An interview with u02bnpx,
1) How long have you been into photography and what got you started?
When I was very young (I'm now 78), my aunt introduced me to the magic of her folding Kodak camera with bellows. At around 12, I had a chance to "play" a bit with my older brother's twin-lens Ikoflex. I lusted after a Kodak Medalist owned by the Russian Orthodox priest of the church I attended. My first SLR was a Pentax K1000.
2) Do you have any formal training and what kind of photography do you do most?
I studied film history, criticism, and production in the grad school for one year at USC's School of Cinema. I got into freelance film reviewing for the Erie paper, did it for 25 years, but I have no interest in using the video capabilities of my iPhone or my cameras. I did learn much about exposure, however, during that yeat at USC when I was in my late 30s.
3) In your opinion, what makes a good picture stand out from the rest?
Something striking--either subtly or boldly--about light, composition, and/or subject matter. I think of Gulley Jimson, the fictional painter in Joyce Cary's 1944 novel, "The Horse's Mouth." When Gulley is asked for his reaction to an exhibit of Impressionist paintings, he replies: "It skinned my eyes." A typical photo from National Geographic does the same for me. There's a 1955 movie of the novel starring Alec Guinness.
4) What equipment did you use and was there any special setup? Can you walk us through it?
Used a lowly Powershot S400 Elph. I'd been carrying it with me to shoot exteriors of restaurants that I was reviewing. Took the shot, walked back to my car, which was parked on the street on which sits the Erie Art Museum. I'd shot this sculpture on sunny days from all sorts of angles. But the addition of the naturally "sculpted" snow made all the difference. It dictated a straight-on shot. And I was lucky that my Elph chose settings of f/4 at 1/500. It softened the background nicely. I certainly didn't consider driving home and back to shoot it with a big DSLR. Wind and snow wait for no photographer.
5) Do you post process your final images, and if so can you describe your workflow?
I do minimal PP with Photoshop Elements I (yes, ONE). I don't shoot raw, I download my card into a computer file, delete the big mis-shoots, then crop, adjust levels, brightness, contrast, shadow reduction, and sharpening.
6) Who or what has influenced your photography and what inspired you to take your winning shot?
This shot took more serendipity than inspiration, although I'd tried to take many shots of this sculpture at different times of the day (or night). I've been influenced locally by members of the Photography Club to which I once belonged.
7) Would you change anything if you could do it again, and if so what?
I would have liked to take a greater variety of shots, but I was working on a restaurant review-related deadline and was in a bit of a rush. Plus, the weather was much nastier than it looks in the finished photo.
8) What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
I wish I knew how important it is to pay more attention to the requirements of collecting and saving old prints. Can't tell you how much I miss some photos I can still see in my mind's eye. But, having lived in 10 different cities and gone through one divorce, such "little things" as photos tend to get neglected.
9) What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
I have a Rube Goldbergy flash diffuser that I often use on the Canon 580 and 5D MkII. Got directions for it in a Youtube video. It makes my subjects smile. I also love my Velbon travel tripod and ball head for informal shots, especially if I'm using the timer.
10) If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?
Although I own the Canon 16-35II L and the 70-200II L f/4, my favorite is the 24-105. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
11) What lighting equipment, if any, do you take on a shoot?
When I was shooting restaurant owners inside the premises, I often took a light stand, an umbrella, an extra flash for slave, and the 580 on a transmitter in my hotshoe.
12) If you couldn't do photography what else would you do?
I've written over 20 travel pieces as a freelancer for several publications. I'm too old--not to mention retired--now to pursue that with the required vigor, but such writing for a large newspaper, magazine, or website would have given me an alternative career. BTW, my wife and I are off for 3 weeks in St. Croix soon, and then, in the fall, it's off for 3 weeks in Switzerland. Again, I'll take my SX40HS, but I won't be looking to sell any pics or words.
13) Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your experiences?
In August I was asked to take a group shot of 40 septuagenarians like myself for our 60th high school class reunion. I visited the site beforehand and was worried about lighting. It would be dusk. Did the best I could, got a friend to snap the shot so I could be in it. After 10 or 12 snaps, I was worried about the smile quotient. Just at that point, the former class clown let loose with "OH S**T!" My friend instantly snapped again, and that was the keeper shot.
14) Is there somewhere we can see more of your work?
Here's a link to my Smugmug travel sampler gallery, about 77 photos, I believe. It needs to be updated.
http://erieguy.smugmug.com/Travel/A-Travel-Sampler#!/i-C8LHzhF15) Do you have any advice for the rest of us?
Just keep alive to your environment, no matter when or where. I've been called an absent-minded professor, mainly because I taught college English Lit. for 15 years. But I think that label partly comes from my habit of seeing photo potential in so many places, likely and unlikely, when people are seeking my attention. If I find that potential without a camera in hand, I undergo a brief period of brooding.