Spotlight 7 Week 14: calanan!

Please welcome Spotlight 7 Week 14 contributor Michael Calanan, aka calanan. After living in Buffalo, NY, calanan moved to Salt Lake City last summer and has explored both locales with great depth. Calanan is not only a great photographer, but is also a bit of a social butterfly both on Flickr and in the real world. I've been lucky enough to meet calanan on several occasions as he showed me some Salt Lake City's more interesting locales, making sure to take a few great portraits each time. As an organizer of Flickr meet-ups in both of his recent home cities, Mike has helped bring those Flickr communities many fun times.

One of calanan's most interesting projects is his drive-by shooting series. Here's an excerpt from this week's interview:

3) Tell us briefly about your drive by theater set www.flickr.com/photos/calanan/sets/72057594048931046/
Years ago I came across the photography of David Bradford in the form of his book, "Drive by Shootings: Photographs by a New York Taxi Driver" and I was captivated. David was initially an illustrator who began driving a cab as a way to spend more time on the streets of NYC looking for visual inspiration. He took to using a camera to capture scenes simply as a reference for his drawings but as he progressed he realized the photos themselves were artistic creations. I was especially moved by his photos of people:

drivebyshootings.com/gallery/PEOPLE/

...and began my own project, first by emulating his style, later by perfecting my own technique and then by developing my own style. I eventually came to the realisation that my photos were beginning to resemble the look of cinematic stills and from that point forward I've sought to capture people both interacting with and against the backdrop of the city.

Make sure you visit Spotlight Seven to see all of this week's selections, and check out all of the nearly 100 photos he's already added to the 6 Million People group. Also check out calanan's blog and portfolio website. Here are a couple more photos from this week's exhibit... that's me on the bottom/right.