6 Million People

Inside the artist's mind: DerrickT in Spotlight Seven

2010-01-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

Turn off the TV, put the kids to bed and take the phone off the hook. Then give yourself 20 or 30 minutes to read & really comprehend DerrickT's interview in Spotlight Seven, the 40th in the series. We've had some amazing photographers featured over the past 2 years, and I can honestly say that none of the interviews have been as complex, layered and insightful as DerrickT's.

The Artist

When you have some serious time to learn about DerrickT's photography, his process and his thoughts, wander over to his blog. Dig deeper and explore his videos, or just go along for the ride as he Tumbles across the web discovering great images. But for now, I just want to convince you to read his interview and view the photos in the pool.

I can't do the interview justice even with this extended format. So I'll just give a preview, and share half of his response to the first question. Read slowly, and try to appreciate the depth of information that Derrick shares in his layered response.

1) Tell us about one of your flickr sets named The Human Condition. There seems to be a lot of covering and manipulation of the face, what's that all about?
I have always been fascinated with the human condition, in a variety of facets, predominately since I was a teenager, when I started observing and pondering fellow high school students (strange, but true). Since then, there has been an invariable evolution in regards to it, as there is with most anything. One that ponders and contemplates the nature of things and what they subsequently mean often finds oneself wanting to know more, or at least to know as much as possible. I have always been a visionary, primarily starting with words and language, and from there I began experimenting with other "mediums" to see what I could "discover" and create. Thankfully the combination's tend to work wonderfully for me. Obscurity has always been of interest, too, which I feel is a part of the human condition itself; what worlds, labyrinths and galaxies are going on within people's minds, free-flowing thoughts as well as those that are circumspect, what is plaited within the brain. Not to designate the psychological aspects of it all, because I am just as much interested in the emotional and physical aspects of the human condition, as well.

That's really just a taste of what smoothdude & DerrickT have in store for you this week. It's an amazing interview, and worth every second to read. And explore his photos-- a true original on Flickr, you won't be disappointed if you spend hours digging through his work.

Link

Featured Gallery #14: Holga Portraits curated by Brad Ross

2009-11-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

Long-time Flickr friend and all-around awesome photographer Brad Ross brings us gallery #14 in the increasingly-hard-to-count-using-finger-alone featured gallery series. Brad was actual our pre-launch featured artist for Spotlight Seven, way back in early 2008. You should check that out after you visit this gallery.

For his theme, Brad has narrowed his selection Holga portraits. Holgas are an old toy camera from China that have attracted quite the following over the past decade, and Brad has done a great job finding shots the demonstrate the uniqueness of the medium. Make sure to visit the gallery to see all 10 shots, and wander on over to his New Jersey Wedding Photography website to learn about this week's curator. Here are a couple of Brad's selections.

Gallery.

Spotlight Seven features Rémi Tinel (aka Ray maï)

2009-11-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

The long-running Spotlight Seven series returns from an extended hiatus this week with a feature about Rémi Tinel, known as Ray maï on Flickr. Ray has been a photographer since he was a child, but really took up interest when he got his first compact digital camera. An avid portrait photographer, many of his photos feature the very young and very old, for reasons that might be a little surprising. An excerpt from his interview with smoothdude.

4) Your portraiture seems to focus on the very young and the very old. What draws you to those two ends of the the spectrum.
Well, I try to make interesting pictures, different than what the others photographers usually show, otherwise, there is no sense to practice photography. I look after emotional pictures, and directly, it leads me to children, because they like overall to play with the camera, it is game for them, and then to rather old people, as we can read their life (suffering, happiness) in their glances. Generally, they’re also the most eager to be a model.

Here are a few selections from Ray's feature. It was really hard to choose my favorite, because each one is engaging in its own way. Make sure you read the entire interview and view Ray's 10 selected portraits-- I highly recommend viewing them full-screen as a slideshow.

www.flickr.com/groups/spotlight_seven/discuss/72157622631...

Spotlight Seven is a regular interview and photo series, featuring 10 portraits from one photographer and accompanied by a 10 question interview. With over 30 features so far, a wonderful breadth of portraits is available from photographers worldwide, each with a style his or her own. Each exhibit is curated either by talented New York City photographer Daniel Krieger (aka smoothdude) or one of the artists previously featured in the group. Sponsored by the 6 Million People project, Spotlight Seven has created its own presence on Flickr as the home of sign of its finest portrait photography. To make sure you never miss a feature, sign up for the newsletter, bookmark the blog or just check the group regularly.

Spotlight Seve Week 38 features CiaoChessa (Monica Shulman)

2009-06-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

www.flickr.com/groups/spotlight_seven/discuss/72157620656...

Spotlight Seven is now on it's 38th installment, and this week's exhibit features CiaoChessa (Monica Shulman). Monica is a lawyer-turned-photographer residing in New York City, and maintains both a website and a blog. We were lucky to have the 6 Million People's top contributor, Denmark resident Itzick.

In addition to her outstanding portraits, Monica also creates wonderful seascapes and landscapes. Almost never without a camera for fear of missing that one great moment, Monica shares some of her experience shooting in New York City and around the world in this excerpt:

6) Looking in your stream I can see that you took pictures in different parts of the world. Are people on the street reacting differently in different countries? Can you give us some examples?
I find that there are two kinds of people: those who LOVE to have their photo taken and those who do not.

In New York you never know what you're going to get but I'm obviously always careful and respectful of people. I prefer candid shots but if the person notices me and puts their hand up or looks away or shakes their head, then I put my camera down. Many years ago, when I was still shooting primarily film, I saw this elderly woman on the street on 5th Avenue in NY. She was wearing the most colorful outfit that I've ever seen and her eyes were all made up with black eyeliner. I took her photo and she started screaming at me in the middle of 5th Avenue. I realized that she might be mentally ill and my photo was not meant to be disrespectful in any way but I wasn't about to explain this to her and it's not like I could delete the image from my camera...I just thought she was so...interesting and unique. She was small and old but she chased me across the street and I ran into the Disney Store of all places. She didn't follow me in. Years later when I look at that print I miss shooting film and I still laugh to myself about how I ran away from a woman on 5th Avenue. That's an extreme example but people in New York either don't care about you and your camera or they chase you down. I found that the same goes for cities in Europe and South America.

The only place I've traveled where I felt like it was exclusively one way - that people seemed to be indifferent about having their photo taken and that some of them actually embrace it - is in Southeast Asia. I was in Thailand and Cambodia and my experience was that the people were so relaxed and did not mind having their photo taken at all. But, basically, I think it's a person by person basis...

There's much more in the interview, so be sure to give it a read and enjoy all 10 of the photos selected for this week's exhibit. If you have any comments or questions or plaudits, please add your comments in the interview thread. Ciao!

www.flickr.com/groups/spotlight_seven/discuss/72157620656...

Spotlight Seven features falsalama in Week 37-- we're back from hiatus!

2009-05-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Spotlight Seven returns after a several month break, and we are lucky to feature the amazing black & white portraits of falsalama. Falsalama got his start in photography when he made a pinhole camera as a Cub Scout in England. He's come a long way since then, taking amazing portraits of people from Laos to Tokyo, China and many other spots around the globe.

Here's a brief excerpt from this week's interview:

3) Your flickr stream is mostly made up of portraits, is that your favorite subject photographically? Why?
Yes portraiture has always been a favourite of mine.
I am fascinated by how, in these frozen moments, the subject can engage the viewer and deliver a message, and encourage a kind of self reflective contemplation. Moments more difficult to appreciate when life is playing at full speed.

While scrolling through falsalama's profile page, I was struck by some of the testimonials, particularly this one from WasabiNoise:
"If I have to describe falsalama in a few words I must to say : enthusiasm and goodness. You can see it in each photo that he makes, how he catch the feelings of the nihonjins with his portraits, every new photo is really amazing and I'm very glad to enjoy with his work in Flickr."

Please check out the rest of falsalama's photos & interview in Spotlight Seven this week.

Perfect expression for the wide-angle portrait

2009-04-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

From Flickr friend Mike Calanan, Salt Lake City photographer.

Celia on Bloom Street

2009-04-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Celia Ammerman is a contestant on the hit show "America's Top Model," also known as ANTM. Can she win it?

Dave

2009-04-21T10:41:00.001-07:00

Dave, originally uploaded by Jeff__M.

Dave

So I went out storm chasing a little this afternoon, and then went over to the studio with Surrounded By Light. I've never really messed with studio strobes before, but I got a few decent shots. It didn't help that the strobes wouldn't meter with my camera, so it was all pretty much trial and error.

View On Black

Uploaded by Jeff__M on 20 Apr 09, 8.14PM PDT.

lyv Studio

2009-04-19T16:55:00.001-07:00

lyv Studio, originally uploaded by evanlavine.

From the great portraits thread.

Top notch

2009-04-06T09:33:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by JonathanR..

From the great photo thread. Spotted by D40 student.

Innocence

2009-04-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Innocence, originally uploaded by Lindsaymp.

From the pool.

The smoothdude soul-revealing portrait of the week

2009-04-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Ososment

We're starting a new feature here at 6 Million People, the smoothdude soul-revealing portrait of the week. Since the very talented smoothdude is now a full-time New York City photographer, I ordered him to make sure he takes at least one soul-revealing portrait each week. I'm going to choose one of his photos each week, post it here, and smoothdude will explain a little bit about what went into the photo.

The title of the thread is a bit of a lark, but it's true to itself. Daniel is a great portrait photographer, and that's what caught my eye when I first came across his work on Flickr. Since then, smoothdude has gone from being a very talented part-time photographer to being a full-time photographer with another full-time job. I asked him what happened to all those soul-revealing portraits, and he told me, in his inimitable fashion, "I got to pay the bills!"

Well, he's still got to pay the bills. But as a full-time photographer, he's going to have a lot more time to capture these great portraits which, while probably not paying the bills, have helped established smoothdude's reputation as a great photographer.

New Jersey Wedding Photographer Brad Ross

2009-03-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Brad is a good Flickr friend, and was actually the first artist we featured on Spotlight Seven. He was a good photographer then, and he's grown into an even better photographer over the past year.

The photography community is a close knit one and today, I’d like to share a few photographs from one of the leaders in NJ Wedding photography, Brad Ross. Brad is a talented photographer with a photojournalistic approach that helps to chronicle everyone’s emotions, from Bride and Groom to family and friends. He is like a fly on the wall in that he sees everything without ever getting in the way. When you look at Brad's portfolio, you’ll have no doubt that he is among the finest wedding photographers in NY and NJ. Give him a call if you’re in the NJ area and need a good photographer. To learn more about Brad, check out his Flickrstream, his website or his blog. But better book him now, because with crazy good photos like this, his calendar is sure to fill up fast!

Angry

2009-03-19T23:39:00.001-07:00

Angry, originally uploaded by Alvarictus.

This was spotted by D40 student. Nice find.

Justin Moore finishing the Catalina Marathon

2009-03-18T12:59:00.001-07:00

Justin Moore finishing the Catalina Marathon, originally uploaded by jakerome.

I ran & photographed the Catalina Marathon for the 3rd time this year, and managed to get some nice photos of many finishers and other runners during the race. Check out the full race report linked above for the full details.

Film is not dead

2009-03-11T21:44:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by Fabulous Muscles.

Great photo. Nothing else to add.

Thousand Portraits

2009-03-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

This is the true face of Britain. That's the promise of the Thousand Portraits project from Carlo and Eamon. And they deliver on the promise. I'll let them describe the project:

Our project is a true portrait of Britain created by photographing 1,000 people. We stopped everyone who crossed our path on the streets of London, excluding nobody, asking the same question more than fifteen hundred times. In a moment where recession is the main subject of every discussion, it was striking to come across such positive attitude.

Now, these are not 1000 ordinary portraits. I've known Eamon on Flickr for a long time, and he was the premier artist in the Spotlight Seven group when he went by 'stpiduko'. Now known as Fabulous Muscles on Flickr, Twitter and his blog, the one constant has been his exceptional photography. Eamon is a film aficionado, and along with Carlo, they shot all 1000 portraits using a Nikon F90X with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. That worked out to about 1 photo every 40 seconds, according to his blog entry.

Eamon has been a part of the 6 Million People project for a long time, and quickly become one of the most prolific contributors when he added all 1000 portraits from that weekend and a few dozen more-- he doesn't stop! There are so many ways to view these photos. See them in Carlo's set, in Eamon's set, or in a video. The video is actually viewable in three different spots-- full-length on Vimeo or Youtube, or an abridged version is available right on Flickr.

The other half of the Thousand Portraits team is Carlo Nicora, a stubborn, idealistic, passionate polyhedric person. Or something like that. An Italian trasnplant reassembling his life in England, Carlo can easily be found on Twitter and Flickr as well. I've just discovered Carlo's work, and based on what I've seen so far, it will be a joy to explore it. What's really amazing is that these guys have made ALL 1000 portraits freely available for any non-commercial use, so you can use these photos to make your own videos, or to tell your own story, or for anything else. So on behalf of myself, the other members of the Six Million People project, Flickrites worldwide and photo lovers everywhere, I'd like to thank Carlo & Eamon for putting together a fantastic project and for sharing it with the world. Thanks guys! Now enjoy the video.

Man Mountain

2009-02-19T14:07:00.001-08:00

Man Mountain, originally uploaded by Jonas | www.jonaspeterson.com.

Jonas, formerly known as Pixelboy, is an the most exceptionally talented Swedish-born Australian copywriter turned photographer that the world has ever known. But that really understates it. A true Flickr original, Jonas is no doubt the finest wedding photographer in Brisbane, Australia. Check out his stuff on Flickr-- he has a style all his own, but more than that, he can take great photos in many different styles. Spend a few hours getting lost in his work.

Come back, canalan.

2009-02-18T11:19:00.001-08:00

Come back, canalan., originally uploaded by Chiapetta.

A plea for calanan to return to one or more of the DMUs.

life in black and white...jordon sleeping... pic no. 2

2009-02-18T08:28:00.001-08:00

life in black and white...jordon sleeping... pic no. 2, originally uploaded by warmshoulder49.

The Sir:poseyal favorite of the week

Spotlight 7 Week 28: Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff...

2009-02-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

Please welcome week 28 artist Rodolphe Simeon, aka Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff.., as curated by kelco. Thanks are due to both to both Kelly & Rodolphe for this week's tremendous interview and exhibit. You can find more of Rodolphe's photos in his stream or at his website. Kelco's introduction and his interview with Rodolphe follow below.

-------------------------------------

As he is for many that have seen his photographs, Rodolphe Simeon is one of my very favorite photographers. The fact that he has only been taking pictures for about 3 years kinda pisses me off - but he is so full of talent and such a nice guy that I have no choice but to forgive him.

His images hang framed above my computer monitor and next to my front door, providing inspiration while I work and every time I leave the house. They remind me that the art of photography in this digital age is very much alive and worthwhile.

1) Why do you make photographs?
Taking photos is a way to produce what I've had in mind for a long time. I started in October 2005, after seeing the documentary "War Photographer" about James Nachtwey. This documentary was a revelation for me. I understood that photography was the way to make my vision come alive.

So after seeing the movie, I went to a store and bought my first camera. I started to shoot everything I could, again and again, and suddenly I took two pictures that changed everything. One was of a homeless guy and the other was of a friend of mine making faces. This was the real starting point, the basis of what I have done since then.

I do photography more as an art form, because it keeps me alive as a child. I feel very strongly connected to my childhood when doing art. The child I was is really the strong basis of myself now. As a kid, I was always creating my own things, exploring my feelings freely, trying to invent my own rules, trying to understand my environment and other people. When doing art, I'm still the kid I used to be. With no borders except the ones I want. Another thing is that, when doing art, I take everything under control in a way. I can decide about every detail. Everything is my choice. Good or bad. It's a real satisfaction and a struggle at the same time.

2) Until very recently, your Flickr stream was silent for nearly a year - why?
During the past year major changes have happened in my personal life, so I've had less time for photography. At first it was very hard not to have time to produce more photos, but after a while, I found it very cool to stop photographing for a while because I was thinking that I didn't have the quality I wanted with my photography. So I took time to think about it, and I finally had some ideas about how to improve myself as an artist. I'm not really talking about technical aspects, because I'm not really focused on technique. I'm talking mostly about the meaning of what I'm doing. During this time, a lot of magazines interviewed me, and answering all their questions helped me understand more of what I was doing and what I needed to do. I did three big photo shoots during the past year without showing the pictures to anybody. I will most definitely publish some soon. My archives count perhaps 50,000 photos :-) Now, I'm back!

3) You relocated from Paris to Vancouver last year. How has the move effected your photography?
It hasn't changed anything. I have taken pictures in the street in 12 countries. I can do it anywhere, and staged photography can also be done anywhere. The only thing that is different here is that people are more positive and happy to see others succeed. In Paris, everybody is selfish and worrying about themselves. And they are so competitive - most of the time for no reason. Vancouver is very laid back. It's easier for me to create in this type of environment. I do the same things I used to do in Paris but with a better context around me.

4) Do you have a preference between street and staged photography?
It's two faces of the same coin. When things seem to be opposite of each other, it's perhaps because they are very similar.

5) Do you have a method for eliciting particular expressions from your subjects?
I always repeat that I don't have any particular methods, and it's true! What I photograph is what people are. I don't invent them. Even with staged photography, in a way it's not really staged. I'm just there with my camera trying to catch a part of the essence of the model. It's a strange process. My role is to push models in different directions and to see how they react. I don't come with any particular ideas to the photo shoot. Each time I did come with a plan, I didn't respect it! People inspire me on the spot! I help them discover aspects of themselves they don't know or don't like - sometimes the model takes the session as a chance to show who he/she really is. Working with models is more like a mind game than a photography issue.

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...

7) Which artists/photographers inspire you?
I'm really influenced by classical painting, from the Renaissance to the 19th century, and all of what I'm doing is connected to that. That's my real inspiration. My favorite painters are Da Vinci, Jacques-Louis David, Wermer, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, etc. In classical painting, the light is really the BIG thing, and I try to have that type of feel in my pictures.

I know how to draw in the classical style. And it's a great help when trying to understand light or manipulating it. I like the way classical paintings deal with reality. Most people think that classical paintings are "realistic" but that is definitely not true. Classical painting pretends to reproduce reality. Can we believe that the portrait of the French King Louis XIV (by Hyacinthe Rigaud) shows the King in his "reality"? No - it merely shows the idea of the King. The decorations, symbols, and personality depicted in the painting is a pretend game. As a conclusion, the "realistic" portrait is a major twist of reality - and I really do the same thing with photography. What I also like is that sometimes as people of the 21st century we cannot really understand all the true meanings of these paintings because the messages are connected to the culture of that time. But we still can feel the heaviness of the symbolism, and I love that mystery. I love to feel things while not really understanding them. OK... I'll stop here because otherwise I'll talk about it for hours! :-)

In photography almost all my favorite photographers are documentary photographers: Nachtwey, Salgado, Curtis, Burrows, etc. First, because they are really "painting with reality" - which means that they can go anywhere and know how to compose paintings with what they have in front of them. Second, because I like the idea of being an artist traveling all around the world, perhaps because I would love to do so.

8) Out of your photos selected here, which one means the most to you and why? (This shot was swapped for another in this weeks gallery per the Spotlight 7 rules, as it isn't a portrait...)

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/all_the_names_are_already_taken_pfff/131593381/]
Out of your selection, I chose this photo because it's exactly what I'm doing with photography. When taking pictures of people, I undress them, take their picture, put their photos on hooks in my dark room, and after, I show that to everybody! One day I met a homeless guy who was a philosopher. He used to have Umberto Ecco as a teacher in Italy. He demonstrated to me during two hours why photography is "the art of death". I believe so. Photography is an art form that chooses subjects that are alive as models, but as soon as a photo is taken that subject is "dead". It is completely the opposite of Theater. Theater lets subjects live freely from beginning to end. This photo could be called "the art of photography".

9) Do you have any new projects in the works?
I have many on-going projects. One with black & white photography, but it's too soon to talk about it. Otherwise, I'm trying to give more uniqueness to what I'm doing, because in a way, I'm disappointed by photography. When I print my photos, I'm always sad. The quality of prints is never what I want because it's only a piece of paper and nothing more. I'm now trying to produce more unique pieces. Of course I understand that pictures can live on screens, but when printing my photos, I feel that I can do more than just print them. I think that my love for art pushes me in that direction more and more. Another thing I will do this year is to promote my art. I didn't have time this year to do so, but now, the time has come.

10) Show us your favorite photo on Flickr...
In fact, I have 2. They're not really pictures. They're 2 buddy icons.

The first is yours (kelco):

...because I never understood the relationship with your icon and what you're doing. It intrigues me a lot! I think about it each time I see it, I ask myself about it.

The second one is the one of Junku

...because he's one of my favorite photographers on Flickr too and because I love how he seems twisted in his icon. It's kind of strange. But It's so him for me, and again, each time I see it I try to understand something about it.

I love these 2 icons. I'm sure that the stories behind them are very simple. But I don't want to know. I prefer to stay with the mystery.

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Spotlight 7 Week 27: devilmangod

2009-02-08T23:22:00.001-08:00

Please welcome our week 27 artist, Vignes Balasingam, known on Flickr as devilmangod. This week's exhibit has been curated by 'stpiduko'. On Flickr.

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.

2: Every photographer has to start somewhere. Do you remember the first roll of film you took? If so, with what camera and do you still have the negs?
I remember it all too clearly. It was a roll of Kodak colour negative film. I dont remember the specifics of the film though. It was my last week of primary school. I was in Standard 6 and at 12 years of age. I begged my mother to let me use her Olympus Pen so I could take some photographs of my friends in school (after this point, many of us would go to different secondary schools and eventually lose contact). My mother agreed. I was ecstatic! I remember those exposures very well. I dont know if the photographs were technically good, but time has a way of putting great value on photographs. Those were probably the best photographs I've ever taken. The film is still around. Its in that huge box where my mother keeps all our photographs.

3 : When did taking photographs chang from wanting to take snap shots to something a little more serious?
I was probably about 4 years old. I had never been allowed to touch the family camera. But I remember looking at the photos on Nat Geo and Life. It was at that age I knew I wanted to make those photographs. I still wonder if it was the photographs I craved or just a sense of adventure that ran hot in my veins. The real change in respect with the question came in 1992 when I was on a 10 week expedition in Borneo. That is where it all came together. But photos I would be happy with wouldnt have happened until just a few years ago. I couldn't afford a camera for the longest time.

4: What camera are you using now and is it your camera of choice ? Is there something else you wish you had / what is your ideal set up.
My desert island camera would be my Nikon FM2n. It fits great in my hand and it to a point lets me "see" better. The camera somehow lets me take the most amazing photos. I simply love it to bits. As for lenses, I am not fussed. A 35 mm or 50 mm would be great. No flash.

I shoot all my portraits on a Hasselblad 500 C through a 80 mm Planar T*. It seems to be the right camera for the photographs I want to take. All the photographs featured here on Spotlight Seven were taken with the Hasselblad except for one.

I love both my camera setups and dont think I can wish for anything else at this point. Both cameras help me extend my vision of what I see in my head. If anything else, a 120 mm Makro for the Hasselblad and a couple of PocketWizards would be nice.

5 : What is it about photography / portrait photography that interests you?
I like people. I think that is the most important thing about my portrait work. I dont think I can take the photographs I take if I did not have a sincere appreciation for people. Photographing people lets me into their lives, even if its for a few minutes. Looking down the camera for the shot I want, there is a sort of detachment and at once attachment between me and the person in front of me. I guess this is why I mainly stick to people photography- its what is natural to me.

6 : How do you approach your subjects ? what level of interaction do you have with them?
I am very casual and candid with the persons I want to photograph. I just go up to them tell them what I am doing and ask them if they would like to be photographed. I sometimes joke about things and sometimes I can be very intense. And the promise of a copy of the photograph in their mailbox is usually a bonus to them. I always have my camera in the bag when approaching people. I dont know why I do this but I feel it may be less intrusive. I've never figured it out. I also have an iPod full of photos that I've taken, especially some from the project I'm working on. This is an important tool I use to help explain my intentions to people.

8: where do you want to go from here ? aspirations ?
My photographs have to mean more than just useless pieces of art. It would be a waste if everything I did is just a pretty photograph and nothing beyond that. I've got a personal obligation to do something more with it. I cant tell you what I am going to do as I am still developing my ideas and plans. So I guess you'll have to follow me for a few years to see where all this ends up. Or doesn't!

9: Film Versus digital?
Apples and oranges. I love digital for certain work I do. For now at least, my personal work just seems to translate better on film. Thats it!

10: Flickr has become a more than just a show case of peoples work. Do you think it is almost an essential tool for developing photographers?
Like everything else, Flickr is a tool. It can be a very very powerful tool if you know what to do with it. Not just from the marketing and self-promotion point of view. I use it as a tool to analyse my own work, edit, sort and it is a great time-line review of my photographs. It has helped me make critical judgement and in that way helped my vision grow. Its also a great place for discussions, sharing and learning. But of course, you have to make wise choices about what and how you operate on Flickr. It can easily become a self defeating monster that can suck everything out of you.

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Spotlight 7 Week 26: Patric Shaw

2009-02-08T23:17:00.000-08:00

Week 26 featured Patrick Shaw, as curated by smoothdude. On Flickr.

1) Tell us where you're from and where you're living now. How has it influenced your photography?
I'm english and lived all over the world,at the moment I live in Brooklyn new york with my gorgeous wife and 2 sons,before that we resided in paris for 6 years,where I tried the life of a fashion photographer. Paris made me fall in love with photography, photographers like cartier bresson, jeanloup sieff, henri lartigue, robert doisneau and november, photography month.

2) How do you get emotion from your models? What's a tip you could give to someone starting out in portrait photography? with your subjects, try talking to them first, there is a story about avedon shooting the duke and duchess of windsor, he was deliberately late to the studio on the day, said it was because the taxi he was in, had run over a dog, he then started giving them a blow by blow description ( knowing they were dog lovers ) of the dying dog, and all the time shooting their reaction The story was completely fictitious. He had his shot.. it would have been completely different without that emotion there are many ways to bring some humanity to a shot....first think about who you are shooting, and don't be boring.

3) You seem to prefer a close crop of the face when you shoot, what leads you to your compositional choices?
That comes from paris, I had been given an assignment from allure magazine to shoot some beauty for them so I came in incredibly close on the face, almost medical .....they loved it. I dont use any particular compositional device or rule maybe thirds if anything

4) What equpiment do you use and how important a part does it play in photography, in your opinion?
I use a bunch of rented digital cameras hasselblad and canon EOS 1ds mk 3, I own a canon G9 and a canon 5D Its nice to have great tools ....but it is still more important to have a good eye

5) What piece of equipment would you want if we were going to buy you something (which we're not of course! :)
oh the hasselblad H3 D ll-31and a bunch of lenses

6) Show us your favorite photo chosen for Spotlight Seven and tell us something about it.
alison lll by you: www.flickr.com/photos/patric_shaw/70 0964032

this on reminds me of alex in a clockwork orange ... defiant strong and completely Alison

7) Which photo did we not choose that you would have thought we would have featured?
fernando lll
www.flickr.com/photos/patric_shaw/ 2308274320/

I laugh every time i look at this one of fernando it looks like he about to explode or pop a gasket a gentle person with red hot temper

8) Are you doing photography professionally? What are you goals regarding photography?
yes I try to make a crust out of photography, maybe its to be the best portrait photographer I can be

9) If you could photograph one person living right now, who would it be? Would it be in a studio setting?
That would be Tom Waites and it would be on location or in the studio

10) Show us a photograph on flickr you wish you took.
flickr.com/photos/westholme/2820127437/

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Spotlight 7 Week 25: Brett Walker

2009-02-08T23:14:00.000-08:00

A little different process this week. Our guest curator is Bukutgirl, aka Liz Kasameyer, who explains the story behind the interview with this week's artist, [brett walker]. A big thanks to both Bukutgirl and Brett Walker for an amazing interview and 10 great photos. On Flickr.

[Please note that since isn't a straight interview, Bukutgirl paraphrases Brett's answers and relates some highlights, so everything is written in Bukutgirl's voice. Brett doesn't actually talk about himself in the third person. -- Ed.]

I chose Brett Walker to be the artist that I wanted to feature on Spotlight Seven as a guest curator. I e-mailed questions to Brett but he asked if he could just talk to me on the phone – so he called me in Baltimore at a little bit past midnight from his home in London. We talked for about an hour and a half. These are some of the highlights of that conversation:

1) Brett, although I’ve been admiring your work for years – I know next to nothing about the person behind the camera besides the fact that you live in London – What can you tell me about your life and history that brought you to the photographer that you are now?
Brett Walker was born some years ago in England to a nurse who in his own words, “hated sick people”. Some of his earliest memories are of nurses crowding around his mother’s kitchen on their night off – feet feet and more feet – he ascribes his occasional need to take shots of women’s feet as a result of this experience. At seventeen he began working as a photographers assistant – and from there he moved on to breaking into professional work at twenty-one. Brett was shooting in Japan for a diamond company when, as fate and a little fib would have it, he was suddenly thrust in making commercials and eventually went on to be a successful jet-setting fashion photographer. Somewhere between the incessant flights to Milan and Paris, professional fashion photography began to eat away at Brett. He found himself killing his frustration with the industry more and more with a “little bit of this and that” to the point that he was spending more time killing the frustration that came with the work than doing it. He hung up his camera at that point for about 15 years and wandered off to become part of the Greek Merchant Marine, the highlights of that job included, “working with a bunch of guys that looked like the Supermario brothers” and “learning to count to 50 in Greek”. He came to live out of Brazil , sailing the Belgium-Brazil route for 5 years. From there he moved on to work out of war torn Angola with HIV/ AIDS effected street kids. Although he loved the work he soon became disgusted with the hypocrisy effecting the NGO world and decided to move on. Now life finds Mr. Walker living in London, in a state flat, 500 yards from his job, within 200 yards of a state mental hospital. Certainly the breadth of his travel experiences have impacted his photography, but in addition to that Brett stated that he’s been down his share of dark roads and that those experiences have deeply impacted his sense of self, others, and the world around him. These experiences play out in the lens that he turns on his surroundings, and are echoed in the images that he brings to life.

2) Your work is charged with life and grit – it also has a sense of urgency to it – how much of that is a result of your surroundings vs. your internal world?
Brett spoke at length about how photography is for him a need, as vital as eating or drinking, when he feels as though he hasn’t taken a good shot in a week there’s a sense of “the vultures circling”. “Nothing does it for me the way that photography does, not sex, not drugs, not alcohol”, from speaking with him I could hear pieces of my own story, the intense need to expel some of the internal chaos by catching it on the faces and forms outside of himself, pinning down it’s image and freezing it for all time. He says he’s lucky because his surroundings and the people from the mental institution that frequent his streets and cafes make it easier to catch these things he can’t name, out in the open, but I think, that no matter where he was living in the world he would still go out hunting every day, and go to the lengths it took to bring home the images that would ease the tension, if just for a moment.

3) What is your process when you got out to shoot? Do you go out with a purpose or do you just shoot and let the shots call out to you when you’re editing?
Brett has a formal job, but it allows him a lot of time out in the streets to shoot, he says he shoots on average 400 frames a day, and counts himself lucky if he likes one. He shoots with a wide angle lens and likes to basically shoot street candids, catching the honest moments of a person’s day when they are simply existing. He doesn’t go out with a goal for a certain scene, just goes out to see what the streets will bring him. He said that sometimes he’ll see someone and they fit a memory or an idea, and he’ll try to shoot them to that end, like seeing a man in a market who fits his vision of what his father might have looked like. He shoots often from the hip, afraid to look down to see if he’s “killed it or simply wounded it” – referring to the shot that is, and when a great shot shows up everything else is out of the window for the day, nothing else will do but to go home and edit. In describing the editing process, and image selection he said that he’ll start playing with something in photoshop, not even sure what will come out of it and the image guides his work from there, often dumping him at the end with a shocked feeling that he hadn’t even really realized that that was what needed to come out or that that moment was inside.

4) Of the works that I choose would you mind telling us the story behind your favorite?
Brett didn’t have a favorite per-say of the works that I chose but he had a great personal attachment to this one: [We'll add the photo soon -ed.]

This shot was taken on the very first day he met his son, who was 13 at the time. Brett met his son and went for a walk with him through the streets of his neighborhood. A woman approached him who he had been desperately wanting to photograph for sometime. She was former go-go dancer named Princess, who was certain that Steven Speilberg was about to make a movie about her. She approached Brett and his son and asked Brett if he was a photographer and invited them up to her flat, which was “a sorry little flat, hardly any furniture, covered in old photos of herself, that smelt like there was a dead cat somewhere that she just couldn’t find”. His son sat on the couch and Brett started taking pictures and talking to Princess, half way through she decided to change into something more comfortable and began to get entirely undressed, at which point Brett looked over at his son sitting calmly on the couch and thought to himself, “fuck, today was supposed to be a Hallmark father-son day and now look” he was really worried that his son would reject him over the experience and that his mother would never allow him to see the child again. As it turned out the shots came out great and when his son returned to school on Monday it was his favorite story to tell, “sealing the deal so to speak”.

5) What about portrait work, set up shoots – do you do them? What is your process there?
I asked him this question because there is a woman who regularly shows up in his work and I was curious about how that worked. He stated that she was a neighbor of his who sometimes had trouble meeting her bills, so he asks her if she needs money and she comes up and lets him shoot. He said it’s funny because she doesn’t care about the shots at all, she’s never even seen the work that has come out of those sessions. He figures if he can help someone while they help him then paying for folks to sit for him is perfectly fine. He also talked about other set up portrait work and how people who come to sit for portraits already have an idea of what they want to show, and he needs to disarm them and get them off guard in order to get the shots he wants. He said he spends several minuets at the beginning of a session being quite mean and then starts shooting and building them back up.

6) Is there a shot on flickr that you wish you’d taken? Why?
Brett stated that there was a lot of work on flickr he liked but the shots he really wished he’d taken he found on Square America (which can be found at: www.squareamerica.com/) and Look at Me (which can be found at: www.moderna.org/lookatme/) two websites dedicated to “found photography”– he loves the old shots that he has no idea who took them or what was happening or who was being shot – that they blow him away all the time. This was really interesting from the stand point that Brett reminded me that he never names his shots or gives a description, instead he wants to leave them open for whatever anyone wants to find in them. I find it fascinating looking at his work because I have no idea when or where his shots were taken, it’s like stepping off in to an alternate universe, I never knew why this was until Brett told me that he refuses to photograph anyone with a sign of modernity on them, like an ipod or an Adias sweatshirt, he also joked that this really limited the pool of people to shoot from, as most men these days look like they were dressed by their mother’s and so what he’s left with are the “young wild ones and the very old, the ones who fall through the cracks”.

7)Which of the shots that I chose was the hardest to catch, why?
Brett stated that it was the man in the middle of screaming. He’s a patient at the hospital and he’s very aggressive and violent, people fear him because he spits and they are afraid of Hep C and all of that. Brett was walking down the street with three friends and this man latched on the sight of one of his friends and decided that he was someone from his past who had done him terribly wrong and started screaming at him and spitting, Brett started shooting from about waist level and caught this, a shot that I consider to be truly remarkable.

8) What are your goals in terms of photography? Publishing? Shows? Professional –or is it more of a hobby for you?
Brett is going to keep taking shots as long as he still gets joy out of it – he never wants to be a professional again and isn’t even sure if he’s a photographer, as he thinks of the word as denoting a job, like a plumber, he says that he’s not a photographer - he takes pictures. He is very excited about the web and digital photography and the number of people that have access now. He has students of his own in London, allows them to use his lenses and his computers and occasionally looks over their shoulder telling them to do or not to do something, “like telling a kid not to color outside the lines” to which I told him I thought that was funny for a man whose work is pretty much full of images that color outside the lines. His goal right now is to make images that he will still want to look at ten to twenty years from now. Right now he feels as though he’s moving to the left and right, copying himself, he feels a new push coming though he’s not sure when it’s going to take hold and is vaguely frustrated at the moment.

9) Your shots are full of unfinished stories and personal moments – one of my favorite qualities of your work – what can you tell me about that –
Brett responded that he sees a lot of people who’ve essentially “lost the plot”. That when he’s out shooting he doesn’t want to “see someone begging, because on some levels we’re all begging” instead he wants to find the “pieces that are still right” to make sure that the people that he photographs still have their dignity. When he shoots older women in particular he looks to find a spark, a twinkle, a moment that hints at what they looked like when they were young.

10) You do so much street shooting, how do you approach people, or do you? What is your process there?
Brett stated that street shooting gives him the opportunity to over come some fear barriers – a chance to exercise some of his demons – that somewhere inside of us all, we know when it’s okay to take a shot and when it’s not, and that the times he gets “caught” are the times that he is desperate to get a shot, and stops following his own rules. Then the subject gets mad and all he can do is apologize, “and go sit in a café and say, fuck”.

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My hour and a half conversation with Brett Walker left me even more fascinated with the person behind the shots as well as the shots themselves. I hope that you will enjoy his work as much as I have and please visit his stream at: flickr.com/photos/brettwalker/ in order to get an even more in depth sense of his work.

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Spotlight 7 Week 24 Artist: Tom Hoops

2009-02-08T23:08:00.000-08:00

Please welcome our week 24 Artist: Tom Hoops. On Flickr.

1) Tell us about where you're living right now and how it's influencing your photography.
I live in Bangkok, Thailand. I live in an unusual part of town, my neighbors on one side have expensive houses and on the other there is a small slum. It was in this little slum that I first took my camera and started capturing life in the area.

Bangkok as a city is full of contrasts and amazing people. It's partly a beautiful city but can be equally very ugly. I try and capture the real side of things, not the sort of images you see in travel brochures. I think my work can be regarded as a reflection of the city, mostly ugly, with a hint of the odd, unusual and sometimes beautiful.

2) Where's your favourite place for finding subjects?
Tough question. Bangkok is great all over, but I tend to like the markets and places where people are themselves. You are more likely to find me in these places or a slum than a shopping centre or uptown area.

I will often just walk about and end up in all sorts of places.
Anywhere you find lots of people is good. Train stations, bus stations, public events, anywhere people feel comfortable and I am not too obtrusive.

3) If you could travel one place for a few weeks to just do photography, where would it be?
Another tough one, I'd say a toss up for me between India and the UK.. As you are only allowing one choice I'm going to say the UK. I think it's a fantastic place to shoot. The people are very varied and the environments are superb.

If I were in the UK right now I would be shooting families at home, 60s wallpaper backgrounds, funfairs, chavs, council estates, amateur boxing, the list goes on. London is as cosmopolitan as it gets, what a great place to photograph people.

4) What is your equipment of choice?
Well my dream set up would be the D3 for its high ISO capabilities and a couple of lenses. A Mac and Photoshop.

I have friends who have every piece of equipment available, the best of everything. Photography is expensive. I try and keep it down to the basics so my wallet doesn't feel too hard done by!

5) How much does equipment help a photographer in your opinion?
It depends on the photographer, I don't believe equipment will turn you into a good photographer, but it certainly helps. You can't pretend that a point and shoot gives you the same results as an SLR with a decent lens.

6) Talk us through your processing techniques, particularly through some of the Nikon D80 highly processed B&Ws
All of my processing is done through Photoshop. I don't use just one method I often play around until I find something I like. In general I bring in the raw file and convert to black and white using gradient map, then fiddle with curves and levels. If it's a close up portrait I will dodge and burn to add some more contrast. If I'm feeling in the mood I might add some texture layers also. Once I am at a stage I am happy with I will sharpen the image and then save.
I enjoy the processing almost as much as taking the photos; it adds another creative element to my work.

7) What goals do you have with your photography, either emotionally, professionally, or both.
I really can't put into words how much I love taking photos. So if the opportunity came along that I was able to turn it into a full time job I would do so. Short term I would like to put an exhibition together and start on a couple of little projects I have in mind. Long term I would love to produce some meaningful photojournalism, and later perhaps help others who want to try photographing people, but are a little too shy to do so….. possibly in the form of some holiday tours.

Have to also mention project 12. A great project with some very talented people.
project012.wordpress.com

8) Which is your favorite portrait we chose for Spotlight Seven? Tell us something about it.
Well you have chosen a shot of my lovely wiife so I have to choose that one. She puts up with me and for that she deserves a medal. She looks great in the black and white too; she is more beautiful than she gives herself credit for.

Also have to mention this one www.flickr.com/photos/tomhoops/2349758436/in/pool-spotlig...

It's one of the first times I shot a photo and called my wife over to take a look at it. I like it when that happens. He happens to live near by and has an extraordinary face.

9) Show us any photo on Flickr you wish you took
There are so many! Flickr has talent in abundance if you know where to look.
I could have chosen from so many. But as I can only choose one it's this one:

www.flickr.com/photos/mecan/136446669/

It does what a photo should do. it makes you sit up and notice.

10)Any influences on Flickr or elsewhere you want to share, maybe something you've learned from them?
Loads of them.

Look through my favs and you will see inspiration all over. Artists pushing the limits. Not many kitten shots or babies and flowers but a host of talented people putting photos up that consistently inspire me. I have made some real friends on Flickr. Philbertobehan, Billy Gomez, Kirsty Mitchell, Bichito and Falsalama to name a few.
The magnum photographers are a constant source of inspiration, when i started a friend plonked a giant magnum coffee table book on my lap and it's been difficult to stop leafing through it ever since.

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Spotlight 7 Week 23: nonac.

2009-02-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Week 23 Artist, nonac. who was guest curated by Desolate Places (formerly known as Duff Suds). On Flickr.

1) You are from Pittsburgh, how do you feel that the urban setting influences your vision - especially portraits?

I was born in Pittsburgh and after college moved out West to Colorado, then it was out to California for a short stint and a few other places in between, but in the end I found myself back where I started, the City of Pittsburgh, the place that is definitely my "home". Living and shooting in the city has influenced me greatly and I believe it has provided me with that essential diverse atmosphere to develop within, it has also provided a landscape that is never the same, ever-changing, so to speak. My particular vision is to never be devoid of diversity and always reflect that in the serious work I produce as a photographer. I strive to find the unique, the subject matter that I've never approached before with the camera. Pittsburgh, as well as every other metropolitan environment I have either lived in or visited has provided a never-ending bounty of subjects to document with the camera. That is incredibly important to me as I tend to favor portraiture as my genre of choice with the camera. The city is always alive and always changing, growing, altering its own makeup and design, I feel that is why I have grown to love documenting its fabric, the people who call it home, with my camera.

2) What are you thinking and feeling when you're talking to some of these people you've photographed?

I rarely have a predestined approach when shooting street portraiture, I must rely on spontaneity to decides the path and course of action I take with the camera. Unless I am working on a commissioned project or gallery exhibition I let my eyes to the walking and my mind to the talking. I am quite an inquisitive person by nature, I love meeting new people no matter the place and time so I am usually concerned with finding out why a particular person struck me enough to stop dead in my tracks, walk up to them hold out my hand and introduce myself and eventually my camera.

I want to express my own deep, personal feelings about how important it is to meet someone new each day. To enrich my own life by beginning a new friendship, albeit brief in most cases, and do what just comes naturally...the art of conversation. It's my belief that we would all be better off if we just took the time to say "hello" to one another. That sometimes completely freaks out people, it seems that people don't want to be bothered in any fashion, they'd rather go about their day and business without never really taking the time to say "hello" as they pass by a complete stranger. Me, well, I can't just walk by and ignore someone. I feel compelled to spread an ounce of kindness to just about everyone I meet. I feel it's important to my survival as a person. I simply cannot grow as a human being unless I interact and listen.

3) You seem to be very close to some of your subjects, referencing them by name and shooting portraits on different occasions as you come across them - how does "knowing them" effect the way you depict them and have you ever become too close with any of your subjects?

I have become great friends with a handful of people who merely started out as subjects for my lens. Some I have been documenting for 6-7-8 years now. Simply "knowing them" has greatly affected the way I depict these folks, almost to the point to where I share a great sense of intimacy with these people and I have been able to express that through a passing moment that only I have seen and felt compelled to capture and share. I believe "knowing them" has allowed me to capture these intimate moments with great ease and sensitivity but never to the point where I feel hampered or distracted by our friendships. These people simply feel comfortable with me entering their lives now and snapping the shutter. That has been incredibly important to me. I want my subjects to know they can trust me. I will not violate their trust nor portray them in any fashion that would violate that trust they have extended to me.

We share secrets, we've begun to know each others habits, interests, birthdays, routines...it's made me a well-wounded social documentarian in my honest opinion mainly because I have developed feelings and concerns for this small pool of subjects who trust me in the way they do. When they hurt, I hurt, When they smile, I smile. I want to express those moments whenever possible.

4) What do you want people to learn about the people you photograph?

That we are all common celebrities and have a place on this earth together. That we cannot exist without each other, that what happens to another could easily happen to each one of us. That no one single person is above another, that we are all here for a reason no matter the color of our skin, the language we speak, the places we live and call home or the jobs/vocations we have chosen as our life's work. I want people to learn that there is something unique in each of us and even though we may not acknowledge that certain something every day it's out there, willing to be noticed and appreciated. I want people to know that it's critical to "find the good in everyone".

5) Out of the photos we've chosen here, which portrait means the most to you and why? Is there another you wish we had chosen?

"Claudelle pauses".
Why..., well, I was having a conversation that day with Claudelle on a street in downtown Pittsburgh on a day when I was going through quite a rough patch personally. Claudelle saw me walking down the opposite side of the street, walked over to me and asked me, "What's wrong, baby, why do you look like you just lost your best friend?" What happened, Craig?". He took the time to recognize that I was not feeling my best, that something was troubling me and approached me about it. I explained my pain, he paused for a moment and began to provide sage advice on what I could and should do to combat the problems and issues I was facing. It was at that moment that I felt compelled to snap the shutter, it's my nature to do so. I remember that moment, his advice till this day and it helped me immensely to get through the funk I was in. I want to remember that small act of kindness for as long as I can. The portrait provides that memory for me.

6) Some of the photos in your stream are politically charged. What can you tell us about your portrait of the US Marine?

I try, so hard, to remain objective when I shoot but it's the one flaw I have and just can't shake. That fact does shine through, sometimes, when I provide a bit of commentary with the images I snap and share.

The U.S. Marine I met and documented a few years ago really amped up the strong feelings I have against the wars and conflicts that we, the United States, are involved with now. I am a pacifist, I am not ashamed to say that either and I will debate my point of view with anyone who logically wants to do so. But at the same time that one Marine reminded me of the great sacrifices people make in the lives and how important those sacrifices are in the fabric of all our lives. I respect those who chose to serve in the military, I wish for their safe return home each day, but at the same time I am greatly conflicted because of my personal belief that war is not necessary and can be avoided if we only take the time to try to do so.

When I met that Marine and chatted with him for 30 minutes or so about his choices, about his pending deployment to Iraq and about the reasons why he gave his time to protecting our great country I better understood better the choices we all have to make in life and why we make them. Life simply isn't all about being selfish all the time, caring only for oneself and our livelihood. Sometimes there is great worth and importance to making decisions that aren't the easiest to understand or accept.

7) In the same vein of thinking, what can you tell us about your portrait of the Vietnam Vet? How do you feel when you come across former soldiers on the streets? Do you see a brighter future for today's returning vets?

Charles was quite an intense person. Someone that felt forgotten, thrown away, discarded. Not only because he was black and poor now, but 30 years ago he felt the same way when he came back from Vietnam. He felt betrayed by the same people who sent him off to possibly die for reasons he never understood nor had explained to him. He felt as if he was merely disposable then, and now.

I feel a great sense of gratitude when I meet a veteran, I feel humbled. I realize that I need to sacrifice more in my life for things that are for the greater good and the betterment of society as a whole, as these men and women have done. Those who served in the armed services did so for complete strangers, a country made up of people they'd never meet.

IMHO I can't honestly answer your questions about the pending future of those vets returning home today from conflicts around the globe. I am deeply saddened when I hear stories about deteriorating hospital conditions and care, about conflicts with pay and bonuses owed...When I read of the obscene ignorance towards the rising suicide rates among veterans and about the additional time each has been forced to serve even after tours of duty have ended because of mishaps in military planning by our leaders in Washington...I can only hope that each and every soldier, person, returning from war receives every possible avenue of assistance and compensation available to them. They deserve every bit of it.

8) If you could photograph one person, living or dead, who would it be?

My grandfather. He was the reason I fell in love with photography. He gave me my first camera. he taught me how to shoot. He also had a great love of people, something he passed on to me in one way or another. I know I took his photograph once or twice when he was alive, regrettably I cannot find any photos I took of him.

9) Show us your favorite photograph on Flickr.

Not easy to answer, but I will point out on image I find to be indelible and iconic that I spied recently on Flickr...
by Jill. Coleman

It's simply so well captured, so intense and emotional, so intimate and unforgettable.

I will also add one image not on Flickr, one that is from one photographer I find to truly be an inspiration with the camera in in my own life's purpose.

Mary Ellen Mark's iconic image, "The Damn Family in their car". It's the look and expression on everybody's face in the frame, it gives great emotion to the photograph. The image conveys what i love about street portraiture/social documentary photography; intimacy. I believe you can feel and understand the trust between Mary Ellen Mark and the family in the car.

I had the opportunity to meet Mary Ellen Mark in person and speak with her for some time (right in front of a print of this image) a few years back. That one photo, that experience of being in the presence of a truly gifted photographer and person truly moved me and continues to shape me as a person and as a photographer.

the image can be seen here: www.airarchive.com/

10) What is your main piece of equipment for capturing these portraits?

I tend to carry only one camera, and one lens with me as I photograph. That tends to be a Canon 20D or 5D and the very inexpensive and incredibly dynamic Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. I do carry a few other primes Canon L lenses with me from time to time but no flashes, no soft boxes or any other gear; no hocus pocus. I want to keep it simple. I don't want to overwhelm nor intimate a subject with a ton of gear, I want to appear as i am, a simple man with a simple purpose. I have been shooting a ton of street portraits lately for a book and two gallery exhibitions next year with a 50 year old Yashica C and a Kowa Six MM medium format cameras. Shooting with those require a tripod generally, a light meter, a backpack full of film and other gadgets, which I don't mind carrying. I want to make sure I have the gear I need to capture the portrait I desire. But I like the simplicity that shooting w/ a dslr provides. I can head out with one camera body, one lens and be successful and content with what I shot.

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Spotlight 7 Week 22: Mark Velasquez

2009-02-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

Our guest curator this week is .Az. Thanks to both Mark Velasquez and .Az for this week's show. On Flickr.

1) Mark, a warm welcome to the Spotlight Seven group. Tell us how you got started in photography.
Its a long, sordid story that really starts by my learning to document strange performance art projects I had been working on since college. Essentially I moved back to my home town, Santa Maria, CA, where there wasn't a lot of those types of outlets for my creative side, so I started carrying my camera everywhere and began taking photos of my friends at homes, parties, bars, etc.

One night at a bachelor party I was standing back with the old men while the younger guys my age were falling all over themselves to get to the strippers. Being unimpressed with nudity that you have no hopes of taking home, I had sneaked in my camera to document the younger guys make idiots of themselves. Over the course of the party one of the dancers came up and asked me about the camera, asked if I had ever shot a portfolio for a model, which I hadn't, and we hit it off really well. Within weeks I was in Ventura, CA shooting her in a kiddie pool while she was wearing only thigh-high red leather stilettos as her husband poured bubbles over her.

That was the beginning and I haven't really looked back since.

2) You often use photography to put across a point or message.......is there a politician hiding beneath your skin or are the images telling us you are a cynic?
I wouldn't consider myself a cynic, just a realist. I have studied enough of history and traveled far enough around this country and abroad to know what humans are capable of. I am a huge fan of studying history, politics, and religion. I sit and practice learning Latin phrases, collect old bibles, watch the History and Discovery channel whenever possible, and much more. All of these things are probably not what you would expect from a "nudey-model photographer." But as its been said, "those ignorant of the past are doomed to repeat it."

I do have a strong social agenda. Also, based on my fine art college experience I learned that only a very limited number of people actually go out to look at art galleries and museums. Art in all its forms has always started out as an educational tool, meant to enlighten and challenge how people view things. With that in mind I figured I had to bring art to the people, make it much more accessible and user-friendly, and what better way to do that than by making the harbinger be a lovely woman.

3) Which photographers 'Rock your Boat'?
How much space do you have? Um...there are far too many to mention. Mostly I am inspired by lots of wonderful people I have found online. Just go to my Flickr account and look under "family."

As for the "biggies," my inspirations aren't limited to photography. I am equally inspired by Nan Goldin, Norman Rockwell, Terry Richardson, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Greg Crewdson, not to say that I am limited to their views of the world or believe everything they do is great.

To truly appreciate someone as a genius, you have to not like a lot of what they do. Those revered should be constantly experimenting and exploring so as to not be appeasing anyone but themselves.

4) Show us a picture on flickr that you love, and tell us why.
I have so many wonderful images that I love on Flickr, and so many talented artists I would love to reference. I am again forced to advise whoever is reading this to go to my profile and look under all the images I have "favorited" to get a sense of the range of my interests.

I just perused a few of them right now and the first one that popped out to me was www.flickr.com/photos/fabiocentrone/2279933412/

I like it for many reasons. Its simple, low-tech, real, and appears post-process-free. It is up-close and personal, yet still voyeuristic. The colors are warm and great, giving a sense of a vintage quality to it. Also, its kind of dirty, with her sucking on her thumb like that. It gives you naughty ideas, which never hurts.

5) What are your thoughts on Flickr censorship, as I know this has affected your stream.
My pursuit of "The Censored Project," where I sought to find 100 average women of all shapes and sizes to stand naked censoring themselves was one way I dealt with that. I received a lot of exposure for that project, it was published in Israel, Italy, Brazil, and a lot locally here in California for that piece, but I think it was misunderstood a little. I understand why Flickr and several other organizations censor things, they have a lot of people that they have to appease.

If we choose to be a part of an organization that does things we disagree with, we can leave at anytime. Censorship is never right, though I do believe there is a need for decency or limited access to certain things. Who is to say what is deemed as decent is where the situation gets sticky and I don't have any more answers than you do. For example, I choose not to shop at Wal-Mart because I disagree with what they censor.

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty upset about having my profile censored—and I still am on some level—but I understand it at least. All I seek in my own work is to get people to consider other points of view. I feel that it's important to consider other points of view, especially when they differ from my own.

If you don't like the show, change the channel.

6) Tell us something about you that we don't know.
I love Chicken Salad sandwiches, don't wear clothes with visible brand names, and have never smoked a cigarette or done a drug in my whole life. Oh, and I've never eaten at McDonalds. Believe it.

7) Annie has decided to retire, has recommended you as her replacement (well done!). You have to make a big impact with your first Vanity Fair cover, everyone is queuing up to be photographed by the new photographer Mark Velasquez. Who will you choose to grace your first cover?
George W. Bush. I would photograph him on a beach, zinc sunscreen on his nose, margarita in hand, Hawaiian shirt and shorts, big ugly 1970's thong sandals, sitting in a lounge chair over-looking the ocean, sunburned and laughing heartily. My good friend Michelle, who is a wonderful journalist, would do the interview with him over Mai-Tais.

8) What's the story behind this image: www.flickr.com/photos/markvelasquez/404251988/
A few years before Katrina, I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and was impressed by the shear audacity of the experience. The spectacle of Bourbon Street, with its blow-jobs in the middle of the road, breast-flashing, and women sliding vials of alcohol down their throats and trying to kiss you so they could charge you ten dollars for those drinks was hilarious and scary for me all at once.

Thinking of doing shoots to illustrate every month of the year, I wanted to avoid the February cliché of Valentine's Day, opting instead for Mardi Gras. This image was filmed in my dirt drive way in Santa Maria, CA. All of these people are my friends and family, even my Aunt Mimi got in on the act as the dour woman looking on disapprovingly. The models are Kari and Laura, who I have used the most in the last few years, and contrary to popular belief, they were only exposing their bras. Even my brother's god-daughter is peaking over a shoulder in shock and amazement, adding to the child-endangerment of this shot.

It almost didn't happen. It was shot early on a Sunday morning and many people flaked on me due to hangovers from the night before. Thankfully, with a few last minute phone calls and some people bringing unexpected guests we filled in the driveway pretty well, I think.

My favorite part about this, as a detail for authenticity, is the "hand grenade drink" that the guy is holding in the foreground, which can only be purchased on Bourbon St. I had a friend specifically bring one back for this shoot when she went that year. Only if you've been there would you know that.

9) The photographer geek in me wants to know what's on your equipment wish list.
A Canon 1Ds Mark III would be nice. A Hasselblad H2, perhaps. And a set of 10 reliable working orange pony-leather Polaroid SX-70s with a lifetime supply of film. My life just hasn't been the same since mine died a few years ago.

10) I'm an editor of a magazine with an international circulation, I loved your first Vanity Fair cover so much that I am going to give you 10 pages for your dream photographic project... what's it going to be Mark?
I really don't have one dream project. Whether I like it or not, I am pretty prolific. The other day I was lamenting to a friend that I was being lazy and hadn't done anything, being fairly mopey about it. Then they brought to my attention that I had done at least one shoot a day for two weeks straight, including that afternoon. I'm never satisfied with what I just did, I am always looking over the horizon.

As for this fictional project, if money were no object I would fly some of my best friends and favorite local models to Montezuma, at the southern tip of the Nicoya Penninsula of western Costa Rica. I would set up my lights and just document the fun, silly, sexy time that would ensue. I think the best photos are captured when you are relaxed and with people you love and respect.

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Spotlight 7 Week 21: itzick

2009-02-08T22:46:00.000-08:00

[curated by smoothdude]

On Flickr.

1) Where are you living now and how does it effect your photography?
I am living in a suburb of Copenhagen (Denmark). As consequence the Danish way of life, culture and social structure have a decisive influence on my photography. But therefore of course I can't say that my photography is a full description of the Danish way of life but rather to a certain extent a reflection on the Danish society and culture.

This is certainly right for the niche called Street Photography and I consider myself as a Street Photographer. As such I don't create situations or stage pictures, but observe and try to catch pictures I find interesting and telling a story. The pictures I take are my own interpretation of what is interesting in life and of people in Denmark.

2) How did you first really get into photography?
To be honest I can’t remember when and how it happened. As a child I was fascinated by the ability to make/create pictures. I got an old Kodak box camera as a present. That camera had very few adjustment possibilities such as; sun, cloudy and rain as well as people or buildings / landscape and some distance marks/alternatives.

The more systematic/serious photography I started at the age of 22 when I bought a Yashika SLR camera that a year later was replaced by two Pentax spotmatic cameras. Ten years later for different reasons I stopped being active on that front and after a pause of about thirty years in December 2006 I bought as an extra X-mass present for myself a Nikon D200 and started again to be an active photographer.

3) You get very close to your subjects, why is that?
You are right. Typically I crop the images very close to the subject. The idea behind it is that if I want to convey a certain feeling to the viewer I would like to make that message as powerful as possible. As I mentioned in my first answer I am not staging my pictures. That leaves me only few possibilities to play with. One possibility is to crop all the disturbing elements out.

4) You seem to favor B&W over color, what is it about that medium for your portrait work?
Once again the B&W gives you another tool to enhance the subject and removing the distracting elements. It is simple and powerful. The B&W gives you larger space to play with.

5) What are your long term goals for your photography?
I wouldn’t say that I have long term goals for my photography. It is a hobby and so it will stay. But I would like if possible to publish a photo album and participate in exhibitions.

6) What is your favorite portrait chosen for Spotlight Seven?
This is a tough question as you might guess I love all those pictures that you choose. Btw those pictures were taken in four countries Israel, England, USA and Denmark.

But if I have to choose and it seems that I have too I will say that the picture “only a child” is the picture that touched me more deeply than the others.

It was taken in the late sixties at a Bedouin market in the Negev desert in Israel where that little boy helped his father as a “shop” keeper.
I will save you from the description what other children in this age are doing.

7) What drew you to the 6 Million People group?
I received an invitation to join the group and when I read the purpose of the group I knew that I have to contribute as much as I can to achieve the goal of 6 million images. It is even if only a little one but it is a tribute to that part of my family that is among those 6 million victims.

8) Do you purposely shoot with that group in mind?
It will be very nice if I could answer yes I do, but I don’t. When out in the streets I have only one thing on my mind and it is to capture an interesting subject. In which group to place the image is an issue I consider only at the moment that I upload it to Flickr.

9) Share with us a photographer or two on Flickr who has influenced your work.
I like to “surf” on Flickr and see pictures and quite a lot are good, really good. But I don’t have any particular photographer that I can say that I was heavily influenced by.

10) Finally, show us a photograph on Flickr that you wish you took.
Sorry, can’t help you as it never occurred to me to think so. I take my pictures and I am happy with them. I appreciate good pictures taken by others but I never considered the idea of “I wish I took that photograph”

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Spotlight 7 Week 20: .charlie. (Charlie Homo)

2009-02-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

Please welcome our week 20 featured artist, .charlie. (Charlie Homo), as curated by calanan.

1) I see from your Flickr profile that you are a Parisian living in San Francisco. How has your photography changed since you moved to the US?

I moved to the US after a 4 year stint in London but I never took photography seriously until I moved to the US and bought my first Nikon FM in the mid-90s. The first camera I owned back in France was an Olympus XA (the clam…). From the start, I have always been drawn to people and this hasn't changed much. I would say that I do more 'music' related photography now that I ever did in France.

2) On your web site you mention your mother and her camera as the source of inspiration for your photography. Tell us more about her, her camera and how both shaped your photography.

My mother was a great 'family' photographer, not artsy so much as real. I don't think she ever owned a big zoom or long portrait lens. Her shots always seem to incorporate subjects and environment. When I bought my first Nikon, I used a 35mm 2.0 and this was my only lens for many years.

She took this shot: flickr.com/photos/victorhugo/584109179

3) What is your favorite camera and lens combination for portrait work and why?

I use a Canon 5D and prime lenses, either a 35mm or a 50mm. I like the full frame I get from the 5D and the very shallow depth of field I can get from the fixed lenses. I recently got an 85mm and a 24-70 zoom which I rarely use but come in very handy at times.

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

For me, it's about catching the moments 'in between'. These are the moments after the subject comes out of a posed, sterile situation and becomes themselves for a split second before 'posing' again. It can also be triggered by something I say or do (I sometimes intuitively use the fact that I'm French as an excuse to say something weird and trigger a response…). It's also about knowing when the subject is being real and that doesn't last long.

5) What are your long term goals for your photography?

I have so much to learn technically, about my equipment, lighting, the business side of things, etc… I'd love to go to art/photography school. Photography as a fulltime, rewarding job would be the ultimate.

6) Of the portraits selected for Spotlight Seven, which is your favorite and why?

This is hard…

I really like this one because it's more of a 'setup' shot with artificial light, which I didn't know how to use until a few months ago. It's also a good example of a moment 'in between' where the subject had his eyes closed for the first 2 shots and when I asked him to really open his eyes, he made this face for a split second.

7) What is you favorite portrait that wasn't chosen for Spotlight Seven?

flickr.com/photos/victorhugo/472790623

This is from my film days, taken with my Nikon FM & a 35mm.

8) Share with us a photographer or two on Flickr who has influenced your work.

evilxelf

tabu

9) You have a series of photographs of kids participating in the School of Rock (Flickr set). How did you become involved with that and what was it like photographing so many talented kids?

I got married 3 years ago and my stepson joined the Paul Green School of Rock around that time. This is an afterschool program for kids that started in the late 90s in Philadelphia (www.schoolofrock.com). It is also what the MTV movie 'School of Rock' was based on. This experience has been amazing as it has allowed me to be involved with music through photography. Kids also tend to have more 'unrehearsed' moments, and that makes for great photographs.

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

flickr.com/photos/croma/419408622

Spotlight 7 Week 19: Mark without Hair

2009-02-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

Mark Without Hair Interviewed and curated by former presenter Francois Coquerel.

1. Hi mark, how are you these days, are you working on something special right now?
I am doing well. Unfortunately I am not working on something at the moment. I work as a graphic artist by day and do not have much time to concentrate on photographic work. I have lots of ideas I would love to pursue but not the time.

I would like to further develop an idea I have regarding the horizon. I began sea kayaking a few years ago and fell in love with the abstract and minimal environment I encounter when kayaking on the Chesapeake Bay, here in Maryland where I live. I have a theory that there is something cleansing and purifying about experiencing a vast and blank horizon. I love photographing it and I would like in the future to spend a great deal more time developing this series as I think the world in general is suffering from over development. I would like to show the contrast within my environment from city shorelines to more rural or undeveloped horizons. And how through over development we are losing something we don’t even know we need or should preserve.

2. How did you start photography? Your work is very personal, but were you very influenced by specific artists?
I started seriously taking pictures when I was probably 14. I had a very influential teacher in school who helped spark the interest and direct my learning. He was a great teacher, very inspiring and I am forever grateful for those years. I later went to College and received a fine art degree in photography. Right now I really love the work of Edward Burtynsky, www.edwardburtynsky.com/

I am just blown away by his work. And at the same time I feel completely unmotivated to pursue my own ideas after seeing and learning more about him and his work. I hate that. I think the problem is called “killing the Buddha”.

I love the tonal qualities and pure subtlety of Mark King.

www.markkingphotography.com/

I am also inspired by different artists who might be painters, sculptors and maybe also work in photography. I enjoy artists who feel compelled to work in different media. I think they can bring a different viewpoint and form of expression than what you might get from an artist who only works as a photographer. I really like the work of Chuck Close. www.chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/ He is a very interesting artist and person. I love his paintings and his large format polaroids. Its all beautiful work

3&4. The kids in this series are your own kids, right? How do you work with them? Do you ask them specific things or are you waiting for the right moment to take your photos?

Most of the children are my two, but there are a few in my Flickr stream that are close friends of theirs. How I work or photograph them has changed as they have gotten older. When I first started a few years ago taking photographs again I would wait for the right moment to happen to snap the shutter. They got accustomed to seeing the camera held at my eye waiting. After a while they would forget I was trying to take a picture of them and when they were absorbed in their own actions again was usually when I chose to capture their image. That type of image is much harder to take now that they are older, so I try to take more formal portraits of them. And I will direct them more or ask them not to smile or laugh or pick their nose etc.. Sometimes though it’s the images of when they become bored or complacent during these sessions that I get an image that I find interesting. I think it shows more about who they are. Because they are complex and multifaceted children. Not just simple and happy. But emotional and sometimes grumpy, tired, happy and/or bored.

5. This series has a very special place in your work, and it's all about your kids, could you take the same kind of pictures with adults or unknown people? Tell us about this choice to work with them.
It is special. At least to me. I'm surprised (and grateful) you and other people take an interest in the images. I would like to work on a series of images of people I don’t know. I need to push myself to do this because I think I could learn a great deal from the experience and perhaps break free of some preconceived notion I have of the work it would produce. I think it would be easy to take similar images of strangers. Usually when you ask to take a strangers photograph you will either get a blank expression because they think you will instruct them to look a certain way if you want it or they don’t know how they should look or feel during this moment or they give you their predefined and generic Kodak smile. I see people every day I wish I had the time to stop and photograph. One day I hope I will. I find it more interesting to take images of my family because of the interest I have with them as subjects and wonder whether I could maintain a similar interest with strangers to the point that I would push myself to get what I would consider an interesting image or if I would become complacent and just accept what I got from the moment and move on.

6. Some of those pictures, especially the one in the darkness, are really strange and a bit scary, but they are at the same time family pictures, how do you deal with this?
I think the darkness is more about creating mood, experimenting with shaping or directing light or perhaps just the natural light that was available at that moment. I do tend to use the darkness or conversely the lightness in an image to create a sense of mood. Perhaps that’s cliché or trite. I don’t know. But it works sometimes. I think it is hard to develop a sense of mood in a properly lit well exposed image that is full of saturated colors. I think that’s why you see the style currently being overused by commercial photographers of over saturated, contrasty images full of grain and detail like the work of Gary Land. I don’t mean to speak ill of this style . I like it and find it very appropriate for what it is used for. But it is a technical way of combining high contrast, dark settings , mood and saturation all into one image.

7. I always have this feeling that the ambiguity of some of thoses photos (pieces of art and family pictures at the same time) makes that people don't really get it, Do you agree?
I agree, perhaps. I think you mean there is ambiguity in the images I make of my close family which is at odds with the outlet I show them in (Flickr). So yeah, sure there probably is some disconnect. I may also not be striking a cord with most viewers. I don’t know. Take this image www.flickr.com/photos/markwithnohair/1420116719/

which I really like and am very happy with. It doesn’t work for everyone but I think it has a tension and awkwardness that I wish I could develop more in other images or future images. I think ambiguity is a style that many artist choose to use as a form of expression. Many artist use it as a tool to be artsy, noncommittal and my images fall into that category. But sometimes I feel like its an excuse or easy position to take as an artist. That’s why I like the nudes from Alec Soth’s Niagara series. Most of the series doesn’t do much for me. But in those nudes he managed to deal with the issue or the theme he has developed very directly and put it in your face. I think those images he managed to come out and say what he is trying to get across without being ambiguous. Sometimes being direct is more powerful and meaningful than being ambiguous and I admire that. But I guess I also enjoy the ambiguity in my image linked to above and feel that it adds to its interest and doesn’t deter from it. But maybe thats just me talking out of both sides of my mouth. (?)

8. what kind of camera do you use?
Film and digital, new and old. I love them all. I dislike talking about cameras. Painters don’t talk about their brushes, sculptors their chisels. Why do photographers care?

9. OK, favorite love songs?
“The Message of love” by the Pretenders (played as loud as you can take it)

10.favorite fight song?
“Cross Town Traffic” by Jimi Hendrix (played as loud as you can take it)

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Spotlight 7 Week 18: sweet distin

2009-02-08T22:42:00.001-08:00

Please welcome our week 18 presenter, Sweet Distin, as curated by smoothdude.

1) Tell us about where you're living right now and how that influences your photography.
I live in Salisbury, in England with my family. It's a medievel city surrounded by beautiful countryside, and whilst I enjoy taking landscapey type pictures (of old sarum particularly) I don't think this locality in particular has much of an influence on my photography. I like all things really, interior domestic scenes, portraits, suburbs, beach....it's whatever triggers something in my head or catches my eye or simply wanting to illustrate something, like lyrics or a feeling....not so much the location.

2) Where do you get most of your subjects?
I'm incredibly lucky to have some amazing children, particularly my daughter (above), who has been patient beyond all hope. She has sat for me endlessly, although she does sometimes say no, and I've realized that there is no point trying to talk her round because it shows quite clearly in the pictures :) I've also been borrowing my oldest son's friends lately, particularly for the behind the glass project (I need to give it a name) and it's great to have other subjects, particularly the boys....I hope to photograph more of their friends over time. My children check everything before it's posted too, if they say no, they don't like it, then it doesn't go up....sometimes you'll see things disappear because of that. I've tried taking pictures of strangers but I find it difficult...I feel that I'm imposing on their time which makes me feel tense and that comes across in the pictures, although in the next few weeks I'm going to do a session with the lovely Lizzy who works at the photolab (her suggestion)...I'm going to have to really think about what I want to do before hand, which'll be a different sort of challenge for me.

3) What kind of emtion are you trying to get from your subjects?
I'm mainly just trying to get them, who they are....I don't generally tell them how to look, unless they ask, though I may direct them into the best light....I don't fix their clothing up, or straighten their hair or ask for make up or anything like that....I just want the picture to be as they are....you can't get anything more endlessly interesting than people....I want them to be really them. With the glass project, I asked them to look down the garden as though they were looking to the future (corny, I know) but I love how they all look so different, some timid, some thoughtful, some determined. It's also fascinating how we actually like to portray ourselves, how we stand, hold our heads, what we do with our hands, I just love it all, all of the people who allow me to take their picture. So basically, I'm not trying to get a specific emotion, just whichever one they have.

4) You use light really well with your portraits, and seem to only use natural light. What are some tips you suggest to people regarding lighting people?
Ooh, difficult one. I don't know that I have any, I just look for a good light, mine is always from the window, no lamps. I think it's just paying attention, the light is the most important thing so you just look for it....I like south facing rooms best but you get consistency with north facing..........sorry, can't really help with this one........it's like anything, you learn what works as you go, I can't really articulate it but I could walk through your house and tell you the best room. :)

5) What do you like about shooting film vs. Digital? What is it about medium format film that keeps you coming back?
I started with digital, and I do like it, but it's a different medium to film...to me it's cleaner, more 'realistic' but generally has less warmth and depth. I started film because I was getting frustrated with the results I was getting on the DSLR....that I couldn't achieve what I wanted. I purchased an old Yashicamat TLR from Ebay....which is where all my cameras have come from, and it suddenly all made sense, it took pictures in the way I saw them.....and that's the same reason why I will sometimes use digital e.g.: the caravan pics....I think it's just using the right tool for the job you need to do. Now I mainly stick with the Hasselblad, because I adore the slightly soft focus (soft to me anyway) and the toycams, the Diana and the Holga (whose back fell off today in the middle of the film). But I love them all, the 35mm slr has taken some of my favourite portraits......the great wall is completely hit and miss, but it's also completely perfect when it goes right. Plus film just feels like home, I have something physical to hold on to and print up in the darkroom if I like.

6) Show us a photographer or two on flickr that has influenced your work.
There are so so many that have and do all the time, even if I'm not conciously aware of it. I'll just list a few of my faves... BosseB www.flickr.com/photos/bosseb/ His portraits are some of my all time favourites....they are heartbreakingly beautiful. Rebeccamissing www.flickr.com/photos/mintyfresh/ just truly emotional, poetic, pictures.....not necessarily portraits....he could make you cry over a patch of dirt with his spectra and a few words. Mr. E. www.flickr.com/photos/mr-e/ always honest, exposed, inspirational and beautiful. Harpy www.flickr.com/photos/harpy/ she just kicks ass...I always struggle with describing her work but it somehow cuts through the crap and goes straight to the heart and mind. Aikithereska www.flickr.com/photos/thisiswhatisee/ although Therese makes beautiful pictures, it's the way she persists through all the ups and downs of trying to be creative regardless, or because of, whatever life throws up, that inspires me most. I could go on endlessly.

7) If you could spend a week somewhere in the world just doing photography where would it be?
I'd rent an old furnished farmhouse, all rambling and rundown, by the sea in Cornwall. That would make me happy.

8) Tell us something about your favorite portrait of the one's chosen for Spotlight Seven.
Well they all mean something, I love the one of Becky because I really wanted to show her how lovely she is and she does like it, I love the one of Harry, because that's so him, and James, because he doesn't let me take his picture anymore and he can be intense and a real thinker and I hope that shows through. At the moment though, it's the one of my Dad. I think this is the first one I've taken seriously of him since I've kind of known what I'm doing more....he's usually laughing and talking non stop and I find this one very moving. He hasn't said whether he likes it yet or not though.....sometimes it's disconcerting to see yourself changing and getting older.

9) What are your long term goals in regards to your photography?
Well I faff around a lot, I talk about exhibiting or getting a portfolio together even, and I haven't yet done it. My pleasure/passion/obsession comes from the thinking about pictures, having ideas and the taking of them....I don't know if there's enough of me to do the business side, the side that you need to become a 'success'. I'd like to make some money (read need) at the very least to keep me in film, ....ideally I'd like to get my pictures out on walls, make books, have the time to follow my ideas, all of that.............but I need to be able to sell myself and that's what I'm not good at. I don't want to impress anyone, just be able to carry on doing what I love.

10) Show us a photograph you wish you took on flickr.
I've just spent forever going through my favourites and there are about a million pictures I wish I'd taken. It's been interesting to see how over time my tastes have softened, both in focus and colours. I'm going to pick this one simply because I love it and I wish wish wish I'd been taking pictures when my babies were in fact babies and if I had been, then I'd like to think that this is what I'd have done.....nothing fancy, just beautifully tender...
www.flickr.com/photos/hadleyphoto/2400639571

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The 10 chosen photos

Spotlight 7 Week 17: Bukutgirl

2009-02-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

Please welcome our week 17 presenter, Bukutgirl, as curated by smoothdude

1) What are you trying to get from your subjects when taking a portrait?

Portrait / candid photography of people is one of my favorite things to do. When I’m shooting someone – if they are aware of it or not (I love to go to street fairs and stand still in one spot for a few hours and just catch what happens around me) – I’m looking for honesty, and clear emotion. That point in the day when a person is not distracted by other thoughts and they are completely within themselves. I think in some cases this is actually easier to do with people who don’t know you’re shooting them vs. planned shoots. If I have a planned shoot with someone I spend a few hours with them beforehand eating something, chatting, having the camera out – shooting them randomly just to get them used to a camera being there. I guess in the end I want the portrait to capture that person as completely as possible as they were in that moment.

2) Can you show us an early of yours that got you really excited about photography?

I was driving back with a friend over thanksgiving weekend from a car race (I went up to photograph the race – classic cars – it was a blast but really cold) it was about 2 am and we were getting back to the car through the parking lot and passed this trucker. I don’t know – it just lit me up.

3) Your photos have a very gritty real quality about them. Do you attribute that to your style, surroundings, your emotion going into a photo?

I moved to Baltimore shortly before getting on flickr and starting to shoot again – besides the very few shots I actually took while in peace corps (maybe 4 rolls in 2 years) I really hadn’t picked up a camera in about 10 years. I was very much alone in this city when I first got here and surprised by the intensity of this place. Baltimore is guts – so many people here don’t even know if they are going to eat that night – or if they’ll have a home next month – it gives the city – and even those of us who are a little more financially secure – a rawness – by living around it all the time. Being a nurse at a local Baltimore hospital influenced this as well – many of my patients were end stage AIDS patients – and it made me so angry at the world – that is a fate no one deserves. I also have had quite a number of major physical problems in the last three years that have at times brought me really down and have made it hard to want to continue to be. A lot of my self portrait work has been about getting some of that out and the war you get into with your own body when it is a constant source of pain. So I guess it’s a bit of everything – the urgent surroundings – the at times desperate nature of life in Baltimore – and my own physical / emotional pain – that pushes me towards gritty.

4) How does Baltimore influence your photography?

This city is fascinating – as I’ve said – it has guts –the fabric of this city is really rich, from the vibrant arts community, to the families that survive and are happy despite all odds to the gruesome realities of some parts of this town, it’s an interesting place to live. When I’m shooting or editing I like to just open up – internally – and feel the city – maybe that sounds really foo-foo but these old buildings and streets have so much energy to them – you can’t help but absorb/channel this place.

5) I found your set of self portraits to be one of the more interesting I've seen on flickr. Talk about this set a little bit.

When I first moved here – and actually for about 2 years – I lived alone and kept really odd hours. I was a full time student and then a nurse working night shift. I ended up doing a lot of self portraiture because there really wasn’t anyone else around when I had time to shoot. As I mentioned the last few years have been hard on me physically and mentally. Between being hit by a car in ’01, having a major medical mishap that left me with permanent nerve damage in my left leg in ’02, two knee surgeries, a nasty cancer scare, heart issues and herniated disks, it’s really been a trial. I haven’t felt very integrated – my body really wasn’t my friend for a long time. Luckily things are calm now and I really don’t have much pain most days. But I really struggled with anger and depression and physical pain there for a while. But shooting myself is also like writing a journal – you catch the good stuff and the bad stuff – I’ve kept a journal since I was little – I guess I just changed media these last few years. On some levels in the past few years I’ve also been learning to accept myself – and exploring what it means to be an adult woman – the consequences and the joys. Much of the work I shot during my first round of school here in Baltimore revolved around my identity crisis of having switched fields (I used to do bench research – and I gave it up to do nursing) and moved across the country away from the landscapes of Oregon I love so much. I had a lot of self doubt about my choices. While I was a nurse I found myself shooting about my interactions with my patients. Who knows, now I work with cockroaches and the elderly so I have no idea what will come out of that!

6) Many Spotlight Seven presenters are either working as photographers or freelancers with aspirations. You're not trying to become a photographer though. Why? And tell us what you are doing.

I have trouble imagining on some levels that my work would be interesting to others. I make images that I like to see – that I haven’t ever seen before. So seriously considering working as a photographer just hasn’t been on my mind. The few times I’ve shot in a semi professional role I have encountered a lot of anxiety – you only really get to shoot once – if I’m shooting for me – no big deal – but if its for someone else it feels like a lot of pressure – so I can’t imagine wanting to do that full time. Instead of a career in photography I’m working on a double masters in occupational and environmental public health nursing ( a masters in nursing and a masters in public health at Johns Hopkins). It’s an upstream approach to preventing downstream health problems by making sure they don’t have an opportunity to get started in the first place. I’m currently working with an elderly / disabled public housing highrise in Baltimore City. The residents and management are working with me on getting a handle on their pest problems (mice and cockroaches) in order to improve the health of the people living and working in the building. We’re using an approach that has worked well in other cities (most notably boston) – it’s an environmental approach – i.e. lowering the carrying capacity of the building for pests via structural and behavioral modifications. The basic idea is to cut pests off from water, food and harborage. It takes a little longer than just going in and spraying down the whole place, but it’s more effective in the long run and doesn’t expose people to the nasty chemicals used in pesticides. A lot of people don’t know that cockroaches aren’t just annoying – they also cause and exacerbate asthma – as do mice. It’s challenging work but I really enjoy it. I’m currently in the process of applying for the PhD program in Public health.

7) If you could photograph one person who would it be?

Patrick White. He’s a noble lit. prize laureate, and his books have informed my thoughts and attitudes since I first encountered them at 18. He’s long dead, but I’ve read everything he’s ever written – and I feel like I have a relationship with him now (I know – crazy) but I would have loved to have been able to sit down and get to know him and try to capture the internal person I got to know through his work – via his exterior existence. If you haven’t heard of him one of his best books is Voss.

8) Show us two photographers on flickr who have inspired you.

This is tough there are sooo many people that I look up to and get inspired by…but if I have to:
One is:
Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff...'s
Here’s the link to his stream: all_the_names_are_already_taken_pfff/
His work blows me away and makes me strive to get cleaner and heartier.
Another would be: Brett Walker – his street work is unreal. I love the grit and the emotion and the clarity.

9) Tell us something about your favorite portrait we chose for Spotlight Seven.

“My Home in East Baltimore” – this little girl’s older siblings were out working with a friend of mine in a community garden in E. Baltimore. I went out for the day to shoot their activities. This little one – Ochi – is 2 years old and she was so beautiful and fresh and loved by her siblings it was wonderful to see. There was a stray cat that kept going in her yard – that she could see from the garden and she kept saying, “Get outta mah yard!” it was really funny – but really stark at the same time. This is a shot with her older sister behind her, in front of their house. The zipcode they live in has a higher murder rate than certain areas of Iraq right now. These kids are full of so much potential, its hard for me to think about all the things that will come at them as they try to grow up. At least Ochi has a loving family and knows how to chase away the strays.

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

This one.

------
The 10 chosen photos:

chrisisageek

2009-02-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

What can I say about chrisisageek that hasn't already been said? In theory a lot since not much has been said on his profile page at Flickr, but in reality not much- because what else do we really know about Chris? Besides his geekiness.

Hampton Roads Wedding Photographer John Cachero

2009-02-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

From time to time, I like to highlight different people contributing to the 6 Million People project. Today, I'd like to share a few photographs from one of the leaders in Hampton Roads wedding photography, John Cachero. Known as NogsOnline at Flickr, John is a talented, up & coming photographer. Nogs was also nice enough to blog about our project on his blog. You can view all his contributions to the 6 Million People project, which will no doubt grow in time with many more great photos. When you look at the Nogs' portfolio, you'll have no doubt that he'll soon be among the finest wedding photographers in Virginia. Give him a call if you're in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and need a good photographer.

Spotlight 7 Week 36: DarkDaze Photography [Mildly NSFW]

2009-02-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

This week's Spotlight Seven exhibition features Dark Daze Photography, as curated by Spotlight 7 alum Lou O'Bedlam. Dark Daze got his start as a child when he picked up an Instamatic and used it to shoot the wildlife near his house into his teens. Like many, the photography bug let-up but never went away, and DD returned to photography about 10 years later. In this excerpt, Lou asks DD about his experiences with different cameras, and the different styles they engender:

3) does the camera make the photographer? how have each of your cameras contributed to your style?
No. the camera is just a device to achieve something. But then again yes of course it does. At best it’s a healthy relationship, like all guitar players have their favourite ‘axe’ but they could all knock a decent tune out of any piece of junk with strings. I am very conscious of how differently I shoot on different cameras- for instance I hardly ever shoot digital on the street- I hate having a camera up at my eye, so I shoot on my bronica, with its waist level viewfinder. It slows me down, I don’t waste shots, I think about framing and almost never press the shutter. Polaroid frees me up, no-one ever gets intimidated by having a Polaroid taken off them- but again I shoot max 3 shots and if it doesn’t work then we finish for the day. Digital, I am in for the long haul, I may work for 50 shots trying to get one model in a set-up to move her arm to where it looks right to me. I tweak and I tweak and I tweak, and then just when its about perfect I tear down all my lights and my assistants look at me with hate, and we set up all over again. This is pretty standard. So my digital style is clean and precise, you wont find anything that isn’t meant to be there, my medium format is loose but composed, a lot of balance I hope.

There's much more to learn about DD in the rest of his interview. When did he decide to become pro, how he balances commerce with art, what he's gotten out of Flickr, and much more. This is one of our more in-depth interviews, and DD is hanging around to take questions, so you can't miss this. Please be sure to browse his photostream, and you can visit his website or order prints if you really like what you see. Enjoy! Oh, and spread the word about Spotlight Seven!

Diamond Valley Lake Half Marathon finisher

2009-01-25T22:15:00.001-08:00

Diamond Valley Lake Half Marathon finisher, originally uploaded by jakerome.

From yesterday's race. Took this soon after I finished the same event.

Lung Liu in Spotlight Seven

2009-01-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Please join me in welcoming Lung S. Liu for Week 35 of Spotlight 7. Lung has taken photos all over the world, from Bangkok to Vancouver, Mexico and the Salton Sea in California. Lung truly has a gift, as he seems to be able to see the subject and capture an emotion without overt worries about lighting or equipment. It's a gift few of us share, and be sure to read the whole interview and the discussion to see this from several viewpoints. Here's just a bit from this week's exhibition:

5) Tell us about the Muay Thai set, how did you find yourself shooting that amazing series.

I was walking along the railroad tracks in Central Bangkok and ran into some people watching cockfights. They pointed me towards the local gym and I started to photograph there and that just ballooned to other gyms. It was a natural progression.

Check out the rest of the Lung's interview with smoothdude, and wander over to his website to discover more about this fine artist.

G's emphatic assent

2008-12-31T00:10:00.001-08:00

G's emphatic assent, originally uploaded by no answers 2.

Flickr friend, and the star of several photo streams.

Christopher at Pictureline

2008-12-22T18:38:00.000-08:00

Mike Calanan is a good friend and a great photographer. He was featured during Week 14 of Spotlight 7, and curated our Week 20 exhibition of .charlie. Here's his portrait of the camera shop guy. Nice one! See more of Mike's work.

Sister in Snow

2008-12-18T08:50:00.001-08:00

Sister in Snow , originally uploaded by Justin D..

Justin is a long-time member of the group, and provided our Chinese translation. Very lovely portrait of his sister here.

Renq in Spotlight 7

2008-12-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

Amazing stuff this week from Renq, courtesy of resident curator madeinsheffield. Our first-ever Estonian artist in Spotlight 7, it's hard to believe that he first picked up a camera 2 years ago. Just goes to show that some people just have an amazing natural talent for photography. Rene Piirkop is the odd photographer that started on digital-- in 2006-- and now exclusively shoots film. The photos are timeless and eye-catching, and Rene gives us a small peak into his work habits.

3) Your portraits are very considered - do you spend much time planning them before hand?
Most of my portraits have been taken spontaneously, quite accidentally, and by momently emotion. I do not plan my portraits.Naturally I pay a lot of attention to the background, but these are quick momently decisions in the course of shooting. I do not make classic photo session where during long hours a model is forced to try hundreds of poses.

Check out all 10 portraits please, and be sure to leave some comments and feedback for our featured artist on the interview page. Thanks all!

Hey, I know that guy!

2008-12-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

That's me, photo courtesy of Daniel Krieger, aka smoothdude on Flickr. Smoothie, as he's often called on Flickr isa terrific New York City-based wedding photographer, commercial photographer, photojournalist and a stunning portraitist, too. We met up for lunch yesterday in Chinatown, and then snapped far too many shots on the street. Check out all his work, and be sure to pay extra attention to his great portraits.

South Bay silhouette

2008-12-05T20:16:00.001-08:00

DSC_0524, originally uploaded by Ryan M 21.

This is from my neck of the woods. There was great light that night from all the smoke in the sky. Great sense of fun in this photo.

Tiffany

2008-12-01T21:29:00.001-08:00

Tiffany, originally uploaded by phoneymanflickr.

Tiff is a Flickr friend, and Pierre is another Flickr friend. What a wonderful age we live in.

harrier pilot

2008-11-20T16:26:00.001-08:00

harrier pilot, originally uploaded by andre stoeriko.

Just awesome.

Verónica Noonan (teleoalreves) in Spotlight 7

2008-11-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

Week 33 of Spotlight Seven features our first South American, Verónica Noonan aka teleoalreves, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Which means we've now featured artists from six different continents! This is just a little bit of this week's interview.

4) How do you interact with your models when you're photographing them. Do you joke around with them or talk to them a lot? tell us how you get emotion from them?
That's the question. There's a magical success when the model is front of me , perfect strangers who naturally fell comfort, I usually let them be , but when I need something in particular, I guide them with little words, only that. Some awesome things happens to me with the persons in front of my camera. I 'm very thankful. Maybe it's a gift somebody gave to me!!!!

Verónica also maintains her own website, which no doubt features some of the best portrait photography in Argentina. The photos there are definitely worth a visit, and the website is very elegant. She probably has written a wonderful description of her work on her profile page, but as my Spanish is very rusty, I'll depend on her English testmonials to tell you that she has some huge fans. But hey, take a look for yourself in this week's Spotlight Seven exhibit.

Monument

2008-11-17T19:11:00.001-08:00

Monument, originally uploaded by davydubbit.

Berlin.

Fireman

2008-11-16T21:18:00.001-08:00

Fireman, originally uploaded by Lucas Janin.

From the photographer:

At six in the morning, fire engine sirens woke me from my sleep. Less than a mile from my home, dark smoke was pouring from a house. I quickly grabbed my photographic equipment and left. You can see from the face of the fireman, that the house could not be saved.

Ce matin à 6 heures, de nombreuses sirènes de pompier attirent mon attention. A moins d’un kilomètre de ma maison, un incendie dégageait une épaisse fumée noirâtre.. Vite préparer mon matériel photo et partir... Nous pouvons lire sur le visage de ce pompier que la maison n'a pas pu être sauvée.

Los Angeles, California, USA

Portrait of a worried girl

2008-11-15T23:16:00.001-08:00

Portrait of a worried girl, originally uploaded by oxjonte.

Oxjonte was asking for advice on how to get more people viewing his photos in Flickr Central, so I decided to look at his stream. It's really top-notch stuff, and this is one of the best child portraits I have ever come across-- really amazing. It holds together so well, from the jet-black background, to the attentive yet inquisitive stare, the huge buttons, the tones, the shadow, the lighting... everything.

Oxjonte added many other photos to the pool as well, so please check them out and give this gifted photographer some of the attention he deserves.

Masiray by Superchou

2008-11-15T22:43:00.000-08:00

Superchou is another Flickr friend, and she takes some really neat photos. The one above, from a computer lab, is a great portrait and I was pleased when she added it to the group. Lately, it's been a treat to view her photos of the Western Center in Pittsburgh, and it's always a treat to see her wide-angle shots. Superchou's wonderful husband (or so we're told) is a musician or musical producer or just some sort of all around musical genius. I'm certain he is both, so if you need a music dude, especially if you're in Pittsburgh, check out Josh's composition, remixes and more.

About a Man, a Mouse, a Gun, a Moustache, Some Gold Chains, a Pair of Glasses, and a Polkadot Bow...

2008-11-15T08:58:00.001-08:00

About a Man, a Mouse, a Gun, a Moustache, Some Gold Chains, a Pair of Glasses, and a Polkadot Bow..., originally uploaded by TrEjAcK..

This is my friend Trejack, in what has to be one of the more original photos ever submitted to 6 Million People. It's a satire of a parody, or a parody of a satire. Whatever. Tre is a really good photographer, taking great photos of his daughter, all around Katy, Texas, the local pooches and much more. Really, Tre's true genius is taking one great photo for themed photo competitions, which he has turned into a bit of an art. You can find more of Tre's fantastic work on his website and at his Flickr stream.

Ian aka Binary Boy

2008-11-02T14:48:00.001-08:00

Tired, originally uploaded by 01101001 01100001 01101110.

This is my friend Ian, perfectly posed in this perfectly taken self-portrait. Ian, or 01101001 01100001 01101110, is really a great photographer, and is a genius with both MS Paint and Photoshop, using whatever tool is necessary to create the effect he wants. One of his favorite tactics is to create symmetry where none exists, and building outrageously fun camera rigs for his car. Whether you want a photo of car parks or skateboards, Ian's your guy. Be sure to check out more of Binary's work on his photostream and his website, which just leads back to his photostream actually. So no need to check out both, really. Hopefully he returns to America to he can take more photos of the states and so we can have another Flickr meet-up.

Blogging contest

2008-11-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

We had a contest in 6 Million People and got 10 entries. We randomly selected one winner using the random number generator from Jason Hill is the winner! Congratulations Jason, you'll get a free year of Flickr. I'll go ahead and list all ten entries here. Good luck next year!

Mr. Wizzard
Mistifrang
Aubirdy
jandprowley
Arty Smokes
My Symbiosis
Jayel Aheram
Jason Hill
SF Lights
Trejack

p0cket-paul in Spotlight Seven

2008-11-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Please visit the 32nd installment of Spotlight Seven, featuring the photography of p0cket-paul, as curated by madeinsheffield. Obsessed with cameras since using his dad's Olympus to take photos of the television, p0cket-paul has no doubt improved considerably since those early days-- his portraits are stunning. Here's a short excerpt for the interview.

8) You shoot portraits in both colour and black and white - do you have a preference or does the choice depend on the subject?

If it is not digital or an organised situation then it will be whatever is in the camera. Although, I believe that everything I shoot should be in colour for conceptual reasons but I have a love of B&W for aesthetic reasons. Sometimes it is hard or pointless not to contradict your own ideology.

Please check out all 10 ten photos and the interview.

http://flickr.com/groups/spotlight_seven/discuss/72157608470218642/

Surfing

2008-10-31T11:20:00.001-07:00

Surfing, originally uploaded by mariekejoan.

Awesome fun, awesome photo.

patrick

2008-10-26T16:54:00.001-07:00

patrick, originally uploaded by tom.hoops.

Highlighted by D40 Student, this is from a Tom Hoops, a past Spotlight Seven featured photographer.

Spotlight 7 features Rod Monkey

2008-10-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

[The following is courtesy of visiting curator bukutgirl.]

you can see the interview at Spotlight 7 here:
flickr.com/groups/spotlight_seven/discuss/72157608289757379/

Hi all - wanted to invite you to come and see this week's interview with Rod Monkey - He's a Scott living in London - who brings his fascination with modern urban landscapes to bear in his portraiture - Thanks again to Jake and Smoothdude for inviting me to guest curate again and of course to Rod himself!

Here are some teasers!

4) I know you have traveled all over the world to shoot - from Chile to the south west of America to Eastern Europe - what's the portrait you wish you'd gotten to take on your travels - the one that "got away"?
4. I'm going to cheat here and talk about a shot i did actually take, and I'm going to class it as a portrait, even though the subject was an inanimate object.

I took a shot of a toppled giant Moai on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) just after sunrise - he looked so serene, lying on his back in the warm morning light - totally relaxed and at peace. It was a gorgeous shot and I'm convinced it was one of the best shots I've ever taken. Unfortunately I managed to drop my portable hard drive with all my Chile images on it when I got home. This damaged the drive and meant i couldn't access the photos. I spent a lot of money to have the data recovered by a specialist firm and they managed to recover about 95% of them....but not this particular image. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!! Oh well, it just gives me even more reason to go back to this amazing island!

5) In your recent year you've focused a lot more on people - what has influenced this movement?
5. I think I just wanted to try something different - up until 15 months ago, if a person was in my photo it was a mistake - they'd wandered into shot and I hadn't noticed. I think spending so much time on Flickr seeing so many wonderful portraits made me realise i was missing out, so I took the plunge and bought a small home studio kit - I have to say I've really loved the change of emphasis.

and More of Rod's work here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rod_monkey/

Aaron surveys

2008-10-19T15:18:00.001-07:00

Aaron surveys, originally uploaded by jakerome.

This is my brother Aaron, during our ride over to Family Camp this year. Aaron is lucky enough to run run his own wholesale silver jewelry business, WholesaleGemshop.com, which lets him get away for a week every summer.

Swing Shot

2008-10-11T16:21:00.001-07:00

Heisman, originally uploaded by jakerome.

This is my nephew, king of the Ropes Course, enjoying the Swing Shot at Camp Lawrence Family Camp. I'm thinking this should be the new logo for Project Adventure.

Spotlight 7 Week 30 features merkley??? [NSFW]

2008-10-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

merkley??? in Spotlight Seven.

That's right, Krieger scored an interview with the one & only merkley???? Here's an excerpt from his interview-- which fits in perfectly with everything else I've read about this genius.

5) You don't care much for cameras but have you ever shot with a DSLR or something like a Hasselblad, or as I think you've named it, the "Hasselhoff" ? Would you play around with one if someone lent you one for a day?

Haven't yet shot medium format style but i absolutely would if someone lent me one, i'm not anti-tech by any means, i'm just anti the notion that it's required and i like to champion the notion of getting to work with what you have instead of endlessly making excuses about equipment.

plus i'm lazy and i like to travel light.

when most people talk tech they are really talking about turd polishers but all i can see are their turds, polished or not. the anti-tech "filmy" people are even worse. it's mostly those with no ideas that clamor endlessly about tech up or down.

i'd love to have a camera that would capture the resolution of an eagles eye and i can't wait until they are also that small. btw i have a dslr and i use it for official shoot type stuff, i just can't wait til it no longer offers me anything i need or want. that day is fast approaching.

i want small.

a good camera will never make a good picture, people with good ideas and work ethics make them.

Part of the genius of merkley??? is his unique communication style-- half promotional, half befuddled, half shocked and half bored. Which makes for, like, 2 merkley???s. And always interesting, of course. And good-humored, and proud yet humble at the same time. Go read his profile. View his photostream. Read his blog. And most importantly, buy his book! So in that vain, here's some more of his genius, taken from some follow on questions that merkley??? answered in his interview.

Q: How do you get the cats to cooperate?
A: now it wouldn't be fun to toss them if they cooperated now would it :)

Q: And finally, you say on your site that you don't have meetings to set up your shots but they are often very complex and occasionally seem to take inspiration from paintings (one I looked at reminded me very much of a fucked up contemporary klimt) so is this intentional? Does it take a while for you to get your muse for want of a better phrase or do you just go for it and see what happens?

A: I think I have heard the klimt thing before but let me google again to see who you're talking about. -- oh yeah, no -- he was never an inspiration, even in my painting days i always thought those images were kinda faggy -- which isn't really a bad thing but you know, i'm so effin MACHO :)

besides the infections i carry with me from the inspirations i list in my profile, i don't set out to emulate or base things on other works. i'm too insecure for that.

as far as the getting my muse thing -- for the most part my subjects are all excited about getting into the retarded spirit and having fun, occasionally i'll get stuck with a person that isn't as receptive to unusual ideas and that can hurt the spirit but at the same time something inside of me enjoys a challenge and even a really frustrating experience can turn into something rewarding. but yeah, sometimes it's easier than others and at no time is it ever as bad as having an actual JOB.

Interview

Spotlight 7 Week 29 features Lou O' Bedlam

2008-09-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

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.

"Self Portrait" Noah

2008-09-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

"Self Portrait" Noah, originally uploaded by Qathi.

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

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

2008-09-25T23:14:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2008-09-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Pureness..

2008-09-14T22:15:00.001-07:00

Pureness.., originally uploaded by micartttt.

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

Miles Standish: Spotlight 7 Week 16

2008-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

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: ).

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 [] and Tom []…

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 [] 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:

Az Rehman: Spotlight 7 Week 15

2008-09-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Archive of Week 14 interview with Mike Calanan.

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.

Kelly Casto: Spotlight 7 Week 13

2008-09-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

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:

Zeynep Kanra: Spotlight Seven Week 12

2008-09-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Archive of Week 12 interview.

Please welcome our week 12 featured photographer, Zeynep Kanra

1) Where are you from and where do you live now?

I am from Turkey and live in Istanbul. This is where I was born and where I have lived all my life ( already 32 years! )
Turkey is really a colorful country full of history and consists of many cultures which have acted as bridge between the continents for many years.

2) How does your location influence your photography?

I love people, no matter to which religion or history they belong...Istanbul is a present given to life and it opens new doors every time, keeps secrets, tells many tales and yes, Istanbul is gifted, so as the photographer living in this city of soul.

3) You seem to choose a lot of really old and really young people to photograph, what is about those age groups that attracts you to them?

I do not especially choose an age group to photograph. I am addicted to stories hidden behind the eyes and children reflect their stories easily..I love faces. I love to share the stories of the faces and souls, this is why I have portraits in my stream other than anything. I do no like to shoot landscapes etc.

4) Do you ask permission for those street portraits?

I do not usually ask for permission, but I love to talk to them before or after I take the photos. Sometimes only a look acts as permission. This is something you feel looking in the eye.

5) What's your favorite lens/camera for taking portraits?

For portraits, I love my Canon 35 mm f 1.4 ...

6) Do you have any favorite photographers on flickr?

I have many favorite photographers on flickr. I love people sharing the moments here. Flickr is a treasure!

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

I would go back to Varanasi / India..

8) Where do your photography to take you in the future?

I am not earning money from photography. That is why I think I am collecting stories in my archive..Stories to tell to my children, moments to look after many years pass...I feel like I’m collecting ‘ special moments ‘ in a ‘ special box ‘.

9) Tell us something about your favorite portrait of the one's chosen for Spotlight Seven.

I have named a set of photos as “faces”
in my flickr stream and I am in love with all these portraits. I love what the others feel when they look at my portrait photos . I receive many e-mails in which people all around the world tell me what they feel looking at my photos..This is magical. This is what ‘ to share ‘ means. We are living in the same world, but most of the people act as if we are different than each other, some have priorities than the others etc..No, no, no....I want people understand that all we need is love and it is not that hard to understand this. ‘ Looking in the eye and smiling ‘...this is the magical solution.. I do not want to tell separate words for my photos, they are part of stories and they each tell themselves..if you look with the heart.

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

When I first started taking photos, it was my dream to go to Tibet, India and to other parts of the world and now, I am glad to make most of it come true. Therefore, I have special interest in far away lands... Eric Lafforgue travels and sees a lot and I would like to see the places he went. There are no significant photos I can tell you, but I want to travel the world, I want to learn other stories, too...I want the magic to continue till I die.

Francois Coquerel: Spotlight Seven Week 11

2008-09-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Archive of week 11 interview.

Please welcome our week 11 presenter, Francois Coquerel

1) How did you get into photography, can you show us an early photo you took that made you feel really inspired about the medium?

I began taking photos and developing them together with a friend of mine when I was 18. We developed the film in his grandfathers garage with very old equipment. I then quit photography but recommenced a few years later. I was a student in History at the moment and I finally bought an Hasselblad, after having decided that photography was what I wanted to do. This picture is one of the first I took with my Hasselblad. I get a bit tired of this kind of pictures now, but it gave me some of self confidence at the time.

2) I noticed one woman comes up a lot, is she a lover, a friend, a muse? There several additional great photos besides the one I chose for Spotlight Seven including this one I wanted to share.

I Keep this to myself!

3) I see you mostly shoot with a Hasselblad, how important is the equipment you use in your photography or in any photography?

The equipment is very important to me. Every camera is interesting, but you can't really take any kind of picture with any kind of camera. I mean that it's hard hard for me to use a regular digital camera, once you've been used to shooting with a medium format one. But there are loads of things I’d like to photograph but can't because of I don’t have the right equipment.

4) Do you use any digital cameras? How do you feel it has affected our medium?

No. As I’m into medium format, a digital back is really expensive. Moreover I don't like shooting a lot when I’m taking a photo of someone. I really prefer taking my time, being a bit slow. But of course digital cameras are sometimes very useful.

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

I don't really look for a very particular emotion while I'm taking a photo. I just wait for the model to feel comfortable, or at least used to the presence of the camera. After a while, when everything turns a bit boring, that's very often the right time.

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

In a old monastery. Beautiful light, beautiful clothes.

7) Who is one person you'd love to photograph?

Daniel Johnson, without any hesitation. He looks great, and i'd be happy to meet him. That's the thing with photography, you can meet amazing people.

8) Is there someone on flickr who's work you admire?

I really admire a lot of photographs on flickr. People like Ryan Schude, Noah Kalina, because they are doing great things quite far away from my own style. And the way they use artificial light is really great. But there are also illustrators like mia in the sky, Evdokia Zakharova, Lynn K, Nura P and many others.

9) Tell us something about your favorite portrait of the one's chosen for Spotlight Seven.
This one is my favorite

This is a portrait of one of my nephews, Malo.

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

This one is really amazing. It really hypnotizes me.

Krissy & Lucas Richardson II

2008-09-13T19:16:00.001-07:00

Krissy & Lucas Richardson II, originally uploaded by Travis Jon Allison.

Travis just added a whole bunch of portraits to the group. Thanks!

Untitled

2008-09-09T19:14:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by Simon Grossi.

Simon just added a bunch of great photos to the group.

Patrick Shaw featured in Week 26 of Spotlight 7

2008-09-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

The 26th installment of Spotlight Seven features Patrick Shaw. Patrick is an Englishman living in Brooklyn, and his work can also be found on his website. Here's a bit from Patrick's interview:

2) How do you get emotion from your models? What's a tip you could give to someone starting out in portrait photography? with your subjects, try talking to them first, there is a story about avedon shooting the duke and duchess of windsor, he was deliberately late to the studio on the day, said it was because the taxi he was in, had run over a dog, he then started giving them a blow by blow description ( knowing they were dog lovers ) of the dying dog, and all the time shooting their reaction The story was completely fictitious. He had his shot.. it would have been completely different without that emotion there are many ways to bring some humanity to a shot....first think about who you are shooting, and don't be boring.

Please check out the rest of the interview and all 10 photos in Spotlight 7.

Nigerian boy

2008-08-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

SHOLGK/9991, originally uploaded by sholgk.

Lovely composition.

Charlotte (Made in Sheffield): Spotlight 7 Week 10

2008-08-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Archive of week 10 interview.

1) Tell us where you’re from and how that has influenced your photography.
I'm from Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, but I've lived in London for about 10 years. I've never really given much thought as to whether where I'm from has influenced the shots I take. There is a lot of beautiful countryside on the doorstep of Sheffield which I spent a great deal of time in as a child, but I'm not really a fan of classic landscape photography. I tend to be drawn to more urban, gritty scenes - maybe in contrast to what I grew up with.

2) You just visited NYC on vacation (or Holiday as the British say). How is street photography different on the other side of the pond?
If anything the people I asked for their portrait in NYC were less suspicious of me and more willing to pose. New York does have quite a frenetic feel to it, so I think when it comes to 'classic' street photography, it is perhaps easier to 'hide', so to speak. Whilst there I saw a guy taking candid street shots, he was getting seriously close to people, but they didn't seem to notice, and he then just disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the sidewalk.

3) How do you approach random people on the street to take their photograph?
I find the quicker the exchange the better. Rather than launching into a big explanation, I just smile and politely ask if I can take their picture. Most people say yes, some people ask why. If they ask, I say it's just for my portfolio. Sometimes I might flatter them a little, such as telling them they have a great look, which tends to do the trick! I'm always a little nervous when I ask the first one of the day, sometimes my hands go a bit shaky which can be a bit problematic! Once you've asked the first though it gets much easier.

4) Tell us about your "Brief Encounters" series.
It's a series that has evolved rather than been planned. When I first got my digital camera (summer 2006) I found I began to take far more pictures than I ever did on film, mainly because cost was no longer an issue. I started a mini documentary project, in which I aimed to get 20 decent shots of London life each month for a year (they're buried in my Flickr stream somewhere). As part of these shots, I would get the odd street portrait. After a while I realised it was the street portraits that interested me most, and the documentary stuff took more of a back seat (although I do still like to mix it up). When I go out shooting now, I'm disappointed if I come back without any portraits.

5) I love how some of your street portraits are diptychs. What inspired you to show two different views like that?
I only recently discovered the wonders of diptychs when looking at all the amazing stuff on Flickr. I just began playing around one day, at first with two portrait shots of the same person, just with different expressions, then I realised that not only was it nice to see a face in close-up, but it was interesting to see a bit of context regarding their surroundings. I haven't seen a lot of diptychs like that, but I'm sure I'm by no means the first person to do it.

6) Tell us something we don’t know about one of the portraits chosen for Spotlight Seven.
I didn't know that Brian Haw apparently makes a point of not looking at the lens, so I count myself very lucky.
www.flickr.com/photos/madeinsheffield/2278026172/in/pool-...

7) If someone was going to buy you one piece of equipment at B&H, whatever you wanted, what would it have been?
Oh a D300, without a shadow of a doubt!

8) Are there any photographers that you admire or seek to emulate?
I love the work of Jane Bown, the resident portrait photographer for The Observer magazine & newspaper. I believe she's in her 80's now but still going strong. She takes beautiful, simple black & white portrait shots that cut right to the heart of her sitters. She still works on film, and uses natural light wherever possible. What I love the most is that she carries a light bulb with her, just in case she can't find suitable window light. Her job would be my dream job. Other leading photographers that I admire include Martin Parr, Mario Testino and Anton Corbijn. Flickr continues to be my main inspiration though, I'm astounded at some of the talent that's out there.

9) What are your goals as far as photography is concerned?
I don't have any major goals, I just hope I never lose the passion I have for it. Being recognised in any way is great, and like Eamon, I would love to be shortlisted for the NPG portrait prize. The most important thing for me is to keep taking pictures.

10) Show us a photograph you wish you took on Flickr.
This was tough, because there's so much great stuff to choose from. I think it has to be this one though: www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeters/2075215566/

Mike Peters: Spotlight 7 Week 9

2008-08-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Week 10 featured Mike Peters.

1) Where did you grow up and where are you now? How have these places influenced your photography?

I grew up in Kearny, NJ, a highly industrialized town that lies between the Hackensack River and Jersey City on the east and the Passaic River and Newark on the west. Kearny is a blue collar town, home to people who work hard for a living. When I was a kid recent immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, Italy and Poland were my neighbors, and now it is populated with people from Portugal and South America. Kearny was and still is a stop along the way for the American Dream as new arrivals work their way up and out to the more pleasant but bland suburbs, which is were I live now about 10 miles west in Verona.

Kearny very much informed my eye. It is a gritty place, close and crowded, a mash up of iron bridges, super highways, 19th century factories, multi-family homes, delicatessens and bars. Everyone fights for parking on the street. I always knew when to go home for dinner when I was a kid because all of the factory whistles would sound off at 5 pm and could clearly be heard over the constant roar of industry that filled the air until the early morning hours. Silence only occurred on Sundays.

In my photography I am drawn to what I know. The urban landscape is where I am most comfortable, concrete and asphalt are my preferred material to have under foot. People that you would normally pass by, the ones that blend into their environment, are the people that I usually am drawn to photograph. Growing up in Kearny taught me that in order to survive one needed persist and endure, Those who aspired for something more were considered high-hats. My photography is tightly intertwined with where I grew up and who I am, as a product of my environment. I feel no desire to distance myself from my past.

2) What is it you love about Coney Island?
Where do I begin? Coney Island is a truly authentic place, untouched by the shine of large corporate greed. Times Square was once a place like that too, only more scary and foul smelling, but now it's worse. I hope the same fate does not await Coney. I really like and relate to the people who come to Coney, the locals and long-timers that keep the place real. These are the same working class people that I grew up with, those who persist and blend into the scenery because they are the scenery. Coney Island and the people that live and work there, embody the spirit of endurance and persistence, they have a patina of grit and hard use that is worn with honor and dignity.

3) Can you show us an early photograph you took which made you really excited about photography?

www.mikepeters.com/photographs/Portraits_1978_now/slides/...

This photo is one of the first that really got the ball rolling for me. The subject, my mother, is surrounded by her natural environment and everything says something about who she is and what she's all about. For me it was the first time I was able to deliberately capture a descriptive narrative of the person in the photo that dug beneath the surface, even just a little bit. This photo, along with much of my early work was shot using a 4x5 camera.

4) How do you approach random people on the street to take their photograph?
I tend to be pretty obvious about what I'm up to, carrying a 120 slr is hard to hide. I usually just walk up, raise the camera, compose, focus and make the exposure. Sometimes they see me coming, sometimes not, either way I look them in the eye and smile when I'm done. There are times when I'm in the middle of a conversation when I'll just raise the camera and make a photo while I'm talking. And there have been one or two instances where someone has stopped me and asked if I would take a photo of them. There is no one way to do it. The main thing is not to be sneaky or tentative. Be bold and confident and people will usually accept your presence.

5) Have you ever encountered an angry subject
www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeters/330545730/in/set-7215759...

I saw this guy selling books on the street as I was walking towards him. He ducked into his van, with his back to me he rummaged around for about 2 - 3 minutes, I set up on the opposite side of his table waiting for him to turn back towards me. When he did, I made the exposure, but in that same instant he saw me and ducked back inside. Yelled "you mother-fucker don't take my picture, I'll kick your ass." I smiled, said thank you and walked away.

6) Tell us something about your favorite portrait of the one's chosen for Spotlight Seven.

www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeters/1745018651/in/set-721576...

This image pretty much sums up the feeling that was prevalent that evening, the final day of Astroland in 2007, and perhaps forever. It was a celebration for the end of summer and perhaps for Coney Island as we know it. There was a real sadness and resignation on the face of the woman. All bright and glittery with music and dancing, yet sad and wistful.

7) If you could photograph one person, living or dead who would it be?
I really cannot think of any one person, I'm pretty much drawn to just regular people.

8) What are your expectations/aspirations regarding photography in the next few years?
I really just want to keep finding projects that interest me, and getting the resulting images out there and seen.

9) What piece of equipment is on your wish list?
At this point I have way too much equipment and only wish for more time to shoot and produce my personal work.

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

www.flickr.com/photos/urbanphotos/2076096653/in/set-72157...

Ryan Schude: Spotlight 7 Week 8

2008-08-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

Week 8 featured the talented Ryan Schude.

1) Tell us briefly about where you're from and where you're living now and how either have influenced your photography?
I grew up in a suburb of Chicago until I was 18 and then moved to California where I am still living. Both places have influenced the Americana aspects of the subject matter I choose to shoot.

2) Talk about the series of portraits where people are standing holding something in their hands, as seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/ryanschude/388948413

This series was inspired by the wonderfully colored locations around Los Angeles. I wanted to find an interesting way to use the locations that wouldn't be your standard girl/fashion photo. The series is far from finished but I have been pulled into the larger production tableau style photos which are taking up the majority of my time and have put the other series on hold for now.

3) Whose work has influenced you over the years (you can include someone on Flickr if you have one)?
Gregory Crewdson, Philip Lorca Dicorcia, Jeff Wall, and David la Chapelle were a few that really got me excited about photography in the beginning. I also had a strong affinity towards street photographers like Henry Cartier Bresson, Stephen Shore and Gary Winograd. More recently i've found people like julia fullerton-batten and eric ogden producing contemporary work I've enjoyed quite a bit.

4) Lighting is obviously essential for some of your work, what are you trying to achieve through using artificial light?
That's a good question because I used to shoot a lot of natural light street photos and loved the chance scenarios documentary work allowed but when i started incorporating artificial light I found the control more suitable towards a staged setting. I suppose the added light simply makes it more obviously fabricated which in the end adds to the drama of the whole process.

5) What would you recommend to someone who is just starting out but wants to light their shots like you do...such as a basic startup kit?
Hmmm, that's a question a lot of photographers ask me and it always seems best to determine how much you want to spend and go from there. You don't really need an expensive lighting set to get the effect, it just makes it easier. The old Lumedyne kits are great because they are relatively cheap and portable while still allowing for essential lighting modifiers like grid spots and softboxes. If you have the money available I would always recommend getting the best equipment you can afford because it is generally worth it and you will just end up buying it eventually anyways after you realize the shortcomings of the cheap stuff.

6) What's something in photography that you've never done but want to try?
I would like to stage a scene in a busy downtown area where we block off the streets and have hundreds of extras all under careful direction.

7) Which is your favorite photo we chose for Spotlight Seven, tell us something about it?
I think the pumpkin one would be my favorite of those 10. It's more because of the personal process that went into creating it since I walked by that apartment complex and realized I had to make a photo there but didn't know what to do with it. I had scouted out a dozen or so similar locations for the food series and got really excited when i saw the potential for matching the pumpkin with that environment. I then found the perfect dress and fortunately the model and hair/makeup all came together just right. her expression worked just as I imagined it, she really took direction well.

8) What are your professional aspirations in the next few years?
Ideally, I will continue to push the type of work that interests me artistically as opposed to catering the work to a more "commercially viable" perspective.

9) These two photos are just amazing: www.flickr.com/photos/ryanschude/2220901137/ www.flickr.com/photos/ryanschude/1702100719/
Since they aren't portraits of single people though I can't invite them into Spotlight Seven, but I'd love to hear a little bit about them.

These photos represent the style of photography I am most interested in and the direction i hope to continue to head in the immediate future. there is a strong attention to detail that goes into each one regarding props, talent, wardrobe, location, lighting, and finally creating a moment that ties the whole scene together.

10) Show us a photo on Flickr that you wish you had taken. 
www.flickr.com/photos/dirtysmalls/389617784/

Martin Prihoda: Spotlight 7 Week 7

2008-08-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Week 7 photographer Martin Prihoda is no longer active on Flickr, but you can find some of his work here.

This week Spotlight Seven features Martin Prihoda as presented by guest curator Ryan Brenizer.

1) Where are you from and where do you live now?

I'm originally from Vancouver and though I've spent much time abroad, I still call this beautiful city home.

2) You also list yourself as a filmmaker and writer. What sort of projects do you do with these, and how do they intersect with your photography?

Filmmaking and photography are similar in so many ways yet worlds apart. A photograph has the potential to be iconic in a way a film can't be, yet a film can elaborate and contextualize in a way that isn't possible for a photograph. A picture is a frozen moment in time, leaving the observer to determine a past and a future. A film, however, can set the past and determine the future, it can flash back or fast forward, it is a million frozen moments strung together to create a perceived linear timeline.

I guess to say I prefer one over the other would be like saying I prefer a spoon over a fork...I'd have to know what I was eating. I enjoy working in film for the reason that I can spend time developing a script with actors over a linear timeline. Everyone I know loves movies, its the populist tradition of our time so its a great way to communicate as an artist.

I'm currently writing a feature film which I will be directing, its in the embryonic stages and I'm really excited about the process. To make a film is a two to three year process, in the mean and between time I go out an shoot stills...it keeps me sane.

3) You do a lot of location lighting. What are your go-to lights, and how many people are usually working on your shoots? I love shooting outdoors with strobes, it gives such an inspired, unusual and dramatic feel to a photo. If its just me and a few buddies I'll bring out my 2 600w/s Visatek strobes, pocket wizards and a few light stands, as well as a soft-box or two. If its a bigger job I'll work with and assistant or two, location manager, producer and a hair and makeup girl. I'll usually have a Profoto package on hand for these shoots, battery packs and generators. I'll shoot anything from a Canon 30d to Nikon D3 to good ol fashioned medium format on a Hasselblad.

4) A lot of these images are from your fantastic yoga series. What about yoga speaks to you (other than the fact that it looks really cool)? 

I practice Yoga daily. I credit this, as well as a meditation practice, to deepening my creative abilities and tapping into my authentic self. 'Yoga' is a Sanskrit word meaning 'union.' This union refers to the union of our true self with that of the universal consciousness and its from this unity that all creation arises. The more we can experience silence and connection with ourselves, the more abundance we can bring into our lives.

and its a great workout ;-)

5) Are there any photographers that you admire or seek to emulate?

Of course, absolutely. As I began to learn how to light with more efficiency I began to look for ways to enhance the look and feel of my work though post production. I saw Joey Lawrence's work and I realized that we had very similar lighting styles, but his post work was where I wanted to be. I began a correspondence with him and he shared with me his use of layers as well as dodging and burning techniques. It definitely brought my work up to the next level. He's a great artist though and was very willing to share. Though there's similarities in our styles, I write and develop my own original concepts.

I also admire Michael Grecco's work and to be honest there's a lot more; James Nachtway for example.   6) What made you decide to focus on portraiture instead of another area of photography?

I love people. We are all reflections of each other in some way. All of life is relational and when you see someone on the street, whether you like them or not, its like seeing a big mirror. I suppose I see alot of myself in my subjects. In a face, after all, is the map of life...

7) Talk about one of the photos we chose for Spotlight Seven. 

I particularly love this photo. David is a good friend of mine and we wanted to do a father/son portrait but we wanted something different. I asked him how much his son weighed and he said about thirty pounds, for some reason I immediately thought of dumb-bells and the shot was born. Its shot simply with a strobe and softbox above camera. A wide angle lens and a gloomy sky helped out.

8) It seems you do a lot of work that you don't show on Flickr -- the coprorate and editorial stuff. What is this part of your life like, and what makes you decide an image is "Flickr-appropriate"?

If I'm proud of it I'll put it up. I don't worry to much much if its corporate or not. I do tend to be fairly strict with my selections though.

9) Tell us one of the funniest moments you've had on a shoot.

We were doing a mock suicide scene once. A guy was supposed to be standing on a bridge looking down. We were shooting from below and giving orders to the actor from a walkie talkie he had in his jacket.

He was only supposed to be looking down, contemplating, but a passing driver had called the cops saying there was a 'jumper,' next thing we knew our actor was getting tackled down by a couple of officers...scared the s**t out of him. and us.

10) Show us a photo on Flickr that you wish you had taken. 

I've liked this shot for awhile. I like Zuan's work, it has energy and movement coupled with a great technical skill. This photo is a particular favorite.

www.flickr.com/photos/zuan/441349287/

Jill Coleman: Spotlight 7 Week 6

2008-08-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Please welcome Jill Coleman, our week 6 featured photographer.

1) Why black and white?

I actually like both color and Black and White. It depends on my mood, right now its B&W. I grew up looking at pictures in Life magazine etc and love the Magnum type style but then again I love National Geographic images too. Dorothea Lange has to be my greatest influence and I love the work of the South African photographer , Obie Oberholzer.

2) Where do you live and what effect does it have on your
photography?

I live in South Africa, in the Western Cape in an area called The Klein Karoo. I move around quite often and wherever I am I adapt for my photography. There is also great light here. The people I photograph are my neighbors and I am mostly in walking distance of my subjects.

3) Tell us about this set you have of people from Klein Karoo.

Probably the best way to describe the series, is by reading this article published in Issue 13 of JPG Magazine.

4) I noticed that you have many images with 2 or 3 people, how is the dynamic different for you as compared to shooting a single subject portrait?

When I stared I only used to only shoot one person but then I wanted to include families, siblings etc but I always notice one special expression in my group shots and the viewer normally is drawn to that person. I always talk while I am shooting and it distracts the person and then they feel more at ease.

5) Any influences on flickr or streams you love to watch?

I would have to say Rui Palha, Junku – Newcleus and lately Carf.

6) Are there any subjects you won't photograph?

Yes, violent images and there is a lot of alcoholism here and I will not show people losing their dignity. Cruelty to animals or children, cruelty to anyone. I will try and stop it but I won’t photograph it.

7) How personally involved do you get with your subjects?

I get quite personally involved but at the same time I respect people’s cultures and way of life and I will not interfere in that. Some become friends, some prefer to keep me at a distance and I respect that. I always try to give folks I shoot the photographs, and most families here have them in their homes.

8) What camera is on your wish list?

I would like to upgrade eventually but I am happy with the 350D, I certainly need some more lenses as I only have two and one is broken. I supposed I would love to try the Leica digital one day but I make do with what I have.

9) Out of the 10 photos chosen for Spotlight Seven, which one is your favorite? tell us something about it.

I like the untitled one of Trish, the close up of the woman, her hand and rings and bangles the one false nail missing, I took it in Australia when I spent some time there last year and to me, it captures her perfectly, a fascinating and real woman. Of all my photographs I like Sophia the best. The two little boys boys playing the home made guitar.

10) What are your goals in regards to your photography in the near future?

I don’t really set goals, I take my life day by day, as long as I enjoy what I do with my photography I am content. I am not at all competitive in photography and while I will enter a few competitions a year, I do not get involved much in the “you click mine, I will click yours” as it really does not make much sense to me but I try to answer every single person who writes to me and I do have a really bad internet line so I can’t look at others work as much as I would like to. I will be traveling to the U.S.A in March this year so I would love to meet other photographers and learn from them and of course just to shoot in a different setting is incredibly exciting. I certainly want to exhibit and feel as if I am almost ready to, I think in photography , you need to “pay your dues”…and not just expect everything to fall into your lap. I do not make a living from photography, I work for my family business, I am a very simple person and while photography is my passion I also am very grounded and realize that other things in life are just as important like family, friends etc. I think photography is a wonderful creative outlet and it is great that so many people have access to it now via the internet, digital etc and anything that promotes creativity is good. Yes there is a lot of crap too but at least people try and it should be available to everyone, not be an “exclusive club”. ! Some will be better than others and have more success but that is the same with everything in life, I am grateful for what I have achieved and most of all I suppose I strive for reality in my work and am thankful to everyone it may inspire.

Ryan Brenizer (carpe icthus): Spotlight 7 Week 5

2008-08-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Week 5 featured Ryan Brenizer, who is Amazon's photography blogger.

1) What got you into photography?

My parents laid the groundwork; my father was a camera collector and my mother would take seven rolls of film just because it was Tuesday, but it was really when I started getting quick results and losing the cost-per-shot that my interest was piqued. That happened first with film while working at a newspaper -- the photo editor would take it off and develop it and I'd see the results within the hour. Before that, it's kind of sad. I went to Greece for two weeks in '98 and took three photos.

Yes, I was photographing for newspapers before I was interested in photography. Life is weird.

2) When did portraiture become your strength, at least in my opinion it seems to be your strong suit.

I'm not so sure my strength is portraiture as much as pictures with people in them, since that's generally the only kind I care about. As I was trained at the newspaper, one of the first rules was "Photos are more interesting with people in them." I learned that before I learned what an f-stop was. We're trained by evolution to care about faces, eyes, gestures, for the countless permutations of them to each have meaning. We don't read as much in a sunset. There are maybe four great sunset photos, the rest are iterations of them.

3) How has flickr worked to help you along your way?

In too many ways to count; Flickr made everything snowball by having random people come by and say "Hey, that's pretty cool!" Instead of just messing around and having fun, it made me want to keep getting better and better. I deliberately keep everything I've ever posted up to Flickr, even though that's kind of a bad idea for the branding aspect of professional photography. I want people to see that my old stuff kind of sucked so they can see that the learning process continues. I know of photographers who did their best work maybe 40 years before they died, and that would be such an awful feeling.

4) Are there any photographers that you admire or seek to emulate?

More so all the time. I like the idea of bring the crazy, awesome war photographer drive and aesthetic to everyday shots, even commercial shots. How would Nachtway shoot a plate of food? How would McCurry shoot this wedding? Not in the pictures themselves, which might be scary, but bringing that relentless intensity even to jobs others would find boring. Just this week I discovered the work of Ben Chrisman, an insanely good wedding photographer who's *actually trained with Nachtway!* I want to be him when I grow up, and I need to hurry since he looks about six months older than me.

5) What's something in photography that you haven't figured out how to do yet?

Don't tell anyone at art school, but I've never shot large format. I have medium format rolls that have been waiting to be developed for two years; I'm kidding myself that I could get too into the LF processes. Maybe in a few years, when I get sick of doing things the way I'm doing them now.

6) What's some basic advice on taking a good portrait to someone just starting out?

Assuming you know how to take an exposure, it's all about the stuff that happens before you click the shutter. Is the person comfortable with you? Have you thought about the way they represent themselves, the way they are, the things that are appealing about them? A little bit of intention goes a long way. If subjects don't connect with you, that's going to show. Maybe they can smoke and look off in the distance dramatically.

7) What's your favorite lens/camera for taking portraits?

Depends on the type of portrait, but in general there's nothing like the 85mm f/1.4. I have to say the D3 to justify my expense, but except for the cropped frame the S5 was everything I could dream of for portraits. The D3 just gives me more DOF control and I can chimp again. Working with the S5 is basically like working with film. If you want to chimp you'd better take a coffee break for that buffer to clear.

8) What's harder to shoot, a bride or a model?

A good model is easiest, a bad model is the worst thing of all. A bride who's bad with the camera is still glowing and happy and in a nice dress and can easily become part of a great composition. A model trained only to look surly by reading magazines that care about clothing a thousand times more than people really gets under my skin, which is why I tend to work with actresses and chemists and web designers and entrepreneurs more than people who just dream of being on ANTM.

9) Tell us one piece of photography equipment out there that you'd like to get your hands on?

An AF-S Nikon 28mm f/1.4. I'm just waiting for it to exist.

10) Out of the 10 portraits chosen for Spotlight Seven, which is your favorite and why?

I'm always biased toward my more recent stuff, but that shot represents a new turn in my career. I've actually been doing some magazine and corporate jobs that bring me into contact with people who've led similarly fascinating lives, but I haven't been able to show much on Flickr. Plus, the shoot itself was a real success in one of the biggest skills needed for commercial work -- shooting under intense pressure. I managed to get the clean, emotional shots for an annual report by illegally setting up lights in Staten Island Ferry terminal, five feet from a security guard. In the 90 seconds he took to shut me down, I'd already set up the light and gotten the shot. (It wasn't my fault we didn't have permits, that's another story about pressure.) We were blocked from the shots we wanted on the ferry so I ran and found this tiny little stretch in the back, where again I managed to get just what they wanted. Then done with the safe ones, I was able to execute the shot I wanted in the 30 seconds or so I had left -- and it was capped off by that bird being in the perfect position.

All of that is nothing at all compared to the meaning of the man's life and the honor to represent it, but it means more to me because I wasn't just lucky, I fought like crazy to get things right. I like professional photography not because it makes me money, but because it presents me with an endless string of problems to solve. It keeps things interesting, and intensely rewarding.

Brett Walker featured in Spotlight 7

2008-08-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

This week in Spotlight 7 we feature the work of Brett Walker as chosen by guest curator and Week 17 artist Bukutgirl, aka Liz Kasameyer. This week represented a first for Spotlight 7, as it featured a phone interview instead of the traditional email interview. Bukutgirl found the interview to be an adventure unto itself, with midnight phone calls across the Atlantic and more like it.

Brett has lived all over the world, and traveled across the seas for many years in the Greek Merchant Marine. Angola, Belgium, Brazil, France, Italy and of course London itself. I can't do justice to either the interview or the images with a few short words. Here's an excerpt from Bukutgirl's interview of/ story about Brett Walker.

3) What is your process when you got out to shoot? Do you go out with a purpose or do you just shoot and let the shots call out to you when you’re editing?
Brett has a formal job, but it allows him a lot of time out in the streets to shoot, he says he shoots on average 400 frames a day, and counts himself lucky if he likes one. He shoots with a wide angle lens and likes to basically shoot street candids, catching the honest moments of a person’s day when they are simply existing. He doesn’t go out with a goal for a certain scene, just goes out to see what the streets will bring him. He said that sometimes he’ll see someone and they fit a memory or an idea, and he’ll try to shoot them to that end, like seeing a man in a market who fits his vision of what his father might have looked like. He shoots often from the hip, afraid to look down to see if he’s “killed it or simply wounded it” – referring to the shot that is, and when a great shot shows up everything else is out of the window for the day, nothing else will do but to go home and edit. In describing the editing process, and image selection he said that he’ll start playing with something in photoshop, not even sure what will come out of it and the image guides his work from there, often dumping him at the end with a shocked feeling that he hadn’t even really realized that that was what needed to come out or that that moment was inside.

Please check out the rest of the exhibition and leave a comment or ask a question. Thank you very much.

laraza de bronze

2008-08-11T16:50:00.001-07:00

laraza de bronze, originally uploaded by pablo saracho g.

From Mexico, I believe.

A profile

2008-08-10T23:00:00.001-07:00

A profile, originally uploaded by Par Veera Family.

A nice profile.

Michael Bowman (Desolate Places): Spotlight 7 Week 4

2008-08-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

Week 4 interview, which featured Duff Suds, now known as Desolate Places.

1) Where are you from originally and when did you first become interested in photography?

I am born and raised in the Hudson Valley of New York. I was born in Peekskill and raised from day 1 in the small town of Cold Spring. I left for a while, but I am currently living there.

I first became interested in photography when I was a kid, messing around with my brother's Polaroid and later his SLR. As I got older the camera became sort of an accessory to my exploring, a way to document buildings and places I found. If I had to point to one moment when I knew that photography would be a lifelong passion it would be the first time that I climbed Breakneck Mountain in the Hudson Highlands as a teen. It was completely accidental, we were in the woods exploring the ruins of the Cornish Estate at the base of Breakneck and ventured too far up a trail. Once we saw how high up we were, we kept going. To make a long story short we ended up at the top of this very large precipice to watch the sunset. Luckily I had my camera with me, no flashlight, but I had a point and shoot. Those are still some of my favorite images, and the experience inspired me to take photography more seriously.

2) What are you thinking and feeling when you're talking to some of these people you've photographed?

It all depends on the person and their story. Since I have been engaging people for portraits I have heard just about every circumstance in life described in detail. From people who have managed to turn their lives around, to people who pray for the end. As a result it can be an emotional roller-coaster, and I have asked myself many times why I seek out these faces and their stories. The closest I have come to explaining it is that in their faces and in their histories I look to find a little bit of the pain that I carry within me…and hopefully by telling their story or by taking an image I can give that some meaning. I can honestly say that in every portrait I take there is a lot of me on the other end of the lens.

3) Your subjects seem like they would be hard to convince to let you take their photo. How do you appeal to them?

I appeal to them by not judging a book by its cover. I have found that the people who seem hard to convince or "unapproachable" are the easiest to get in front of the lens and to relate to. A good example would be the man in "From the depths of my soul" who I encountered not far from my home. When I first asked him if I could take his photo he was adamant that he would never do it. A few seconds later he had changed his mind. I still see him from time-to-time and I asked him once what made him change his mind. His reply was "nobody has ever asked me before."

Other times it's just a matter of sitting and talking to someone. Very rarely do I approach a subject with my camera out. I will sit and talk to someone, sometimes for hours, until they feel comfortable. Don't get me wrong, even then there might not be any way of convincing someone to let you shoot them, but I understand it's their choice and I respect it. What it all comes down to, on the street or in the studio, is whether the subject feels comfortable with the photographer. Being unassuming, non-judging and acknowledging goes a long
way.

And lastly, no matter if your successful or fail, always shake their hand.

4) What do you want people to learn about the people you photograph?

It's not so much what I want people to learn, I just want people to see them. There is nothing like being invisible. Whether someone is sick, addicted, homeless, etc… what it all comes down to is that they are living, breathing people. They are somebody's parent, kid, sibling and somewhere along the line they got dealt a bad hand. It's so much easier to go on with our lives and pretend that these people don't exist. Ignorance is bliss.

Hopefully, by telling a story and taking a portrait it gives a face to someone who otherwise may have faded into history anonymously.

5) Out of the photos we've chosen here, which portrait means the most to you and why?

It would definitely be A man going around taking names. It was taken during my first trip cross country, after I had decided to check out of my normal life for a while. I was trying to sort out my own issues, figure out what I wanted from life and basically break all of the old connections and connotations and start new. I was stopping in every urban area I could find, stopping to shoot portraits of the people I was meeting and about a month into the trip I found myself in Albuquerque, New Mexico in line at a soup kitchen. To make a long story short I was taught a lesson in boundaries. I didn't mind my surroundings, nor listen to common sense and I ended up at the wrong end of a pistol. Anyway, that portrait was the first thing I took after that ordeal. To say that it was a wake up call is an understatement and since then the man in that portrait has always been a reminder to me, a symbol of that point in my life.

6) If you could photograph one living person, who would it be?

If I had been asked this six months ago it would have been Pete Seeger, who lives in the Hudson Valley. Thanks to YES! Magazine that recently became a reality.

Now I would have to say Bob Dylan. I would love to attempt to capture him on film.

7) What's your favorite lens/camera for taking portraits?

For street portraiture I stick pretty much straight-forward with my Canon Xti and the Canon 17-85mm zoom. The funny thing is, I don't go out looking to shoot portraits so my favorite lens/camera is what I happen to be carrying at the time, whether it's the 50mm 1.4 or even the Holga.

8) If we told you that we were going to buy you any camera of your choice, what would it be?

Well if it's on your dime I would have to say a Sinar F1 or F2 View Camera. I had the opportunity to use a large format camera doing Habs/Haer documentation and I would love to experiment with one for large format portraiture.

But I would settle for a Canon Mark II. When can I expect delivery?

9) Show us your favorite photograph on Flickr.

My favorite photograph on Flickr would have to be Tom Stone's portrait of Beavis. It is so raw, so real, so disturbing…and when you scroll down to see him as a young child…so utterly fucking heart-breaking.

10) Are you planning an exhibition with these portraits, or any future projects we'd like to hear about?

In the past I have exhibited some of my portraiture locally and hope to have a small exhibition later in the year here in the Hudson Valley. Although I enjoy displaying my work, my portraits mean a great deal to me…it was an ordeal just to convince myself to display them on Flickr.

As far as future projects, people can look for images from my Pete Seeger shoot in the upcoming spring issue of YES! Magazine as well as more postings on my Flickr space.