Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 a point and shoot camera. Give us a short review on why you shoot with this camera?

This is a very average quality camera, actually. Part of the choice was according to my budget. But it has advantage to have all in one, many little options very useful. Good image, good video, good settings, but nothing exceptional. This is part of the reason that I have to retouch almost every images.

Actually, I almost decided to not produce any more photos this year. Recently, I was at a wedding and a friend let me try his camera for a few minutes, a Nikon D300. I had just needed a few seconds to understand how my Minolta frustrated me for the last few years. Therefore, I decided to stop shooting for a while, not accepting working with a such average production/translation of what I see in front of my eyes. Another friend on Flickr said to me that I should be able to take good pictures even with a cellphone. That’s a compliment but a good point also, and i agree. “The perfect is the enemy of the good” said Voltaire.

In the future, where do you see your photography taking you?

I have to order a good camera for Christmas before to think about that.

Tell us how you got started taking these wonderful pictures that inspire so many people comment on them?

I think everything comes from my passion for the motion picture films. I was very young and fascinated by this art. Itself providing with many other arts included: pictures, colors, music, narration, light, and stories. My first experience was when I was 12 years old. I borrow my friend’s Silent Super 8 camera that he kept in his cupboard. This tool gave me an astonishing power of artistic creation. This was the starting point for production of many little films. I thought about making movies all the time. I have to say, silent movie production is an excellent school. My love for the art of photography comes from the movies. The first good movies you see in your life, mark you forever. Citizen Kane, Fritz Lang’s movies, many films from the black & white period. Brought me so much understanding and learning of the play between light and shadow.

Light and Shadow were key for me, color came a little bit after in my experience. I had an opportunity at 20, to produce and develop photographs myself in a small laboratory/studio. I understood there some basics regarding the retouching process on pictures, much before the rise of computers. Today with Photoshop, you save time and it’s always a tool that help you to show what you wanted to show. Particularly, if you don’t have a great camera.

Name the photographer that inspires you to go out and shoot?

Again I would notice great masters and artists from the motion pictures. What inspires me are the Cinematographers; their images and visions have helped me to build my own experience. Vittorio Storaro, Philippe Rousselot, Dante Spinotti, Emmanuel Lubezki, Nestor Almendros, Jordan Cronenweth, Alex Thomson and Bruce Surtees just to name a few.

I learned from them the work with natural / real lights. How to take advantage of a window, the sun, or a tree, etc… Some of them own really great sense in colors. I don’t forget Dreyer, Tarkovsky, Welles, Chaplin, Leone, J.P. Melville, H.G. Clouzot, Ridley Scott, Hitchcock … for their visions and their legacy.

Your photos mainly deal with nature and buildings; why do you choose this type of photography over another?

Nature is a main subject for me. First, because I think that showing beauty of this nature could sensitize people on this subject. Basically, nature today is in danger and we need it to stay alive. We should continue to develop ways to help protect it. Also, nature and landscapes offer large opportunities to deal with color, Light and shadows.

When I was student I really loved to be in the city. It was a terrific subject for photography. Mainly if you live in a very old city with many ancient buildings and when you capture this. It makes for a mix of historical, architectural, esthetically fascinating photographs on many points. The top location in my photographer experience, was to visit Venise/Venezia, Italy. This city is so rich that you will never have enough time to see everything. This is truly a time machine, a unique experience in my life. I went back 3 times and I never tried Gondolas. I was to busy running in every long and tiny street; these were the hidden treasures of for me with Venise such a contrast between light and shadow.

This is quite hard to explain why you shoot this or that. Like many photographers I don’t apply rules or lessons. It’s much more instinctive and spontaneous. Does it come from artistic feeling or so ? Maybe yes. But how to explain artistic ability ? I am not sure anyone get the right response. I think my next step is to find something about people, capturing instants of life. But it’s also a question of ethic/policy to post pictures featuring people on public sites. I am not very comfortable with that idea.

Where would you like to travel after you get your new camera this Christmas?

For sure I would like to go back to North America first because, I have many cousins over there and because it is a such a large amount of country. That creates very many different in different types of landscapes in one continent. But we could say the same thing about countries I don’t know, like Russian or Asia. I’d like to explore more of my country also; the historical legacy offers so many opportunities to catch a highlight of ancient times. Sometimes, the mix between ancient building and nature gives a great source for photographers.

If you can leave one lasting impression on the viewers of your photographs what would that be?

I think I wish that people traveling through my photos end up at the places I took them. The images I like to share are perhaps a free advertisement showing beautiful places in the world I visited. I haven’t traveled much and I regret that. That is why I like to travel through photos that I discover online, including pictures from good friends on Flickr. Discovering unknown places is great but getting to know each other is much more important in my opinion.

Linkage:

• Chris’s Photostream ( on Flickr )

I want to thank Chris for allowing us to find out a little bit more about him. I think my favorite thing about Chris is that we both share a passion for Cinema and the people who create it.

Photos

I met you through a mutual friend & celebrity Mike Busey; How did you two meet and become friends?

I first met Mike Busey when a mutual friend took me via hearse shuttle (yes, a HEARSE! due to lack of parking) to a party at his home Sausage Castle V. This was, quite naturally, before Sausage Castle VI and his current residence SC VII. It was a colorful house on a beautiful lake front lot and we’d play “Helen Keller’s hide-n-go-seek”. This is similar to regular hide-n-go-seek but, in the middle of the night without the lights on and the best spot was standing in the hot tub at the foot of his water bed next to the massage table.

You recently did a photo shoot with Model Andrea Russell; can you tell us more about how the shoot went and came about?

A body painting artist had contacted me because she liked my photos and Andrea just happened to be the next model to e-mail me for a photo shoot without a clear concept. I enjoy creating visual concepts and this one was really interesting because I got to collaborate with Mandi, the painter. They both found me via MySpace.

To anyone who views your photographs they will notice that you love color. What do you like most about color photographs?

I want my photos to make people happy. I really enjoy photos that have a sense of humor, pictures that are just a little different or quirky, and color helps me accomplish that. I think there’s a little bit of the photographer in each photo they take; I’m a cheerful person, so I prefer brighter photos. Black & white is classic, elegant, and beautiful but…it has it’s time and place. Color can be so much more fun! 

I heard you are moving soon; how will this effect your work?

I am moving to the west coast for a couple months and really not sure how it will affect my work. I expect it might be harder to book gigs as I don’t have a reputation or referrals, considering it’s a place I’ve never been. Also, I hear Portland is home to many artsy-hippy-type fugitives and refugees; this may prove to create stiffer competition. Really, I just need a fresh atmosphere for a while. I believe life in a strange new city will inspire fresh creations and hope the adventure of moving across the country will make me a stronger artist.

You shoot weddings from time to time with your boyfriend; how has that worked out for the two of you?

It’s such an honor to capture someone’s big day, to be asked to create art from their reality. And, working with Matt makes it even better. The moments at a wedding can happen so fast. You want to be sure you get a solid shot of each important, fleeting moment so the comfort of knowing someone else is also shooting is fantastic. It allows me to be more experimental and push myself further outside the box, because I know, between the two of us, one of us got a solid shot. It’s truly a challenge, and a great one. We really dig it; it’s called Smatt Photography.

I know you use photoshop from time to time; what would you say your experience level would be with it?

My experience level is low. Although I studied graphic design for a year at the Art Institute of Ft.Lauderdale before moving to Orlando, I never took a Photoshop class. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface over the past year and still have a lot to learn about digital editing. Really, I just push buttons until I like what I see.

What are you currently shooting with and why?

What I own and what I shoot with are two different questions. I own a Nikon d70s with two lenses (10.5mm f/2.8 and an 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3) and two strobes. But, I just so happen to have a boyfriend with a bigger, badder DSLR, a beautiful collection of glass, & another speedlight. Our equipment is interchangeable which is especially fabulous at weddings. 

Is there are photograph you have yet been able to shoot either because lack of budget or the right model? 

CERTAINLY! I have all sorts of concepts I’d love to pursue but, money is a factor. I think because, unless I’m shooting a wedding, I prefer that my photographs bend the truth a little. I don’t need them to be a representation of what really happened. I prefer, rather, that they be an exageration, and enhanced reality for just a moment. I like to make something up and then catch a picture to prove that these moments exist if you create them. Sometimes, creating these moments costs money.

If you can leave one lasting impression on viewers of your work; what would that be?

Whatever it is that the viewer wanted to see. I just hope to get their attention for a moment, for them to enjoy the experience, and remember me when it comes time to have their portraits taken. As long as people keep hiring me because they see that I’m different from the portrait studios in the mall, I’m happy.

Linkage

• Samantha Yeakle Photography ( Portfolio & Rates )
• Smatt Photography ( Wedding Portfolio & Rates )
• Samantha on Myspace
• Samantha on Flickr

I remember when both Samantha and I were shooting an event for Mike Busey. He told us to play nice and not kill each other. Mike, I think we are playing nicely together, do we get a cookie?

“Photography for me, is something I have to do. It is my only way of showing what I see and how I feel.” ~ Chad.

So I’m very pleased to bring you the interview with the photographer who isn’t held down by they gravity of others; Mr. Chad Coombs.

Photos

Some of your photographs are of musicians; how does music inspire you to create images? 

Music itself sets a mood, it kind of stops there for me inspiration wise. It sets the theme and then I take over from there. I also use it in my editing process. For example, while editing self portraits I’m usually listening to something edgy, anything from; Marylin Manson, New York Dolls, to maybe mc5 or Brides of Destruction. Or when I’m editing a musician’s photo, I’ll listen to their music. That allows everything from contrast to toning to come from their mood. In turn the mood of the image transpires from the post process. 

How did you get started in shooting musicians?

They have mostly contacted me, however,  i have a couple of them that I have contacted. I dream of shooting for Rolling Stone. Saskatoon doesn’t have any celebrities, so I make due with what I have.  The musicians foot the bill in preparation for my dream. I treat every portrait shoot as if it were a Rolling Stone feature article.

Musicians also are easily capable of visualising a concept in their head, as well as understanding a creative mind and going with a process. They’re more open to takeing risks then your avegrage portrait sitter. That being said, some of them can be stubborn arses as well. It’s just how it goes. I have had nothing but luck with the musicians I have shot thus far. But I’m also real picky with who I work with; it’s all about how they approach me initially and wish to achieve a shoot.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you felt when your images first started to get noticed by the Flickr community?

[At first] it wasn’t anything but fun and bullshiting on a website with my images. But, it wasn’t until David Lachapelle’s studio manager in New York contacted me -after seeing one of my self portraits, in dedication to David’s original version- that I truly realized the actual power of Flickr and the internet. I’ve spent two weeks with the NY staff twice now in New York as well as shot Amanda Lepore [because of Flickr] as well. Absolutely amazing times in NY and some great friends from it all now too! I still just have fun with Flickr; rant my rants and bullshit my tales. Ha! I’ll always do that!

Tell us more about meeting and photographing Amanda Lepore & did you meet David?

Amanda Lepore is the most lady-like person iI have ever met; insanely polite, so courteous and an all around a pleasure to be around. It was easy to photograph her and a pleasure to photograph as well. I felt as though everything was like shooting a friend. She’s not merely an actual celebrity and muse, but more of one of my utmost favorite photographers.

David Lachapelle I did not meet as of yet, but this September I am visiting NY again. He is having an exhibition and I will have a chance to meet him through the staff I have become friends with. I also hope to shoot him for my Portrait Life Still series, if the opportunity arrises. This trip, I also am visiting the Richard Avedon Foundation after an invite I received from an email I sent them. I wish I can visit with two greatest photographers in our history, in my opinion. Unfortunately, Richard Avedon is not with us anymore.

Your wildlife photos have a less processed look to them; why is this?

I like animals how they are. I don’t feel a need to put my own story into them with the images. Animals reveal their emotions without a front, like people usually do. You can tell an animal’s emotion in its eyes. Anytime you look at one, no walls are put up. Very often I dream of being certain animals free in the wild. In a way, they tell me more of their stories in my images-allowing me to put them into my own, instead of the other way around. In contrast, I live through my portrait sitters, but I want the animals to live through their [existing] wild life, I guess. If that makes sense to anyone else but me. Ha!

How do you think the digital revolution change the face of photography?

I don’t believe it has changed anything at all. You had cloning back in the film days, but you just have to look for it. Richard Avedon did it and look at Albert Watson’s Mick Jagger – Jaguar double exposure. I do think it has created a fad in a way. All new things do. More people are using the new tools, more people are over doing those new tools (myself included in the past) and more people are being overwhelmed and convinced by the new tolls.

 The only thing I think is a problem with the digital revolution, is that people have forgotten that it’s about the content, not the effect. People forget to look past the things done to an image and then only see what’s on the surface. It’s like a candy wrapper with all the digital filters these days, no one takes the time to peel the wrapper and taste the inside. ‘Cause a lot of the candy out there tastes like shit, if you ask me. But that’s mainly i believe cause there’s so many people doing photography today, that means there’s more shit. But just the same, more AMAZING images being made every day.

Many of your photographs are very elaborate and look to be well thought out; do you draw or sketch out your ideas before hand?

I think about them and every detail right when the idea pops in mind. When I’m getting ready for a shoot I set it up before hand, lighting and everything. I stare at it like a sculpture. Sometimes up to an hour figuring out what’s missing, wrong or right. Some I do instantly, self portraits are usually within 12 hours start to finish, at least with everyone to date. Some shoots take more time, due to getting the right props or people to be within them. I searched across North America for the original plastic flamingos for a certain shot I did last year. That one took a month to get everything for. Some ideas, like a barbie series I wanna do, have been almost a year in my brain. I just don’t have the capability of organizing the sets yet, due to space. [Currently] I shoot in a small bedroom in the rental I live in.

How long does it take from concept to finish product for you to create one of your more elaborate photographs?

They differentiate a lot. The last supper I did last year took about seven hours, start to finish. That’s from the minute I left my house with idea, bought fast food (at i think nine different locations), came home, set it up, shot, edited and finished. Though, some are quick. The more I do them the easier I find it, so quicker they get. My Four Cow Men of the Lactocolics- a modern take on the Four Horse Men- I started at seven one Saturday night and finished at eight that next Sunday morning.  I’ve found energy drinks and Absinth makes time fly by and me makes me able to focus until I’m done.

Do you ever get creativity blocks and how do you deal with them?

I get them often.  I over think everything, lay in my studio for hours driving myself crazy. Walking around cursing to myself and saying I will never make it in the world if I cant come up with new never been done ideas. [To get over them] I usually focus on shooting some wildlife or scenery stuff. I usually end up depressed and removed from the world. After a week of that, I give up, stop thinking and some random thing – a commercial or wierd aspect of life will pop something into my brain and voila! An instant million more ideas. It’s a bipolar-ness of creativity, when I’m up, or when I’m down,Ii might as well stay home and not speak a word or see a person.

What impression do you want the viewer to take away from your work?

Richard Avedon said something that I will live by for the rest of my life. ”It’s to disturb, to make you think, to make you feel” My mission, you could say, is to invoke a feeling and cause a reaction. Some will be using the shock and awe, some will use subtle clues and hints. No matter what it is, I always try to have a story within my images. Some will argue its always my story within each image, all are actually self portraits when I’m not within the frames. But I guess thats why we have psychologists, to make up answers for questions that don’t need, let alone, even have answers. In my opinion, feelings are the only truth in the world as a whole. Nothing is true but what you feel. Everything else is opinions on your perspective of things, such as life, religions, political views, etc. There is no right or wrong even. So all I can do to have a truth, in any matter, is to bring emotion out in the viewer. It is up to the viewer, and his/her interpretation on the image, to determine the emotion and feeling they will walk away with. The best images have a lasting emotion and feeling that changes over time the more you think about it. Which is I try to make my details provide a lasting impression that changes with perception.

Linkage

• ChadCoombs.com ( Website Profile )
• Unscene ( Flickr Photostream )
• TheUnsceneArt ( MySpace )

Thank you, Chad for sharing. I hope you get to meet our idol David Lachapelle on your next visit. Let him know I want to interview him. =D

Photos

How do you describe your work to people who haven’t seen it yet?

I create erotic images and documentary work. There are many different subjects that I photograph for different purposes. First of all, my daily life is something I’m always taking snaps of for the purpose of record keeping and remembrance. Its important for all of us to remember where we come from and where we have been. As a visual person, I see so much beauty and strangeness in the world that I feel compelled to document. As for the other photographs that I create, my subjects are women that are often thought of as out-of-the-ordinary fetish or erotic models, as well as more mainstream models. Basically, I love to photograph women!  Its an eternally fascinating subject that artists never tire of. The two most notable women that I have photographed recently I met on model-photographer networking websites. Lola Batling is a nude and fetish internet model who also does phone sex, is a writer, a perfumist, and a spoken word artist. The other model I work with is Akynos, and she is a beautiful black woman with an incredible ass. We have made some great work together.

Do you find it easier to get female models to open up to you more because your a woman?

Yes, however, I’ve never been a male and have thought that sometimes the chemistry between a male photographer and female model might create sparks. That’s not to say that I don’t have chemistry with my models…

Have you ever thought about shooting men; which might create those sparks of chemistry?

No, I’m not too interested in shooting men at this point. However, as I said before, there is definitely good chemistry between me and most of the females I have photographed. It is necessary for a good result, in my opinion.

What initially drew you to shooting more erotic & fetish photographs?

Ever since I became serious about photography as a teenager, I have photographed sexy women. Some people say that every portrait is a self portrait and I have always been a very sensual woman and an attention whore.  I’m expressing my fantasies and creating them for other people when I take these photos. The more obvious answer as to what inspires me is my experience as an exotic dancer, something that I have been doing on and off since I was 19 years old. I’m inspired by and in awe of the women that I have met and I want to tell their stories. I come from a very sheltered Christian family and something that I’ve realized is that just because a person chooses to do sex work, be it stripping, nude modeling, porn, or one the myriad other things in the sex industry, it doesn’t make them any less of a person or mean that they are unintelligent or amoral. I feel that I have these two seemingly opposing forces in my life- the need to be an exhibitionist and to perform for other people, and the intelligent, spiritual, and artistically driven side. So do the women that I photograph and that I have known in the industry.  I’m not sure if this comes through in my work yet, but its an idea that is hugely inspirational for me. 

How much processing goes into your photographs after they are taken?

Not much really. I retouch the model’s skin. I shoot most everything digital now, which is a bit unfortunate because I love large format. 

What’s your favorite part of a shooting portraits?

I don’t really think of my work as portraits, but I suppose my favorite part of shooting is channeling the intense anxiety and uncertainty that I always experience before shooting into the act of creating.

Where do you draw the line between erotic art work and porn?

I think everyone has a different definition. I’ve posed nude and solo for a photographer, and nude with another woman. Some people consider that porn and got angry with me for “doing porn” and it made me wonder. At what point does “erotica” turn into porn? Most people would say that the point is when one is photographed in the act of having sex with another person. If people are photographed tastefully in the act, to me that is not porn. But who really cares about labels? I think its up to the individual and what they are comfortable doing with their image and body.

Coming from the sheltered Christian family; how did they react to your photographs?

They know of my work but have never seen it. Its better that way! My family is awesome, though. They are very Southern and live in Northern Florida and Southern Alabama, many of them on a big cattle farm. I also have a long-term documentary project about them. Modern day farm life is fascinating!

Where would you like your artwork to end up in magazines, personal walls, art galleries or all of the above and why?

My goal within the coming year is to shoot for magazines. My dream spread would be in a magazine called “Smooth,” a men’s magazine which features women with large rear ends. I love the element of generic trashiness in men’s magazines and porn, and I strive for that trashiness in my work.  Currently I’m shooting models to rebuild my portfolio so that I can start shopping it around to these magazines. I also want to shoot more models for their websites… so if there are any interested models in the NY area, email me!

Another thing I’m working on are a series of mini books, photo zines if you will, of my work. Each book or issue will showcase a different genre that I photograph. I honestly don’t know why I want to make these, I’m just compelled to do so.

What is one impression you hope the viewer takes away from your work?

I want to excite and intrigue viewers. I want to give them a glimpse of the underbelly of society and show them parts of peoples private lives that they many normally never have seen…

Linkage

• WendyLeeWilliamson.com ( Portfolio & Contact )
• Wendenglow ( Flickr Photostream )

Thank you Wendy for sharing with us; I hope reach your dream of being featured in Smooth Magazine.

Photos

Exclusive Portrait of Wojtek Kutyla

This portrait of Kutyla was shot by his friend Grzegorz Kozakiewicz

People are your main focus of your photography why do you choose to shoot them?

I love photographing people mostly for the fact, that each one of us is different. Look on the landscape photography, architecture or macro photography – all has been photographed already, all has been done. Different variations of the same subject are only an effect of different angle and settings, but the approach is the same. With people it’s not like that; there is something unique in every person. It can be beautiful or ugly, but for sure it is always interesting. Photographer must trigger it, dig it out.

Another reason for this is that I love to talk (some people say that I can’t actually shut up and they’re right) – and tell me, how could I talk to the flowers in my garden or to the car passing me quickly on a motor rally?

People were always in the centre of my attention, since I started my photographic journey; I am the crappiest landscape photographer ever, for example. I am even worse with architecture (and most of all it’s not turning me on, completely. No excitement whatsoever). Even when I am going for holidays and pretending to just walk around with my camera and shooting monuments, somehow I am finding humans on my pictures. I just can’t resist. After coming back I have tons of photos of random people – but usually no single photo of myself… 

You’ve shot some nude photography; who brings up the subject of doing a nude set you or the model?

My photography sessions are always planned; therefore I am choosing my models with having nudity in mind, if I am actually looking for this type of shot. It happens rarely that from the clothed set we’re moving to the undressed one, but we’re always discussing that with model before we start – the possibility of it happening, I mean.

I am pretty spontaneous and I never plan everything totally precisely, so if we’re finding ourselves in the position to shoot good nude stuff, we’re doing it if model is ok with it. 

I have a few favourite models, passionate professionals who are not afraid of challenges coming from my (sometimes pretty crazy) ideas, so I scared of proposing anything which could look good on the photos later. But it’s not happening often, that I am photographing classic portrait and then saying “Ok babe, now please take off your clothes, we’re going nuts”. Naah. When I have a vision about new piece of work, it may contain nudity or not – but I know that pretty much from the beginning. 

How do you deal with camera shy models that want to relax but can’t?

Well, ideas which are important to me are never shot with the people I haven’t met before. It’s just safer to work with someone who can understand you and who’s communicating with you “wirelessly”.

But naturally, there’s a first time for everyone; and there are few things I do to help with relaxing… There’s always some music playing when I am shooting, and I am trying to keep it up to the model’s preferences (unless it’s a real radio shit, then we’re changing it for the jazz, lol). As I’ve said before, I talk a lot, but never about things which could be sexist or embarrassing for the model. That would be just unprofessional… A cup of tea and nice chat about some general subject before the shoot helps too. My models always have privacy; even if I know them for long, I am never watching them when they’re changing clothes or undressing; this is their time and it needs to be respected (unless they don’t mind me being around but this is always coming from them, not from me).

If someone’s really struggling with chilling out and calming down, I am just shooting for as long as it’s required to get respectable results. Eventually, models are getting tired of being grumpy or stressed and they’re switching on the way I want. Luckily, it’s not very common to find someone who has a broomstick up the ass and who can’t even blink without checking if there is camera around first, so I don’t have much problems with that… That’s great.

You shoot what looks to be a lot of bands; what are some of the problems with shooting a live event and how do you correct them?

Most of my work with the bands was carried under my photography assignments for various magazines (both Internet and printed). I don’t do that so often nowadays, choosing only the bands and shows I want to photograph – and that’s only a few times a year.

To me, the biggest problem while photographing a live show is a limited mobility and stupid timescale given by the promoter or the band. Mobility, as I can never be in the place I want – I guess I am just looking in too many directions and finding too many cool spots, but I can’t multiply myself, unfortunately. And stupid timescale, as on ninety percent of the shows I have seen in my life photographers are able to work only through the first few songs. I am finding that extremely, painfully annoying and limiting. When the band’s playing, musicians are not even warmed up properly when they’re starting… And the best photos I have in my music collection were almost exclusively taken much later during the gig, after the show has started. I think that respectful, good photographer will never harm an artistic performance and musicians should be looking forward to getting photographed; it’s all nothing but a free promotion to them. 

Of course, there’s a problem with camera equipment as well; my vision is bad (years of computer-related work have done their job) so I need to rely on camera’s auto-focus systems. Even with the current technology, these systems are sometimes too slow and not very precise. The solution – shooting at higher ISO settings – has proven to be good, but there are times, when I am finding noise to be a big issue. Oh, I can’t wait for Nikon D700 with it’s ISO 6400 and above… D3 is too expensive for me, so I’ll get the poor man’s full frame instead. Yeah!

You say your looking forward to the new Nikon D700; how does the equipment effect what you create?

The equipment is just the tool; it helps me in creating things I want to create. I am not fussed about any particular camera brand, if that’s what you are asking. If I am thinking about changing my camera, it’s not for the reason of the new model being just cool and trendy, but for the fact that I look forward to the captures of better quality. I believe that a good photo can be taken with anything, and I am only looking for a new camera or lens only if I’ll find that for some reason the old one cannot give me what I need for the particular assignment. Being tired with high ISO problems (I just looove nice, grainy, but smooth black and white), I am looking forward to Nikon D700 mentioned before. But I can live without it.

Still, my most favourite piece of camera equipment ever is the cheap-as-chips Minolta 35-70 f:4 lens. Perfect picture quality for less money that you need to pay for a bottle of good wine. Great! I’d wish modern lenses were so cheap, ha ha.

Is there a photograph you have yet to create do to lack of equipment or model or setting?

No, not really. I mean, I am sure there’s something cool I have not created yet, but it’s because of not having the right idea rather than of equipment problems. I’d say that the only things I am lacking are good locations. Here in Sheffield, where I live there’s not many interesting places to shoot in, but there are some nice people who are helping me with finding nice spots. When I came around, I haven’t been in contact with a great models either, but now that’s not a problem any more. Equipment-wise, I am all set. Yeah, I could have a ringflash or beauty dish, I could also have more lenses and backgrounds but, frankly, I don’t need them. Good idea plus skilled and interesting model, plus good music is all I need. And a coffee (I think I am a coffee addict).

Who are some of photographers that inspire you to create better photographs?

I think that my favourite photographer is Ellen von Unwerth. She’s incredible; technically speaking, she’s not so great, but her work is totally amazing, so full of emotions, it’s the sexiest imagery ever. Helmut Newton’s work is also great and I am a big fan of his photos. He was just ace, a visionary. There is also a bunch of new, relatively young photographers from Eastern Europe who I totally admire, to mention Janusz Miller, Aneta Kowalczyk or Jacek Pomykalski. But the person who really inspires me, and who opened my head for serious photography is my mentor, and a good friend – Waclaw Wantuch. He is someone, who has made me aware that I am fully capable of doing all of this and who said the most important thing I’ve heard: “Follow your heart – and always do it your way”. No matter how cheesy it sounds, it’s true. That’s what I am trying to do…

What impression do you hope to leave on the world with your photographs?

That’s a difficult question. I don’t think I am running after leaving any particular impression here… I just want to do what I love and I hope that people will like it. But if they won’t, I’ll be doing it anyway. I am doing it for myself, to feel good with the fact that I’ve created something, and the rest just follows, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.

I strongly believe that photo is only good if it’s remembered. It’s good when you will see it on Monday and then, after seeing it on a Monday year later you’ll say: “Yeah, I remember this stuff”. I hope that this is something I can achieve, but I cannot be bothered to keep photographing just for that. I will keep doing what I am doing as it’s one of the things I love.

Linkage

• Radiant Vision ( Wojtek’s Portfolio )
• Wojtek on Flickr

Thank you, Wojtek for allowing us into your world of imagery and thoughts.

So I am pleased to bring you his answers to my questions; photographer Andrew Moore enjoy.

Photos

You mentioned to me that you’ve gone on some photo walks with Thomas Hawk. Explain a little bit about these walks and what it was like for you to shoot with him?

Yes, I try to make it to all the photowalks Thomas puts together, although I also try to go to other photowalks that some Zooomr members put together. I find it’s best to involve yourself with all groups of photographers, and all photographic websites. I believe the first photowalk I went on with Thomas was Photowalking 7 in Chinatown, San Francisco. Since I had not previously shot with a large group of photographers, I was very intrigued with the slow pace Thomas had shooting the streets of chinatown, the group probably moved one block per 30 minutes, something I really wasn’t used to. This helped me get more shots out of less space, increasing the amount of images I would shoot in a day. Not only did this broaden my image range but also helped me get to know the technical aspects of photography by talking to other frequent members, Jeremy Brooks, Karen Strolia and of course, Thomas Hawk.  You can view the photowalking vides Scoble and Eddy have put together, over here. 

Your a Nikon guy. Tell us why you decided on Nikon to be your camera of choice?

I am indeed a Nikon guy. It’s not necisarily that I chose Nikon to be the camera of my choice but I was younger and had little to no knowledge of photography, I searched Flickr images for NikonD70s photos, liked what I saw and bought the camera. It was that simple, but now that I look back at it, I almost regret it, I didn’t know there were better options out there like the improved D80. I don’t have any preference over Canon or Nikon. Now that I know a bit more about photography than I did when I bought the camera, I know that both Nikon and Canon make amazing products that are well worth buying, and I have no idea why I chose the NikonD70s.

If money wasn’t an issue and you can have any camera system in the world which would it be and why?

If money wasn’t an issue for me I’d have 2 options, although I’d love to spend more money, I would much rather go with a more compact and practical camera. I’d go for the Nikon D300 or the Canon 5D, they are both relatively similar but I find Canon’s lens selection to be outstanding. The Lseries lenses canon puts out are expensive but incredible. Both the 5d and the D300 have a great ISO range and images shot at ISO 1600 are mainly usable but tend to be more usable on the D300. So, Although I’d love to have a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III I also wouldn’t be willing to spend $8,000 on the camera, even if money wasn’t an issue. It just isn’t a pratical camera for the shooting I do. If you are a studio photographer or shooting something you must set up for, then it’s worth buying.

Out of all of your photographs which is the one you are most proud of and why?

To tell you the truth, I am not proud of any ONE particular image. I have a similar belief to Thomas Hawk in that I find it’s better to publish and process as many photos as you can. Although I can’t nearly publish 20 good photos a day, I try to publish 10 a day, 5 in the morning and 5 toward the evening. I have a setup so that the first 3 photos people see when viewing my Flickr and Zooomr are always the better images and the other 2 are normally just OK, nothing special. Although I only publish an average of 10 photos a day, I keep thousands of images for myself, normally the worst of the batch, being the Class C images, these never get published but I keep them as my own collection. I might go back to these class C images one day and use more modern photoshop skills and eventually publish them. 

I’ve noticed you have many photos that have a really shallow depth of field. Tell us what you enjoy taking this types of photos?

I notice I do have a lot of shots with a very shallow depth of field, this is probably due to the simplicity of most of my images. I don’t like to have too many objects that distract from the main point of the photo, and if there are too many objects I normally use some photoshop tools to blur most everything except for what I want the public to see. When I think of a photo, it is normally coming straight from what I’m seeing through my eyees, and through my eyes I don’t see busy streets , I see isolated objects and details of cities. 

Out of Portraits, Landscapes, & Still Life. Which is your favorite to shoot and why?

Out of Portraits, Landscapes and Still Life, I wouldn’t say I really have a favorite. I try to mix up my photography. When I go out to shoot in the streets I look for a bit of everything, capturing what my eyes see. I try to capture candid portraits of people in the street, no set up portraits with fake smiles, cityscapes of busy streets and most often than not, isolated objects that may tell a story. Although I should do more landscape nature photography, I don’t find it that interesting. I’m more of a city dweller. 

Do your friends and classmates ask you take their photographs for their myspace & facebook pages?

Yeah, I normally bring my camera everywhere I go with my freinds, and with Facebook’s unique tagging tool, I can tag them in any photo I take while I’m out on a trip with them. I also get a lot of people at school that ask me to take their senior portrait which should make some good money going into Senior year this coming school year. I don’t mind at all, if they like my work enough to ask for me to take their portrait, and I benefit with a name and money, that’s fine with me.

If you can hope to leave one impression with your photographs what would that be?

If there is an impression I want to leave behind in my photographs it is that any person’s eye captures a days worth of images, but to find those images one must be more observant and curious than your average person. To find the best shots, you must observe all that is around you, look at things like you have never looked at them before. I find it so sad and pathetic that people do not seem to care about the beautiful planet we live on today, they take for granted where they are and what goes on around them. They are the people who walk to work on an exact schedule and have things planned on a pilot palm for the next year, making time only for short breaks at a coffee shop. Completely and utterly ignoring where they are, the environment they are in, plugging their ears with headphones and ignoring reality. Observe everything, it makes for better images. Photograph the world the way your eyes see it. And pay close attention to what your eyes see.

Linkage:

• Andrew Moore Prints  ( on RedBubble )
• Andrew Moore’s Photostream ( on Flickr )
• Andrew Moore’s Photos ( on Zooomr )

I truly see a bright future for this young photographer and I can’t wait to tag along on a “photowalk” when I move to SF later this year.