Monday, September 29, 2008

Spotlight 7 Week 29 features Lou O' Bedlam

Lou O'Bedlam is featured this week in Spotlight 7

In the first week of our Visiting Curator series, madeinsheffield has selected Lou O' Bedlam to be the featured artist for week 29 of Spotlight Seven. Lou picked up his first camera, a Polaroid, after reading the Stephen King story Sun Dog. Lou, an EMT living in the Los Angeles, is a true Polaroid devotee. So much so that if given $10,000, Lou would spend the whole sum on Polaroid film. Here's just one of the question & answer exchanges.

3) Your subjects seem very relaxed with you. What's your method of working - how do you put them at ease? Do you give them much direction?
My "method", as it is, pretty much is hinged on conversation. I started doing more Photo Shoot type work mainly because I wanted to hang out with particular people I found interesting, and wanted to know more about. As a result, most of a standard shoot revolves around simply talking. Asking questions, sharing stories, discovering people. I think a lot of the "ease" seen in my photos is mostly because the actual photography is, hopefully, well-integrated with the hanging out and talking.

I tend to give very little direction, sometimes as little as "freeze right there, don't move." I'm trying to capture things I see in a particular expression, or pose, more than trying to place a model in a situation I've crafted.


Learn a lot more about Lou and his creative process in this week's Spotlight Seven interview. And check out all 10 of the amazing portraits selected for his exhibit. And be sure to check Lou O' Bedlam's website if you have a chance.

Morgan Makes it Look Easy Aja and the Notion of the Secret Nerd

Sunday, September 28, 2008

"Self Portrait" Noah


"Self Portrait" Noah, originally uploaded by Qathi.

Qathi just added dozens of these self-portraits. All taken by different people. Cool.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Rodolphe Simeon in Spotlight Seven (Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff...)

Inferno

This week in Spotlight Seven, guest curator kelco selected the amazing Rodolphe Simeon, aka Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff..., for the Spotlight Seven exhibit. I'm going to crib from his testimonials, because my words cannot do Rodolphe justice.

JenniPenni says:
"Words fail to express how brilliant this guy is. I guess the only way to realize it yourself is to take a look at his photostream...it is one of the best I've ever seen! Bizarre, unconventional, unique and filled with imagination from the first picture to the very last. When I was just a Flickr virgin a few years ago I remember having seen his photostream back then...and now, three four years later I came to the conclusion that his work is something you simply won't forget.
Perhaps one of my favorite photographers here!"


Having photographed people in 12 different countries, Rodolphe has taken his move from Paris to Vancouver in stride. Equally at home shooting in the street or the studio, Rodolphe shows a dedication to his work that most of us can't even aspire to. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but I think this excerpt from the interview will convince every last one of you.

6) What camera/lenses/computer/software/workflow do you prefer and how much time do you spend processing your images?

I'm a Canon/Mac guy, like perhaps 80% of people in the business. Nothing spectacular. I have a Canon because all the people I know use Canon and it's more easy to exchange lenses or cameras. I have a 5D - it's an amazing camera. I can count on it all the time. My lenses are a 50mm f1.4 and a 17-40mm f4L. I have a Mac computer because Macs are 200% reliable. I use Lightroom to transform RAW files to PSD. I don't do any processing with Lightroom (not even the White balance). I do the entire post-processing in Photoshop.

I usually edit 300 pictures down to only like one photo. I spend, on average, 40 hours in post-processing on the one photo I really like. I'm pretty slow. Especially because I take a lot of time to think about what I'm doing. Technique is not really a problem. Sometimes I could probably do a better technical job, but meaning is more important. Meaning is everything, so I spend more time on research - looking through painting books, reading things, thinking, etc...


Well, that should sell you on the rest of the interview. Every week when I put this together I am truly taken aback by the depth of the interviews in Spotlight 7 and the quality of the photos. Please visit Spotlight 7, and join the group so you never miss a show. Oh, you can see more of Rodolphe Simeon's photos at his website. Enjoy these masterpieces on Flickr & beyond. And a big thanks to kelcon & Rodolphe for this week's exhibit.

Getting old : everybody is invited The genius by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

Monday, September 15, 2008

Vignes Balasingam, aka devilmangod, featured in week 27 of Spotlight Seven

6. jebat

For the 27th installment of Spotlight Seven, we feature Vignes Balasingam, known on Flickr as devilmangod. This week's interview, artist selection and photo selection was made by week 2 artist 'stpiduko'.

Vignes was born in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, moved to the country as a child where he enjoyed the adventure of the forest and never paid much heed to warnings of tigers in the area, and now has come full circle and lives in heart of Kuala Lampur. Vignes has been fascinated by photography since he was a child, wanting to move past snapshots at the wise age of four. Here's a brief excerpt from his interview.

1: Location is everything, so interested to know where you were born, spent your childhood and where you live now?

I was born in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia; the house my grandparents raised their thirteen children and eight nephews and nieces. It was the house my father would woo the woman that would become his wife and my mother. When I was eight, we moved far out of the city to a new housing estate. It was located between a rubber plantation and a primary rainforest. I remember wild boars would roam the streets at night rummaging through the dustbins for food. We didnt have water supply then, so we walked about 2 kms for fresh water from the river. My brother and I spent most of our time in the river and forest to my mother's grief. Some evenings, the jungle police would drive slowly speaking over their PA system warning residents that a tigers had been spotted. That never really meant anything to me and my brother. The sense of adventure was too strong to resist. Now I live in an apartment on the 6th floor in the heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur. Its not as exciting as the dwelling of my youth but it does make moving around easy.


Be sure to check out the whole interview and all 10 portraits, or feel free to view more of his photos in his photostream or at his personal website.

hard times 7. lynn

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Pureness..


Pureness.., originally uploaded by micartttt.

mircattt just added many great photos to the group. This is my fave.

Miles Standish: Spotlight 7 Week 16

Archive of week 16 interview.

Please welcome our Week 16 featured Artist, Emaitchess.

1) How did you first get into photography and what was your first real camera?

I was born in Australia in 1963. When I was a young child my family left for the UK. We travelled often, and my parents took a lot of slides with a Voigtlander which they were very proud of. As a young child I was fascinated by this camera - I loved the dials around the lens, the cool smooth sheen of the metal case, and especially the strange yellow ghost in the rangefinder. I even loved the smell of the leather case! I often pestered them to let me take pictures with it. We didn't own a projector, but would look at the slides together through an illuminated handheld slide viewer. I became very conscious of how emotionally powerful photographic images can be; many of those early family images have become almost talismanic ... images of memories, or memories of images...

The first camera of my own was a Kodak Instamatic, which my parents gave me shortly before we left the UK in 1970. The Instamatic used the Kodak 126 format: square images on 35mm film which came in a cartridge. I can still remember getting the first packet of pictures back from the chemist. I was 7, and still have an almost visceral memory of the crushing disappointment of the many blurred and out-of-focus images ... and of the electric thrill of the one or two that worked! I have a couple of images from that first roll in my flickr stream (eg: Nick & Ben (Beaconsfield, Bucks. 1970)).

Not long after we returned to Australia, an uncle gave me a box full of old darkroom gear. By the age of 10, I was developing my own B&W films, and printing onto printing-out-paper.

My first SLR was a Canon TLb, which I bought second hand with my paper round money. I was 14, and passionate about photography ... it was what I wanted to do when I grew up.

2) Where do you live now and how does your photography reflect your environmental surroundings?

I live in an inner-city suburb of Melbourne; it is a very beautiful, gentrified area, with lots of renovated Victorian & Edwardian houses which sell for absurd amounts of money.

I'm not sure that my photography really reflects my environment at all. I think my pictures are very interior ... concerned more with my relationship with myself - and the relationship my subject has with herself or himself - than the relationship of either of us with our surroundings. Perhaps you could argue that that sort of introspection is a luxury afforded by a comfortable middle-class environment. It can be a little intense ... I suppose I should get my camera out of the house more!

3) This set titled Effluxion of Time where you photographed someone 25 years ago and then again in 2008 is really inspiring. Tell us a bit about it.

Thank you – that is a great compliment! I love the idea that my pictures might be inspiring.

At the age of 20, photography was still what I wanted to do when I grew up. I got into the photography course at Prahran College in Melbourne. This was the art school where many great Australian photographers studied (Bill Henson, Carol Jerrems, Chris Koller, Polly Borland, Peter Milne, Leah King-Smith). It was a very exciting, creative and challenging school. I loved it. I was one of the younger students in my year, and I fancied myself as a bit of a star. I think I was probably a complete pain in the arse… The 1984 images from The Effluxion of Time project were all taken for Prahran College folios.

Halfway through second year, in the fog of a drug-fuelled despond, I let the course fall apart. I dropped out, and in a few years had sold my cameras, and lost touch with serious photography.

I recovered psychologically, but pursued different paths. First, I washed dishes, conducted trams, and cooked tacos. Then I became a lawyer!

I bought a digital SLR in late 2006 to photograph my young son, Arlo. To my astonishment, in using it I rediscovered my original passion for photography, and since then, I have been intensely absorbed (once again) by looking at, reading and thinking about, and making photographs. Flickr has been a big part of this rebirth.

I started the Effluxion project to give me something focus on as I got back into photography. The project, though, became really quite profound (for me anyway!). I realized the project was really autobiographical, and is concerned with my own relationship with photography, and of the various choices I had made (or had failed to make) and which had led me to the middle of my life.

The 1980s pictures (which are all of my friends from the time) had haunted me for a long time – like the talismanic Kodachromes of my early childhood, these were images that gave me a memory … a memory of myself when I thought I might be an artist, and not a corporate lawyer. In photographing my friends again, I feel I have started to deal with the sadness I feel about some of the life choices I have made.

At the same time, though, the project did become very emotionally complex. Not many of my friends were happy with the images, and some were profoundly unhappy. Trying to navigate the ethical questions has been very difficult, and possibly that journey is still unresolved.

Earlier this year I had a solo exhibition of these images, which was a really exciting and rewarding experience.

4) I feel like some of them got better looking..do you attribute that to the awkwardness of youth? or are you just that good a photographer?

Apart from the subjects themselves, many people have made that comment. I think it probably reflects a few things: firstly, the photographer in the 1980s images was trying very hard to be dramatic and provocative; whereas the older photographer probably has a more nuanced vision. It may sound ironic, as the pictures are obviously not necessarily flattering, but I think the recent images are more respectful. There is obviously also an awkward (though beautiful) hubris to the youthful subjects. But I think, generally, people just become more complex, rich and interesting as they get older.

5) Did you know at the time what you were doing? That you would revisit it in 25 years? Did anyone pass away that you couldn't photograph again?

When I was 20, it never occurred to me that one day I would be 45! Some people have compared this to a “Seven Up” type project, but that has never been my intention. It might be interesting to photograph these people again in another 20 odd years, though. Assuming any of them ever let me near them with a camera again!
I am still pursuing several of my old friends to photograph them for the project. Some live overseas. Others just won’t return my calls!

Sadly, a couple of people I photographed in the 80s have died. Vale Jane [Jane 1983] and Tom [Tom 1986]…

6) In this portrait, the Depth of Field seems very sharp on his face, and then falls off drastically to his body. Did you manipulate it at all or was it the lens you were using?

I used a large format (5x4) view camera and tilted the lens panel. This rotates the plane of focus from parallel with the film, and allowed me to shoot at f.22 (to keep his whole face sharp) but to blur the rest of the image. The view camera is very interesting for many reasons, but I think that the ability to move the focal plane is particularly intriguing – it can get gimmicky very quickly, but used carefully, I think it can be very powerful.

7) What is your camera of choice for portrait work?

For the formal, studio-based portraits, I use a Mamiya RB67, and the 5x4 view camera. I will normally shoot several rolls with the RB, and then finish the session with a few sheets using the LF camera. Sometimes I work with the RB handheld (with a grip) – it weighs a ton, but it can be quite interesting to move around the person a little.

8) How do you get the emotion you want from your models?

My photo sessions are generally very quiet. We will often have a conversation while shooting that has nothing to do with the pictures. Sometimes I ask the subject to recall a particular memory. Another technique is to ask them to think of the camera as a mirror, and just to contemplate their reflection.

When I was 20. and an arrogant shit, I tried a more confrontational approach to provoke emotion. I photographed Jacinta [Jacinta 2007] in 1984 and made her cry. I was wracked with shame about that for two decades! I got back in touch with her last year and was delighted that she allowed me to redeem myself!

9) Show us your favorite portrait that wasn't chosen for Spotlight Seven.

That is such a hard question... I do love this picture of my wife:

10) Show us a photograph on flickr you wish you took.

Flickr is full of photographs I wish I had taken! There a many incredible photographers posting here, it seems unfair to single one out. But since you asked… I love this image by .severine [http://www.flickr.com/photos/natur_elle/] : www.flickr.com/photos/natur_elle/1535239454/

The 10 photos chosen from Emaitchess:

Peter 1988

Will 2008

Rob 2008

Christine 1986

Emma 1986

Emma 2008



Harry (1984)



1984 Self-portrait series #6

Az Rehman: Spotlight 7 Week 15

Archive of week 15 interview.

Welcome our Week 15 Spotlight presenter, Az Rehman brought to you by guest curator, Made in Sheffield

1) When did you first become interested in photography?

I first became interested in photography in my teens.......my dad retired and decided to treat himself to a brand new camera. It was a Pentax ME Super. He is almost 90 now and uses his mobile phone to take pictures with.
Luckily for me, he lost interest in photography soon after his purchase. It was a beautiful little camera and a perfect introduction to the medium.
I would photograph my family most of the time, especially my two younger brothers. I used to drive them mad. Thinking back now, they were actually very patient for me as I would take ages to get thinks looking how I wanted them to. Ultimately the pictures never quite turned out as I had hoped they would. It didn't really matter...I enjoyed the process of making the image.
In my last year of school we had an activities week, and the geography teacher was a keen amateur, so he decided to have a week long course on photography. I spent the beginning of the week photographing the rest of the pupils, doing their chosen activities. On the Thursday and Friday I had the opportunity to dev and print my images. When I saw that first print come to life in the dev tray I was hooked.

2) You work on both digital and film formats - do you have a preference?

When I started on flickr I shot on a digital camera, I loved creating the images and was very proud of the fact that everything was done in camera. I decided to go back to film for several reasons. The main reason was that I found with digital I would shoot too much and it became easier and easier to get the result that I was after. I love using flashguns and using the screen on the rear of the camera I could fine tune everything to get the look I was after. It almost became boring, so using film was a chance for me to think more about the shot and it has helped me to see things in a different way. Now on film I rarely shoot more than one exposure of a subject and I try very hard to crop in camera. Ironically it has also meant that I am having to spend more time in front of a computer, as now I am having to scan before I can upload to my stream.

3) Which photographers do you admire, and have they influenced your work?

That's easy to answer, Sebastião Salgado, Brian Griffin, Norman Parkinson, Helmut Newton and Duane Michals. When I studied photography (many moons ago) I was a huge fan of Brian Griffin. I was lucky enough to meet him and take his portrait at an exhibition of his only a week ago. For me it was almost like meeting a musical hero. I spent a good hour talking to him and I was glad to see that he was still as passionate about photography.
I wouldn't say that I am influenced by anyone really. I am influenced by everything around me...and every photographer should be. Every day has its photo opportunities.

4) Tell us a little about your Bargate portraits set.

The Bargate Project started over a year ago. The original idea was to take some pictures of my home town to add to the Southampton Group on flickr. As I walked around the city centre I was lost and didn't know what to shoot. I thought I may as well just start with a picture of the Bargate. As I began focusing the lens I focused on the people walking towards me and loved how the depth of field looked. So I asked a few people to stop for me. When I saw the negs I was really excited by them and decided to turn it into a project.
I have shot over 100 frames now and 99% of the time only shoot one frame. I decided to keep the aperture at F4 for all the images to keep the depth of field uniform throughout the project. During bright days I have to use very strong ND filters to get the lens to F4.
I hope to get them exhibited one day, but so far the local people who are in charge of displaying art/photography have shown little interest in the images. It is VERY important to me that they are displayed out on the street. I want the general public to see them.

5) What method of approach do you use when asking strangers for their photograph?

Generally I find that I ask people first for their permission. When they ask why, I usually tell them that I am a street photographer or I am making a book. I love to talk photography and will happily talk to the people I shoot afterwards until they are bored. The downside of asking people is the rejection, and believe me there is plenty of it. I don't worry too much about it, but I am deeply concerned about how photographers are treated now by the public and officials.
I try to shoot members of the public very quickly and the shot can be over within seconds...I find that most people become self-conscious if you take too long, and when this happens I don't even want to take the picture.

6) Do you direct your subjects at all?

If I am shooting the public and have asked their permission I will usually direct them before putting the camera to my eye. This way I can subtly add the direction into the conversation. It will often only be a simple request like getting them to step back or to just turn slightly.
If I am shooting someone I know then yes I will direct them as much as is required. If I am shooting digitally I always get them to look at the shots so they can see what I am trying to get.

7) What photography do you prefer - staged portraits or candid work?

I love to have as much control as possible when shooting, so I would say that I prefer staged portraits. I have a list as long as my arm that I want to get around to shooting. I do feel that it is important to be open-minded when you are in a portrait session, sometimes my favourite shots have been the ones that developed into new ideas during the session.

8) I noticed that this portrait is a personal fave of yours

www.flickr.com/photos/azrehman/414964846/ - tell us why...
In my job I get to travel a great deal around the south of England and always have my camera with me in the back of the car. I am always darting my eyes around looking at peoples houses and one day I saw this gentleman outside his garage working on his bike. I loved how the colour of his shirt worked so well with the bike, so I pulled in at the nearest opportunity to walk back and ask if I could take his picture. I ended up spending a long time talking to him about his bike. Him and his wife married in the UK in the 50's and rode the bike to Monaco for their honeymoon. He told me that they ended up getting a police motorbike escort to their hotel from two motorbike police in Monaco. He was now the chairman of the Douglas Dragonfly Club and the members still meet every summer to go to classic bike events to show off their machines.
It's a personal fave because it was shot around the time I began using the Hasselblad, and it gave me a huge amount of confidence to carry on shooting with film. I always try to send a print to the people who pose for me, and he phoned me a couple of weeks later to say how grateful he was.

9) What piece of equipment is on your wish list?

I would love a Nikon D3

10) Finally, show us a photograph on Flickr that you wish you had taken.

www.flickr.com/photos/markvelasquez/99449995/



















Mike Calanan: Spotlight 7 Week 14

Archive of Week 14 interview with Mike Calanan.

By then, penitence comes so easily

1) Tell us about where you're living now and how it's influencing your photography?
Last summer my wife and I relocated from Buffalo, NY to Salt Lake City, UT. Buffalo is an old town with a blend of gorgeous, classic architecture and dilapidated, abandoned warehouses that make for an interesting backdrop to street photography. It also has large, vibrant neighborhood communities each with their own distinctive look and feel affording a photographer fantastic opportunities for subject matter. Buffalo's the butt of jokes but it's truly a beautiful city and now that I've left it I miss its people, buildings, neighborhoods and parks.

Salt Lake City rests between two beautiful mountain ranges and is seated next to the Great Salt Lake itself, placing the whole city within a spectacular panorama of nature. However when I first arrived I found that its infrastructure was much less visually interesting than Buffalo's. The architecture here seemed more homogeneous, the neighborhood districts felt smaller and less diverse, even the downtown area of the city itself was smaller than Buffalo's and I was disappointed to find my photographic opportunities so limited. It didn't take long, however, to shake those initial concerns. After spending months walking and driving through the city my impression has been refined and I've come to realise that the opportunities are plentiful, I just needed some time to appreciate the many finer details the city offers.

2) Can you show us an early photograph you took which made you realize your talent was taking shape?
This one is from 2006, not so much early in my lifespan as a photographer but early on in my transition from hobbyist to a more serious passion.

www.flickr.com/photos/calanan/135444887/

The subject is Juan, one of the housekeepers in the building where I used to work and this was one of the first posed portraits I took of someone who I didn't know well. It was challenging for me to work up the nerve to ask him to do this and to try to make enough of a connection that he would feel comfortable allowing his character to show through. I came to know Juan well after this and honestly feel that I captured his true self that day.

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.

4) Do you prefer a candid portrait or a staged/composed one?
I'd always preferred taking candid portraits and I used to tell myself that it was more honest and pure to take a candid but I eventually accepted the fact that it actually was due to my shyness and apprehension of interacting with the subject. Since then I've been taking more staged portraits and even asking strangers to take their photo and am finding it not only a hell of a lot easier to do than I thought but also that it's making for some very interesting portraits.

5) How important is the equipment you use in good photography?
I don't subscribe to fanboy-isms or pixel-peeping and honestly feel that in general it is not about the gear, it's about the interest contained with the photograph. It's not difficult to find some fantastic contemporary photography made with either cheap or outdated technology but I have to I admit that I do enjoy having the flexibility that a good digital SLR and fast lenses afford. I currently use a Nikon D200 and Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens exclusively for my drive-bys as well as for many of my candid portraits and street photos but they just happen to be the tools du jour at this point in my development.

6) Are there any photographers that you admire or seek to emulate?
I've always admired the portraits of fellow S7er, Francois Coquerel for his masterful use of light and composition within the square frame.

Aaron Hobson (he was known as Barkeater here on Flickr) does some amazing work with panoramic photography, his Cinemascapes series is powerful, evocative and so well suited to that wide format.

Finally, I think that local photojournalist with the Deseret News, Mike Terry excels at combining basic reportage with his artistic vision in his storytelling. I first saw his Shandelee Road: Youngsville, New York series where he photographed of all the residents of a single road in a small town and was instantly hooked on his style.

7) You try to respond to many of your comments on Flickr, why the hell do you do that?
Just to piss you off.

I enjoy the social networking aspect of Flickr. I've found some beautiful photos and met some interesting people here, which would not have happened had I not been so interactive with the photographers who comment on my photos.

8) What are your long term goals in regards to your photography?
I fear becoming stagnant, cliche, pigeonholed. I do love my drive-bys but I have accepted that I will end that series soon and move on to something more challenging. I want to pursue portraiture, especially so posed portraits and eventually want to do some conceptual, strange stuff with complex lighting in weird locations.

9) Which photo chosen for spotlight seven is your favorite?
"By then, penitence comes so easily" is one of my early, successful drive-bys and one of my favorite photos in general. I was fortunate to catch the priest mid-stride set against striking lines of architecture, all cast in diffuse-yet-harsh lighting. He's on the campus of Buffalo's Medical Campus so there's an air of sadness for me as he's likely there to comfort both the dying and their survivors.

10) Show us a photography you wish you took on Flickr?
Oh that's tough! I'll limit myself to contemporary shooters here on Flickr and give just a few...

"Sailors Stroll The Arcade #1" by theGentleman (Nick Payne Cook) inspired me to take more hip-shot street photos. Nick has a wonderful eye and knack for timing. www.flickr.com/photos/thegentleman/1530637914/


"charles steam" by Perpetually (Olivia Wright) for its beauty and its mystical and intimate nature www.flickr.com/photos/perpetually/399903978


"hold" by birdcage (Jennifer Foley) for the moment and its timeless look www.flickr.com/photos/birdcage/299995412/i

Bonus question - how smooth is smoothdude really?
Smoothdude is smooth like a 1970's Ben Gazzara as seen in John Cassavetes' "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" - FACT.


By then, penitence comes so easily

He begged of me...

My first maternity session

Jake

Andrea at The Leonardo

Steve [Orv Nebby]

Happy Birthday, Manray!! (11/11)

Jan Lehnardt

My sister, Dana

Dave Gilmet of The Transonics

Kelly Casto: Spotlight 7 Week 13

Archive of Week 13 interview.

Please welcome our week 13 featured presenter, Kelco.

1) Tell us about your hometown and where you live now.

I grew up across the street from a plum orchard in San Jose, California. Section 8 housing in the suburbs, right down the street from Apple Computer. I currently live in Santa Cruz, CA.

2) What inspired you to do this set.

I thought it would be interesting to shoot a large number of people with the same basic lighting set-up, composition, expression, etc, and then show them together as a series. I like the fact that although many of the elements are the same, each image is completely different from one to the next. Plus, I think it will be a cool sociological experiment to see how people react when they walk into a room and see 50 grim hoodlums staring back at eye-level.

3) What is the lighting setup for that?

A Canon 550EX with a diffuser on camera, bounced off several reflectors.

4) How do you get the emotion you want from your models?

I ask. Most people are surprisingly good actors.

5) If you could spend one week all expenses paid anywhere just doing photography, where would it be?

Ellis Island at the beginning of the 20th century.

6) How about one person you never photographed that you'd like to?

For what I'm doing right now - Clint Eastwood. If he's not into it, I'd take Tom Waits.

7) Is there a type of photography you've never tried but would like to?

I'd love to learn how to make Daguerreotypes or work with other antique processes like Wet Plate Collodion.

8) Tell us something about one of the photo's we chose for Spotlight Seven

Rasputin is probably my favorite of the shots you chose to display. It's a profile of my cousin on Christmas Eve of last year, smoking a cigarette in my grandmother's garage. He's a character that treats every holiday like it's Halloween. He's also a model who has worked with a who's who of famous photographers - so he knows what he's doing and is always a blast to shoot.

9) What are some long term goals in photography?

I'd like to make at least one classic, iconic photograph before I head to the happy hunting ground.

10) Show us a photograph you wish you took on flickr.

There are so many, but here are two that immediately come to mind:

Tacos de Chorizo by Luis Montemayor

The Genius by Rodolphe Simeon:

innertrode

g man

pancho villa

cuatro

tora

•  JAN 67

palmer

rasputin

DBW

ivan