Photo Profile: Ian George Burden

August 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Hello Seven-by-Fivers!

I came across the quote by Henry David Thoreau “It’s not what you look at but what you see” and think it is one of the best ways to describe any photographer who has the eye and even a few that don’t.

However, being born and bred in the outskirts of the city of Edinburgh, it played on my head in many ways. One of my earliest memories of eye-catching imagery was the bombarding of subliminal cigarette advertising on billboards whilst going to and from the city when I was traveling a school kid and eventually an employee. Sad as it seems but those ads tortured my young head into getting their messages of killing you. It took me a few years to fully understand that these make you stop and contemplate their clever motifs. The whisky and the beers of Scotland also used mega photography budgets to get inside your head.

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© Ian George Burden

My first investment in my own hobby of photography was in the shape of a Nikon FE2 in 1986. I used a lot of slides and black and white back then and I used darkrooms until fairly recently. Printing your own shots in BW has something to say for itself that those who do it will know of. We’ve come a very long way in the last ten years in digital and I’m thankful that the darkroom’s volatile chemistry is a thing of the past as well.

My first real paid job in photography (1996) was using tape slide where I (and others) synchronized up to 9 projectors at a time with Dolby surround to recreate cinematic quality. Edinburgh Filmhouse was one of our venues I had the pleasure to exhibit those projects and it lit the audiovisual storyteller in me.

Today, I also have the dream come true of cinematic quality video in my HDSLR’s. It’s so nice to be using the same camera for everything.

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© Ian George Burden

Prime lenses and sexy post production software, as well as this millennium’s processing power, has literally turned me on. I am not ashamed to admit that today’s equipment gets me hot to use it for both photography and videography. I travel a bit and document and lot of those journeys for myself and occasionally for blogs and SEO content.

It’s a bit cliché, I know, but I’ve found that when you are truly into something you love you attract the right people and toys towards you. I know a lot of great photographers and cinematographers who kindly passed on wee bits of their knowledge over the years. I never went to school for it. It was only by getting out there and doing it with decent kit in all weathers, times and finding motifs. The rest was already there and I think my photography proves that.

On my own stock, I can’t really say that there’s ANYTHING I haven’t photographed well…yet.

Links:
Blog: http://fishistories.blogspot.fi/
Website: http://www.shplendid.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/rathershplendid

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Photo Profile: Ivan Lieman

May 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I have witnessed the very meaning of daily struggles, having grown up in Kenya. Photography became a passion at a very early age as a way of documenting the hardships I saw unfolding in front of me. This helped me to develop my style; candid shots that tell stories of the happiness that can be found in adversity. I’ve always appreciated the fact that no matter their situation, people are thankful for life.

© Ivan Lieman

For the last two years I have traveled extensively throughout East Africa, India, Morocco and Sri Lanka, building a large portfolio of work documenting life stories, culturally significant events, political contexts and areas of beauty. In environments that were at best challenging and at worst hostile, I have learned to use situations to their best potential and create photos that capture the raw essence of the moment. Travel, alongside photography, is one of my greatest passions, and I think they compliment each other perfectly. There has been no better teacher for me than travel itself, and the constant surprises and challenges it brings.

Having just returned from India, my recent work documents the stories that I found unfolding there. I was lucky enough to be able to cover Holi festival, one of the most colorful and engaging events in the calendar of religious festivals in the country; an incredible experience that I´ll never forget.

© Ivan Lieman

Back in the UK, I have a number of ongoing projects that allow me to use my creativity and experiment with different mediums, techniques and situations. Tryptographs and panoramic have been a particular point of exploration for me, expressing the continuation of a moment or a scene through a collection of stills. Alongside this idea of continuation has been my diary of faces and voices; documenting an individual’s portraits and voice clip with a new character every day. I have also created my own short films and continue to use this medium in addition to my photographic projects.

Watching my first photo develop from its negative is a memory that has stuck with me throughout my photographic career; that excitement and anticipation is still at work with every new project I undertake. I appreciate that there is never a bad day in the field, as there is a lesson to be learned from every photo. I am looking for the chance to make a meaningful contribution to the world of photography; getting there is a journey that I am most enjoying.

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Links

Website: http://ivanliemanphotography.com/
Twitter: @ivanliemanphoto
Blog: http://ivanliemanphotography.wordpress.com/

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Photo Profile: Edwin van Nuil

May 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I am one who loved technology and gadgets. That still is me, but now my greatest passion is photography. Back in 2008 when I told a good friend I wanted to stop taking snapshots and start making “real” photos he advised me not to buy a entry DSLR plus kitlens (what I wanted to do). Instead he told me, buy a point and shoot with manual control and study photography.

So I did; I bought a Canon G9 and read every book, website, blog and listened to every podcast I could find about photography. I was hooked from the beginning and the more I read about the principles of photography and the more I brought those principles into practice, the more hooked I became. So after a year I bought my first Canon DSLR and it’s been photography all the way.

© Edwin van Nuil

I have tried every form of photography I came across. Working in black and white after reading Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson; I did Macro photography after hearing about it in a podcast; I tried street photography after reading the blog of Eric Kim; dabbled in shooting portraits with speedlights after visiting the websites of David Hobby and Bert Stephani; shot actions photo’s after seeing videos of Chase Jarvis. But mostly I take photographs of the things I see around me.

What I like about photography in it’s current state is that I can use both my technical skills (computers, software, social media, etc.) and my creative “skills”; the actual taking of the photographs. In the past years I mostly advanced technically and now I’m at the point I’m trying to find my own look and advance creatively.

© Edwin van Nuil

One of the steps in achieving that goal is joining a local photo-club. I’ve been a few times now and it’s great to talk with people that are also very enthusiastic about photography. I hope to get constructive critique from the members, especially on the creative side. I have noticed that most online photographic communities tend to have the principle: you say something nice to me, then I say something nice to you. Maybe good for the ego, but less for advancing the skills.

I also joined the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalks both days this year with Frank Doorhof and did a few workshops. These experiences were great, so I try to do more photowalks and workshops.

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Links

Website: http://vannuil.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/evannuil
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/evannuil

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Photo Profile: Fokko Muller

April 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

Began photography in Sept. 2009, started street photography in 2010. Since then I don’t do anything else but street.

I would like to show two pictures of mine that will tell you something about how I look into the world of street photography.

© Fokko Muller

This is my favorite street photo so far. Why?
-       it tells a story, it makes you think what is going on there.
-       it is a daily scene you can see in any street: people crossing a street.
-       It shows people in their daily environment and you can see (part of) the environment
-       it is not posed or staged.
-       it is shot close to the subject.
-       it has a composition that is ok.
-       the shutter was released at the right moment.
-       humor is involved, not necessary but a pleasant most of the times.

I was at the right place, at the right time and released the shutter at exactly the right moment.
Lucky shot? Yes and no.
Yes: I was lucky they crossed the street at that moment and that they all ‘acted’ like they did.
No: I have an eye for these situations and I take the picture at the right moment.

But to be honest, I have missed a lot of beautiful moments on the street because I was a second too late.

In my opinion it is a special photo, it has something magic for me. That will separate a good street photo from the average ones.

©Fokko Muller

I can repeat the remarks that I made by the first photo, but I won’t. I am really very happy that the old man decided to get in my frame.
The reason I show this picture is that street photography can be fine in color too. Black and white is used often and it has the advantage that it will keep you focused on the subjects. But if color adds something to the picture, I use it.

Street photography is fun. The streets are changing every second. I have to be alert and focused. It is very exciting to take photos of people without them knowing I do this. I can do it 24/7, every day of the week. I don’t need a big city; my small home town will do fine. Big cities are special, because they will happen more in a square kilometer. Gear is not very important, fast autofocus is what I need. I use what I have, even my iPhone is ok. I use only lenses with fixed focal length like my Canon 28mm.

After some street walk I like to share my photos and look at photos of other street photographers. The internet is fabulous, I have contact with street photographers from all over the word on every continent.

If you have any questions or remarks, don’t hesitate to contact me.

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Links

Website: www.fokkomuller.nl
Blog: http://fokkomuller.wordpress.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fokkomuller/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fokkomuller
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fomu

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Photo Profile: Anant Nath Sharma

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

My first memory of holding a camera is taking pictures on a family outing. Although I don’t remember much I would like to think that it was a warm and beautiful place with yellow grass around. My mother sat on the spread on the ground and took out home made sandwiches. My elder brother and I took turns to press the red button on my father’s Pentax Pino 35. He framed the pictures while we released the shutter. It was as simple as that. To this day, that is the best piece of photography advice I’ve received from anyone. My father said, “Just press down the red button”.

Now the Pentax Pino is gone but I still do what my father taught me. I press the shutter down. That’s what photography is to me. It’s easy to complicate a simple thing like photography with terms like aperture and exposure and shutter speed and ‘seeing the light’ but in the end it’s about holding down that red button.

© Anant Nath Sharma

I moved on to a DSLR (Nikon D3000) about 2 years ago after spending half a year with a Kodak point and shoot. I think I’m only held back by my own imagination and creativity and I need at least 2 years before I think of upgrading my current photography gear. Some might argue that I’m slow.

You can call me self-taught and whatever I’ve learned is from reading EXIFs and articles on the web. It’s mind-boggling what the web can teach.

I would like to call the kind of photography I do as conceptual photography. I enjoy taking portraits the most, as I feel it offers so much scope. Every portrait and expression is different. I do not usually take photos of pretty flowers and landscapes (flowers are the most photographed things and landscapes because I’m lazy). I want to take pictures of ordinary objects/people in an extraordinary way. Currently I’m doing my first 365 and it’s really difficult if you ask me; and very fulfilling. I believe the last 200 days with my 365 have been the most creative period of my life.

©Anant Nath Sharma

Around me is the reality I have chosen for myself. My photography is a very small part of how I see the world around me. It’s fun to see it from behind a 3 by 3 grid.

I believe my greatest strength is that I’m raw. I don’t follow any of the great photographers and I don’t belong to any school as such. I don’t have a style and I don’t want to have one yet. Not unless I explore everything. Like everyone, I want my work displayed in a gallery while fancy people sip wine and critique it; to sell prints.

I wish to be able to give back to this wonderful community whatever I’ve learned. For now, I’ll keep doing what my father told me – Just press down the red button.

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Links

Flickr: www.flickr.com/anantns
Blog: www.thelensor.tumblr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lensor/219923021423113
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mindlessworries

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Photo Profile: David Bellis

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Photography started off for me as a hobby in my teens with an Olympus OM-10 SLR, a truly basic camera bereft of all the multiple bells and whistles that adorn even an entry level, modern DSLR by comparison. Still, it seemed sophisticated to me at the time, even though all I could do was adjust the aperture (via a ring on the lens) and the ASA speed. I quickly realized that I needed full manual control if I wanted to be truly creative, and fitted a manual adapter to the front of the camera that allowed me to change the shutter speed in addition to the aperture.

© David Bellis


In contrast with the ‘auto-everything’ capabilities of modern DSLRs, I needed to – and did – develop a thorough understanding of how to get decent exposures with the aperture-shutter speed-ASA triangle. Which is a grounding every budding photographer needs, I feel, if he or she wants to fully understand how to create great pictures. Initially, photographers such as Bill Brandt and Henri Cartier-Bresson inspired me and I worked exclusively in black and white, as that was the only format I was able to print in with the dark-room facilities available to me at school. Mostly I was self taught, though I did do a photography module in art school and was encouraged by the tutor who described me as the mostly talented ‘art photographer’ they’d had at the college in years.

© David Bellis

However, I decided not to pursue a career in photography at that time and for various reasons went over twenty years without picking up a camera. Then in my early forties, a friend lent me his digital SLR – another Olympus as it happened – and I found myself completely hooked all over again. I was initially skeptical of digital, but found that the quality had gone up and the price come down sufficiently to make it viable for me to enter into this fast evolving new world of photography. I bought the best camera I could afford at the time, a Canon 450D and was on my way. Like many I suppose, when it came to making money from my hobby, I turned to the only real way to do so in your community, which is the uber competitive arena of wedding photography. I saw my sisters’ wedding photographs and was bemused at what looked like little more than competent snap-shots. There had to be a better way of doing it, and on discovering the work of Joe Buissink and Jeff Ascough, I found that there certainly was, and I set about emulating those great photographers.

As far as equipment goes, I use Canon ‘prosumer’ bodies – a 50D and 60D and typically on a wedding I will use these coupled with a Canon 17-55mm F2.8 IS and a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 OS. These are very high quality lenses that cover a wide range of focal lengths, giving me both the overview and the intimacy. Occasionally, if the light is very poor or for the portrait shoot of the bride and groom, I will use a Canon f1.8 85mm prime lens. I’d say 95% of my post-production work is done in Lightroom with trips to Photoshop only necessary if there’s some particularly complex cloning to be done.

Links

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bellisphoto
Websites: http://www.bellisphoto.com/ & http://www.bellisweddingphoto.com/

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Photo Profile: April Reppucci

April 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

As a wife and a mom whose full time career is in commercial real estate, taking pictures has always been something that I have been very enthusiastic about.  Photography has an important place in my life thanks to my grandfather.   For as long as I can remember, he was passionate about taking pictures and would stop and take a picture anytime of anything and anywhere.  He had a special affinity for taking pictures of the food on the table, claiming it was “too pretty to eat”.  He was a humble man, but even back in the days of Instamatic 110 film, he always seemed to have the newest and cutting edge (yet affordable) camera equipment of that time.

Cameras, snapshots, and stacks of photo albums were a huge part of my childhood.  One thing that stands out is that he would always tell us to “slow down” if he thought we were looking through pictures too fast.  He wanted to make sure every part of the photo was noticed.  He felt like you could not really appreciate a photograph and its story if you looked at it in haste.   I believe that certain types of gifts we are born with have been known to be hereditary, whether it is a musician, artist, athlete, writer, etc.  And because of this, I like to believe that the gift of photography that God gave to my grandfather, He also gave to me.   I am a true believer that our best retrospect can be found in the pictures that we take.

I purchased my first DSLR camera in September of 2010 and though I was enjoying the point and shoot I had at the time, the DSLR opened up a whole new world in my viewfinder.  In my portfolio, you’ll see a lot of pictures of my pets, flowers, still life, macro, people and scenery in general.  I don’t really shoot any one particular thing.  However, if I could say I had my own type of shooting style it would be that I almost always shoot in ambient light.  I do realize that there are times that a flash is necessary and I do have a nice off camera flash, I just have such an aversion to the harsh shadows that a flash can create.  I also think that when you capture a moment in a photograph, it should be as close to realistic on print that it is in real life.  What better way to achieve this than allowing the natural light of the surroundings to also to be a part of the photograph.  At times this requires special low light lenses, but to me, the investment is worth it!

As much as I love photography, my only wish is that my grandfather could be alive to share this joy with me.  I would love to shoot my pictures and then sit and show them to him.  And you can bet that he would be looking at each one very slowly.

 

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImagesByApril
Flickr: https://www.facebook.com/ImagesByApril
Fine Art America: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/april-reppucci.html
Website: www.aprilreppucci.com

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Photo Profile: André Varela

April 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When I was a kid my father had a Canon A1 and he took most of our family photos with it. Over the time I started to take some photos and soon I was hooked. Sadly the passion for photography had to be put on hold as my studies progressed and it was in the back of my mind for nearly 16 years. But you can’t push down a “love” forever and in the last two years photography grew like fire in my mind and I put everything I studied for behind.

© Andre Varela

Photography occupies a huge part of my life not only as a profession but also as a way to keep me sane. If I lived in a world without photography (or art in general) I think I would go mad. That said, photography is the way I express myself and how I show the others what I think and how I see certain topics. And that’s what I like, to push others buttons, make them think, cry or laugh. And there is where conceptual photography takes the stage. It’s the type of photography that I do most (on a personal field) and it’s the one I find most fulfilling. There is something special about doing a shot and seeing what kind of diferent views people have. I also enjoy street, sports and event photography (shows, weddings, etc).

© Andre Varela

My inspiration comes from others photos, movies and music. There are other things that also inspire me from times to times, but photos, movies and music are the most important ones. I am also inspired by other photographers like Sally Mann, Cartier-Bresson, Carol Guzy, Matt Stuart, Zenna Holloway and Miss Aniela. Although I am still trying to establish myself and my vision I think that I already found most of my “vision” and I am free now to perfect it. For me that is one of the most difficult things in photography. That, and to be noticed.

In photography talent is important, and work too, but luck sometimes takes a major role in things. I am always leraning to do things a different way and I will always be the little boy looking to the world through the camera…

 

Links:

Website: www.andrevarela.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AVphotography
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AndrVarela1

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Photo Profile: Russ Robinson

April 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As a singer/songwriter and recording artist in a past life, I’m intimately familiar with the many challenges of music promotion, so I know first-hand what it’s like to be out there pounding the pavement trying to get noticed. Although at this point I’ve traded most of my instruments and recording gear for cameras, lenses, and lighting equipment, I still live and breathe music—just through a different medium. I’ve found that my experience as a working musician gives me a unique advantage over most other photographers in this niche, as I’m able to instantaneously connect with my clients on a number of levels and truly understand their unique needs as it pertains to promotional imagery.

©Russ Robinson

I’m a commercial music photographer based in Tampa, FL specializing exclusively in band promos, cd & album covers, press kits, and custom-designed promotional imagery. The way I see it, at the end of the day my number one priority is to help my clients stand out. Period. Unlike in years past, these days record labels rarely ever spend money on “artist development”, so it’s up to each individual musician to build an effective marketing plan (and manage their own finances). Besides recording an EP/album, the most important aspect of a musician’s marketing plan, in my humble opinion, is hiring a photographer who can consistently deliver eye-catching promotional images—the kind of stuff that will quite literally jump off the page in a Facebook News Feed and compel people to click a link to find out more about an artist. In other words, if a promo image isn’t a flat-out eyeball magnet, it’s a failure.

©Russ Robinson

So in order to create images with maximum visual impact, I rely on two primary elements: (1) meticulously-planned lighting setups, and (2) LOTS of Photoshop. However, I tend to treat these elements more like a single creative tool, because I always specifically light my subjects with an eye toward the way I’ll eventually post-process them in Photoshop. For example, I do lots of compositing work, and in order to pull off a believable composite, it’s absolutely imperative to make sure that the lighting looks realistic and natural. The human eye is surprisingly adept at picking out little things that don’t look quite right, so composites typically require lots of retouching time to get everything looking relatively seamless. Just as a side note, most of the time it’s also quite helpful to have a background picked out before executing a shot, but even if that’s not possible, using a traditional 3-light setup will typically still yield plenty of options.

I’m inspired by guys like Joel Grimes, Dave Hill, and Jeremy Cowart, not just because their photography/lighting work is so stellar, but they also really know how to elevate an image to a whole new level in Photoshop. It’s simply not enough in today’s world of ubiquitous $500 DLSRs to be able to consistently produce a well-exposed, well-composed image. In order to truly stand out in the crowd, you also need to be able to leverage your lighting and Photoshop chops to make an image really “sing” (pun intended). :)

 

Links

Website:  http://TampaBandPhotos.com
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/TampaBandPhotos
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/TampaBandPhotos
500px:  http://500px.com/russrobinson

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Photo Profile: JC Ruiz

April 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

I never envisioned photography would have played a role in my life the way it has. The day several years ago I put a Nikon D70s in my hand, it felt so right. From that day a hobby turned into a brand new life experience for me. It was like a breath of fresh air, as cliché as that may sound. My father was big into photography and had his own darkroom in the house. I guess I didn’t appreciate photography the way I do now back then. Now I can’t imagine not having a camera in my hands.

© JC Ruiz

I photograph many different subjects for different reasons. I photograph portraits and weddings for the creativity aspect of it. Trying to capture photos in a way that speaks to my creativity and the way I see the photograph in my mind. I photograph nature and landscapes for the way it puts my soul at ease. There is just something about being out with nature that just comforts me. I’m not a fan of photographing things because I have to. I want to photograph things because it’s fun and enjoyable for me. I never want to be a photographer and not enjoy what I’m doing.

© JC Ruiz

As far as influences in photography I tend to gravitate to those who are creative. Photographers like Jasmine Star, Chase Jarvis, Clark Little and Jeremy Cowart are some people I draw inspiration from. Plus there are tons of other photographers who aren’t big names that I follow too. I find it once you make it big sometimes you’re afraid to take the big chances and that’s why I love following the lesser known photographers. They’re willing to gamble just to make it big.

My aspirations for my photography are simple. To continue to grow and to continue to challenge myself. I don’t want to become complacent with my photography to the point where I dare not try something new. I need to continue to experiment and continue to push my photography past all the boundaries that I think exist. Being creative with photography is my freedom and my cure for the mundane daily life that so many of us have become miserable with. We all want to do what we love but how many of us are willing to take that risk? I’m taking that risk and I’m going to enjoy this photography and I’m going to ride it to the end. I just have to keep challenging myself daily to be better and once I reach my goals, I’ll just have to surpass them.

Links:

Website: http://www.jc-ruiz.com
Blog: http://blog.jc-ruiz.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jcruizphoto
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jcruizphotography

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