May
27
2013Thomas Duffy Photography
https://www.facebook.com/Duibhshith
What kind of equipment (camera body, lens, filters, flash, tripod, cleaning equipment other) do you use?
Nikon D5100
AF-S Nikkor 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6G, AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G
HOYA NDX400 Filter, Cokin ND Graduated Filter Kit P Series, with Filter Holder & Graduated ND Filters
Nikon Speedlight SB-600
What do you like and dislike about your equipment, specially your camera, and how would you improve it?
I like the image quality and that it’s very light weight. However, I would like to have a camera that has less features. I mostly use just the manual settings and I don’t need all the effects and other stuff that get in the way.
What is your favorite lens, and why?
I would say the 18-135mm is my favorite lens. It is light and easy to use and it’s pretty much the only lens I really use at this time.
When you travel, what is in your essential photographic kit bag?
Pretty much everything I use, fits in my Lowepro flipside 300 bag.
What kind of software/tools do you use for post-processing, if any?
I use Lightroom 4 and Pixelmator.
How long have you been taking photographs? How do you find inspiration? How do you take your pictures?
I started taking Photographs around 2006, when a friend lent me his Cannon D10. He had been doing photography as a side job, mostly senior portraits, weddings, and sport/action photos. Myself being more of an outdoors and artistic personality, started just taking still photos of landscapes, flowers, and random objects. I instantly was hooked and have been taking photo’s ever since. I find Inspiration by just going out to the garden, or by getting up at dawn and going for a hike to catch early sunrises, etc. I have done several of my own creative display set ups of seasonal objects, solo flower arrangements, and/or random settings. I like to create artistic photographic opportunities whenever I can.
Which style of photography do you like the most, and why?
Macro and landscape. For instance, I really like to take a close up of a flower shot and turn it into a unique work of art.
What goal are you working towards within your photography and when will you know you have reached it?
At this time my only goal is to share the beauty of creation that is all around me as creatively as I can. I have done a few weddings, but I don’t like having the stress of picture perfect settings, peoples, etc…so I prefer to work with nature and let beauty come alive. I try to learn techniques from studying other photographers that have similar interests to myself. I will research when I need to, but mostly just explore on my own.
Looking at your own work, which piece is your favorite? Why? Please provide a link to the picture.
I would have to say that my favorite is Fuchsia III, I Like the depth and textures and lighting on this piece. I also like that it is original and artistically unique in it’s own beauty.
http://500px.com/photo/14289829
Does your work fit into any one or more distinct genres (nature, landscape, long-exposure, black-and-white, infra-red, urban, artistic, macro, vintage, vernacular, social, street)? If other, please specify.
My work fits into several genres; landscape, long-exposure, black and white, and macro, being the main ones.
Are there any photography websites that you visit regularly?
www.500px.com, http://www.viewbug.com, http://www.pixoto.com,
What is the one most important lesson that you have learned since you started taking photographs?
As a photographer, don’t try to rush, take your time, try different settings, and try different perspectives.
In general, don’t leave your keys in the ignition when doing star trails and are 2-1/2 hours away from home…you may end up locked out!
May
03
2013Alex Greenshpun Photography
www.facebook.com/AlexGreenshpunPhotography
What kind of equipment (camera body, lens, filters, flash, tripod, cleaning equipment other) do you use?
The first images I created were taken with a borrowed Canon 1000D and an 18-55mm kit lens. Now I use a Canon 60D, mostly with SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4; Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro; and Canon 17-55mm f/2.8.
What do you like and dislike about your equipment, specially your camera, and how would you improve it?
Can’t complain! I love my Canon 60D and the lenses are great. Sometime in the future I would like to get a tripod and upgrade to a full frame body with better ISO sensitivity, but that’s a luxury. Better equipment doesn’t necessarily mean better photos. It’s you and your vision that create the photos, not the gear.
What is your favourite lens, and why?
That would certainly be the 50mm SMC Takumar. It’s a vintage manual lens with a great build and wonderful sharpness. It is very light, and I often carry the camera with just this lens, since it’s enough for most of my photographic needs. Being a prime lens with manual focus it forces me to rely more on myself and participate more in the shot– choose where I stand more carefully, plan and think faster, etc.
When you travel, what is in your essential photographic kit bag?
It depends on the destination and on my mood, but in general the three lenses and the camera body mentioned above, in addition to some spare batteries and memory cards.
What kind of software/tools do you use for post-processing, if any?
The editing programs of choice are Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS5. I also use a small Wacom Intuos 5 tablet.
How long have you been taking photographs? How do you find inspiration? How do you take your pictures?
I started out in 2012, about a year ago. Ever since early childhood, one of my favourite things to do was just observe – myself, nature, people and so on – I’ve always found it all fascinating. Of course, art, music and poetry have always been a part of my life, and during the recent years I have developed an interest in photography – never actually thinking of trying it myself – just enjoyed looking at beautiful works. Then came the iPhone with its camera, and I realized this was a wonderful way to capture the beauty around me, finally switching to a DSLR. Inspiration has always been and always is – everywhere, it’s not something one has to search for, it usually comes down to whether or not one is open to it.
As to the How: I try to ‘listen’ to the world around me, once I see something that speaks to me and feel a connection to it, I take a picture. Sometimes spending an hour or more with a small flower or a dry leaf, until I feel that what was captured in-camera reflects the ‘story’ of the subject; at other times it happens very fast and a few moments are enough.
Which style of photography do you like the most, and why?
I enjoy looking at a wide range of works: from nature, travel and landscape to fashion, street and conceptual photography. I never really look at the style definitions, these are just technicalities. To me, photography is poetry; it’s a language that allows us to express silence.
What goal are you working towards within your photography and when will you know you have reached it?
It might sound like a cliché, but the journey is the destination. It truly is. I haven’t started this path with a goal in mind. It’s a meditation; it’s my connection with the essence of everything around me and within me. I always seek that ‘spark of light’ in my subjects, be it a flower petal, a cat or a human being; that connection is what in my opinion, creates a good work of art, and it applies to any type of art too – photography, poetry, music – it doesn’t matter. When it’s there – it’s there, on -the-spot, and I try to press the shutter only when it is. I guess you can call it a goal.
Looking at your own work, which piece is your favourite? Why? Please provide a link to the picture.
Really cannot say. I have a couple of favourites, and of course that selection constantly changes; it’s hard to choose only one.
Does your work fit into any one or more distinct genres (nature, landscape, long-exposure, black-and-white, infra-red, urban, artistic, macro, vintage, vernacular, social, street)? If other, please specify.
Most of my works can fit the following genres: nature, macro, portraiture, street, and documentary.
Are there any photography websites that you visit regularly?
DeviantArt.com and 500px.com. Particularly on DA, there are so many talented artists – not just photographers – it’s a very inspiring place.
What is the one most important lesson that you have learned since you started taking photographs?
Keep your heart open and keep going.
And finally, what other interesting photographers would you like to see in this blog?
Magdalena Wasiczek – http://www.magdawasiczek.pl
Nelleke – http://nelleke.deviantart.com/
Mandy Disher – http://www.mandydisherphotography.com
Apr
29
2013Victor Liu Photography
http://www.victorliuphotography.com
http://www.flickr.com/liuyu098
http://500px.com/Victor_Liu_Photography
What kind of equipment (camera body, lens, filters, flash, tripod, cleaning equipment other) do you use?
I use a Nikon D700 body and the lenses I use are Nikon 14-24/2.8, Nikon 24-70/2.8, Nikon 70-200/2.8, Nikon 105/2.8 and Nikon 400/2.8. My tripod is Gitzo GT1542T with a Markins Q-Ball Q3 head.
What do you like and dislike about your equipment, specially your camera, and how would you improve it?
As a nature photographer, I love my Nikon D700 body for its low light performance, which allows me to easily use ISO 2000 for wildlife shots without sacrificing any image quality and its full frame sensor captures every detail of the great beauty of nature. The Gitzo traveller tripod is amazing for its light weight as well as sturdiness, especially good for pack-packing trips. The Nikon lenses are all of top quality, and the only complain I can think of is the heavy weight of my 400mm lens, but the images it produces are no doubt the best. In the future, I will purchase a new camera body as a backup, and it is most likely the Nikon D800.
What is your favourite lens, and why?
I use my Nikon 14-24 lens a lot, not only because I love landscape photography, but also due to its top performance and my own shooting habits. I am always looking for interesting foregrounds to show in my pictures, and even when I do wildlife photography, I tend to blend my subjects into their environment, which both require a wide angle lens to do the job.
When you travel, what is in your essential photographic kit bag?
When I travel, I prefer a light weight kit for photography. I rarely carry my Nikon 400mm lens, but I do bring the 70-200 lens for long distance shots. The 14-24 lens and the 105mm macro lens are the must. To me, the macro world of our planet is as important as large-scale landscape. A good cleaning kit also plays a key role, since I need to keep dust and dirt away from my lenses.
What kind of software/tools do you use for post-processing, if any?
Post-processing is an important part of my photography. I mostly use Photoshop CS5/CS6 to adjust curves, blend layers, and apply different filter effects. I sometimes use Lightroom 4 to tweak the white balance of my images if needed.
How long have you been taking photographs? How do you find inspiration? How do you take your pictures?
I have been taking photographs for 3 years. I love nature, and inspired by photographers around the world, especially the ones from National Geographic. I also gain inspirations from other forms of art, including paintings, music, architecture and literature. I shoot pictures to not only focus on the beauty of nature, but also tell a story behind each scene. My works sometimes include human elements to describe the connection between mankind and our planet. My flora and fauna works are based on the concept of “love”, “death” and “life”.
Which style of photography do you like the most, and why?
I like all kinds of photography styles, but my special love for nature makes me appreciate macro, landscape and wildlife photography the most.
What goal are you working towards within your photography and when will you know you have reached it?
The goal of my photography is to show the beauty of nature and let people appreciate and protect our planet. There is endless beauty of nature waiting for me to find, so I don’t think I will ever reach my goal and stop doing it.
Looking at your own work, which piece is your favourite? Why? Please provide a link to the picture.
My favourite work is “Artist of the light” at http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-jWgw8mp/0/M/i-jWgw8mp-M.jpg. The reason I love this piece of artwork is because it shows a great amount of connection between mankind and our environment, and also as a nature photographer myself, I could feel a personal connection with the artist in the image.
Does your work fit into any one or more distinct genres (nature, landscape, long-exposure, black-and-white, infra-red, urban, artistic, macro, vintage, vernacular, social, street)? If other, please specify.
I would describe my works as nature photography in general, but the way I express the beauty of nature falls into different genres such as landscape, wildlife, macro, long-exposure, artistic etc.
Are there any photography websites that you visit regularly?
Yes, I visit quite a few websites regularly to find inspirations, such as National Geographic, 500px, flickr and 1x.
What is the one most important lesson that you have learned since you started taking photographs?
The most important lesson I learned so far is never ignore or underrate a certain scene. I have been shooting in the Canadian Rockies since the very beginning of my photography career. There are always subjects, moments or lighting conditions not suitable for photography according to certain rules, such as star trails on a full moon night, shooting landscape on a overcast day, or photography under a strong noon light. I have been successfully accomplishing my ideal results under all kinds of “wrong” conditions. My experiences tell me nature is never lack of beauty, and we just need the eye to find it.
And finally, what other interesting photographers would you like to see in this blog?
I have been inspired by many great photographers around the world, and I especially love to see the works from Paul Nicklen, Mark Bridger, and Shikhei Goh.
Apr
21
2013Irene Zeleskou Photography
http://ftourini.deviantart.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Zeleskou
What kind of equipment (camera body, lens, filters, flash, tripod, cleaning equipment other) do you use?
I am using a Canon EOS 7D, a benro A1980F tripod, a custom made softbox, a 16 GB sandisc card and two lenses EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and EF-S 15-85mm.
What do you like and dislike about your equipment, specially your camera, and how would you improve it?
What I really like about my camera is that it has the ability to focus in many points at the same time, and that it has coped very well so far with many difficult conditions like weather, or packing and moving. It practically stays in my bag or changes bags most of the times ready to shoot some newly found texture or a strange wild flower or insect. Also it’s battery lasts long enough for my needs and I rarely needed to recharge it during a photo shoot or have a second one to replace it. Sometimes it’s weight can be very tiring for my arms since I carry it everywhere most of the time. But I guess it’s the price I have to pay if I want quality photos! Sometimes when I take HD video it overheats and closes after half hour and needs to be left for a while to cool down.
What is your favourite lens, and why?
My favourite lens is the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM since I love close ups and macro photography so this gives me the ability to draw my viewer’s eyes on the important little details and blur all the rest that is unwanted and distracting. This lens helps to magnify all those things that someone in real life would pay little to no attention to and would probably pass unnoticed and emphasize them creating a magical bokeh environment to compliment the subject.
When you travel, what is in your essential kit bag?
Since I don’t have too many stuff in my possession I usually take all of the above with me!
What kind of software/tools do you use for post-processing, if any?
I use Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 4 Medium tablet.
How long have you been taking photographs? How do you find inspiration?
I have been taking pictures and experimenting with shutter speed, aperture and light settings since I was a kid but most of my creativity burst in 2006 when I got my first digital camera a SONY DSC-W50. It helped me to experiment a lot with macro photography and composition and the first compliments about my professional looking work started coming to my ears. But most impressions about my professional looking work where usually being worn off when they heard it was a small compact camera like this that produced these results. I still love that camera and keep it by my side since it has taught me so much and although it was only 6MP back then it always surpassed all its later models in sharpness and clarity on macro subjects! So in 2010 I bought my Canon EOS 7D and have learned a lot of technical stuff from online tutorials and from fellow photographers. My inspiration comes from the world of glamour from beauty magazines, fantasy movies but also from nature. I don’t like very artificial subjects I like to mix things up and make my own interpretation of stories!
Which style of photography do you like the most, and why?
I am an open minded person, there are many kinds of photography that I like but the ones that have mostly appealed to me is portrait, macro glamour, macro nature and surreal photography.
What goal are you working towards within your photography and when will you know you have reached it?
I think I will never say that fully reach my goals but that is totally acceptable because I always want to look up to something and try to get better in skills so that I turn all this energy into motivating creativity. Sometimes I focus on developing the background of my subject while other times I work on my technical skills. Since I am self taught and I do this along with photo retouching and photo manipulation I have to try to maintain a good level in all of them and that is a constant struggle. But it leaves me with a good feeling every time I compare my new works to my older ones and I see a significant difference!
Looking at your own work, which piece is your favourite? Why?
My favourite piece is Cherry bite http://ftourini.deviantart.com/art/cherry-bite-135750983?q=boost%3Apopular%20gallery%3Aftourini&qo=24 because of its technical difficulty and the innovations that I had to do in order to take this underwater shot! It think it turned out pretty well; don’t you find?
Are there any photography websites that you visit regularly?
Being a designer means I can find inspiration not only in photography websites. What is most important for me is the technical aspect as well as the application of the graphic elements over an image. I usually find great examples in www.abduzeedo.com www.deviantart.com, www.behance.net www.flickr.com and several facebook photography pages.
What is the one most important lesson that you have learned since you started taking photographs?
If you are looking for and artistic result avoid using direct flash at all costs and take lots of pictures of the same object from different angles and always experiment with the composition. It’s free of cost since we live in the era of digital photography and will help you understand which pictures will work and which not!
And finally, what other interesting photographers would you like to see in this blog?
Nick Sachos, http://nicksachos.deviantart.com/, Kimberley Camilleri, http://kimberleycamilleri.deviantart.com/ and Valentina Kallias, http://valentinakallias.deviantart.com/.