Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
Advice from the Pros
Mentor bio an introduction in their own word.
Jan 27, 2018 18:17:18   #
rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA
 
In 1995 I was told by an Industrial Psychologist that I had no imagination. Went out an purchased a Minolta X700 the very next day. Professionally trained in Lightroom and Photoshop as it applies to digital images (not graphic arts), proponent of all things Nikon and creating Art out of Photographs. Hard Core Carnivore.

Reply
Jan 28, 2018 05:27:10   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
I don't have a professional portfolio or website, but My Topics indicate my interests and history as a forum member.

I am a co-moderator of the "For Your Consideration" section.

To my mind one of the strengths of a good mentor is the ability to give clear and concise explanations. I can claim some experience in that direction.

Reply
Jan 28, 2018 21:42:36   #
E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
 
Ed Shapiro. BIO?

Started my professional career in 1957 as a studio apprentice.

Formal education in photography: U.S. Army Pectoral Center, Astoria , New York, Rochester Institute of Technology (Applied Photography). Winona School of Professional Photography.

Accredited Master Photographer (CMPQ-Canada) and others.

Have given many seminars, workshops and have been training and teaching photographers throughout my career.

Served in the U.S. Army as an aerial reconnaissance photographer during the Viet Nam war.

Shot news for a Montreal daily paper for a couple of years.

Currently operating a Studio offering commercial photography, portraiture and wedding/social and event services.

Favorite subjects: Lighting, camera technique and image management, fine dramatic portraiture and interesting commercial assignments.

Reply
 
 
Jan 30, 2018 13:55:01   #
CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver
 
Cliff Lawson (CaptainC) Bio

My photography interests began in college. I was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and on my R&R, went to Tokyo an bought the NikonF. Still have it. I was a hobbyist until my retirement in 2003 at which time i got a lot more serious.

I am a PPA (Professional Photographers of America) member and have advanced degrees through that organization: Master Photographer (photographic excellence), Photographic Craftsman (for service and teaching) and am a Certified Professional Photographer. I have also completed the PPA training for becoming a PPA judge/juror.

My current work is portraits—mostly high school seniors, families, and corporate. No weddings, no newborns. I leave those to people who are good at it!
My current personal project that many have seen is making portraits of military veterans.

I regularly teach portrait and lighting classes to local organizations as well as at PPA State Conventions. Through both my military and airline careers, I was taught how to teach.

Reply
Feb 2, 2018 23:31:25   #
TheStarvingArtist
 
I got my real start in photography in the Navy. I was not a Navy Photographer, but I had a nice camera and the Commanding Officer assigned this as an additional duty for me. I have done documentaries for the Army. I operated a photography studio and photographed weddings, high school seniors, and school sports. A couple of years as a photojournalist. My posts show where my interests are now. I am not actually a 'Starving Artist', but I sort of romanticize selling artistic photos in public locations where 'Starving Artists' sell their wares.

Reply
Feb 3, 2018 13:15:46   #
Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)
 
UUGLYPHER MENTOR BIO.
Beginning In 1947 I figuratively cut my (photographic) teeth developing my father's roll and sheet film and using his great grandfather's 19th Century wooden view camera to produce paper, glass plate, and film negatives.

I used photography daily throughout my professional and academic career (veterinary medicine, wildlife disease research, and teaching comparative pathology). Surgical specimen photography, macrophotography, light micrography, infra-red photography, phase contrast micrography, dark field micrography, primary fluorescence and fluorescent labeled antibody micrography, polarization micrography, and electron micrography were routinely employed research tools in my laboratories. Beginning in the late 1960s I taught photography via informal practicums and formal seminars to graduate students and pathology residents. I have also taught classes and workshops on a variety of photography topics for photography/camera clubs and regional arts councils.

I retired from academia in 1998, and enjoyed a painless transition to digital photography.

In 2003 I became interested in the technique of high quality raw image data capture by “Expose to the Right”(ETTR). I soon was one of the early practitioners of “Expose Beyond the Right” (EBTR) to take advantage of each individual camera’s full allotment of raw-accessible dynamic range in order to gain maximum potential IQ benefit of the tonal spectrum characteristic of the delivered image file’s bit-depth.

Another area of my more recent interest is that of monocular depth cue stereography (MDCS). Begun as a search for a simple means of 2D-to-3D conversion, the use of monocular depth cues is, with continuing research and refinement, developing into a technique of stereography providing 3D effects distinct from and, in some applications, distinctly preferable to those provided by traditional ortho stereography based on binocular depth cue capture with two simultaneous views.

The format of this new Section appears interesting, and I am pleased to be participating in the company of such a group of well-experienced and well-regarded mentors.

Best regards,
Dave Graham

Reply
Feb 3, 2018 23:57:15   #
btbg
 
Btbg stands for big tall bald guy. It's been my nickname for the last 20 years or so. I'm a sports editor at a small town paper, but my path to making a living from photography is a little different from most other professionals.

I started taking photos on a Kodak Brownie camera when I was seven or eight, so about 55 years ago. I caught nightcrawlers at night and sold them to a sporting goods store for a dime a dozen to pay for film and processing.

I dropped photography when I got to high school and was playing three sports. There wasn't time to practice and also take photos. I went to college to play basketball and run track and earned a degree in physical education.

Once out of school I took a job as a PE teacher and coach. I started painting pictures in the summers and began to take photos to use for my painting. When my wife and I had children I gave up painting and switched to photography after one of my children managed to climb onto a table and knock a nearly finished oil painting onto the floor making a mess and ruining the painting.

About 15 years ago students at the school I was teaching at started asking me to take senior photos for them and then I shot a couple of weddings. Nothing that would qualify as professional, more of a hobby, but it generated enough income to pay for my photo equipment and film.

Then 11 years ago I was fired from my coaching job and made the decision to change careers, since I really didn't want to teach and not coach. A job as a sports reporter just happened to come open in my home town the same week that I decided to quit teaching so I applied for the job, which included writing, photography and page layout.

The publisher gave me a story to write and photograph and I messed it up so badly that they didn't even run my name on the byline when they ran the story. In spite of that the publisher took a chance and offered me a job. The first year or two both my writing and photography were rough. Since then I have worked hard to improve my skills in both writing and photography and the rest as they say is history.

My job has given me the opportunity to shoot the National Finals Rodeo, a few games of college football and volleyball and in a couple of weeks I am shooting the PAC-12 wrestling championships, but most of my job is high school sports. As it is a small town paper I am also sent to shoot wrecks, fires, and low light photography as well as music festivals, etc... Anything that the rest of the staff either don't want to shoot, or are afraid that they don't know how to.

I'm now in my 60s, and love my job. Where else do you get to go to sports events three or four times a week for free and always have a front row seat?

What I have learned from athletics is that practice, hard work and continuing to learn can go a long ways towards making a person successful no matter what field they are in. I am continuing to work to make myself a better photographer and writer. You are never too old to keep learning.

Reply
 
 
Feb 7, 2018 01:20:19   #
amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
 
What can I tell you?

I've been doing photography since college in the late 1970s, when it was sort of an un-declared minor of mine. My major was and my degree is in journalism, but I ended up taking nearly as many photography classes, once I got hooked on it. One of my most influential photography professors was Gary Metz, who was a student of Ansel Adams. He was a very demanding instructor! The University's darkrooms were out of service and we were on our own, so he "only" asked for a portfolio of 120 finished images at the end of the semester! I spent a lot of sleepless nights in the darkroom

I have an art background as far as I can remember... my Mom was a prolific painter and my Dad was an avid amateur photographer. While in college I built my own darkroom where I could process and enlarge both color and B&W.... though most of my work at the time was B&W. Among other things, I did a lot of enlargements for a forensics company, very interesting electron microscope scans. During college I also worked in an art store where I was responsible for matting and framing all sorts of art work.

I put photography on the back burner for a 20+ year career in advertising sales and sales management... Though I did run the commercial side of the photo dept. at a newspaper for a couple years and still shot the occasional wedding or other event, as well as doing some product photography. But for those years mostly I was an avid amateur, taking too much gear on vacations and always "the guy with a camera". In 2001 I left my advertising career behind, bought a new kit of gear and started getting more "serious" about my photography. Just in time to have to transition from film (I used several systems: 35mm, medium and large format) to digital! Ever since then I've been doing a variety of work, my own amateur stuff and jobs including product photography, occasional portraiture, and a lot of sporting events (especially equestrian).

My primary kit is Canon gear and that's what I know best. I also have a collection of several hundred film cameras, lenses and accessories dating from 1900 through 1990. I've learned to do some "lite" service and repair work on those (but leave the "serious" stuff to the professional repairers).

I participate in several other forums, in addition to UHH. I'm on the Canon USA forum, and Photograph-on-the.net. Also several Yahoo! discussion groups, where I'm moderator of a couple. I also own a couple groups on Flickr. Finally, I'm a Canon Professional Service (CPS) member I'm not currently signed up with any other organizations, but have participated in several in the past.

I hope I can help with useful advice.

Cheers!

Reply
Feb 7, 2018 11:12:36   #
kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy
 
I started my photographic habit in 1963 when I was 12. My mother found a little Kodak photographic darkroom kit in a thrift shop, with a contact printer and little wax trays. Interestingly, the negatives I found included with the kit were nudes of a woman, whom I suppose was the wife of the owner of the darkroom kit, and might explain why he didn't send the film out to the local drugstore for processing.

After recovering from the shock, my father built me a darkroom in a corner of the garage, and I was in business, as it were. I got quite good at B&W, not having the wherewithal to process color in those early days. My photographic interest stayed with me through my school years, and on into my wandering years. I eventually became a contributing photographer to a stock agency in Japan, which earned me enough money to feed the photographic habit.

I eventually landed a real job, which was a video editor and cameraman for TV, which I have now done for more than 30 years. Video pays the bills and lets me indulge my real passion, which is still photography.

Some people are nostalgic for the days of film, but for me digital was a godsend, absolute magic, a rocket ship out of the stone age. After all those years in wet darkrooms, the precision and economy of shooting digital was liberating. I have never shot a frame of film after getting my first DSLR, and I have never looked back.

I would have to say that my present interest in photography is about pushing the envelope of the image. HDR, bokeh photography, slow shutter light painting--these are the things that interest me. I have a website that I built, with a lot of photo galleries. You are welcome to visit at http://toby-marshall.com. On Flickr I go by the handle "kymarto".

I am not as scientifically knowledgeable as some, but always happy to share my experience and insights.

Reply
Feb 7, 2018 17:46:16   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
Midwestern parents, Southern schooling

First camera at 4-1/2. First darkroom experience at 10. First Enlarger and full darkroom setup at 13. First used a Canon SLR at 13. Started first camera system (Nikon) at 14.

RAVENOUSLY read three photo magazines from age 12 to 21. Read the entire original edition of the Time-Life Library of Photography, then the Kodak Encyclopedia of Photography. Subscribed to 27 trade magazines from 1979 to 1987, and read them when he wasn't programming slide shows. Gave up magazines in favor of the Internet in about 1999.

School newspaper photographer and yearbook candid photographer, grades 8-12. Sold prints and bought camera, lenses, lights, books on photography…

First summer job: selling cameras in a discount warehouse store.

Sports Editor and Managing Editor of high school newspaper.

Interested at very early ages in audio recording, radio, sound reinforcement, printing, typing and keyboarding, acting, singing, lighting, building Heathkit radios and other electronic devices.

NHS honor graduate with Thespian honors, J.L. Mann Jr. – Sr. High School 1973
Davidson College BA in economics with minors in English and psychology 1977

Student radio station production and operations manager at Davidson
Student union audio technician at Davidson

Two years in commercial radio (announcing, commercial production, news, sales)

AV Media Specialist, Delmar Yearbooks and School Portraits, 1979-82 and
AV Media Supervisor, The Delmar Companies, 1982-87

In his AV roles, Bill wrote, photographed, narrated, recorded, programmed, assembled, staged, and produced multi-image extravaganzas, plus filmstrips, slide-tape shows, and videos, for promotional, sales, training, and educational purposes. This intense immersion in the business of school portraiture and yearbooks created the foundations of his lengthy career.

Special Projects Manager, Delmar School Portrait Studios, 1987-89

At requests from the company president, Bill managed the re-building of “broken” product lines and their lab production departments from point of sale to point of delivery.

Production Systems Manager, Delmar School Portrait Studios, 1989-92

Bill was responsible for managing the six production departments using computers in their processes. He acted as liaison between production, sales, and IT people, as Delmar grew its uses of digital technologies to manage the business.

Business/IT Systems Manager, Delmar School Portrait Studios, 1992-96

Directed conception of, and guided development of, PC remote order entry systems. From 1995-96, researched and developed special digital imaging production methods for ID Cards, rotary file cards, file prints, yearbook images, and more school “service items”.

Business/IT Systems Manager, Herff Jones Photography Division, 1996-97

After Herff Jones acquired Delmar, Bill spent time helping the two companies understand each others’ systems and procedures, and transition away from various Delmar software systems.

Manager of Special Product Development, Herff Jones Photography Division, 1997-2000

In that role, Bill did mostly “FileMaker Pro database development that IT would not do, that Marketing wanted done.” The systems produced digitally-printed products for test marketing and live production purposes.

Digital Products Manager, Herff Jones Photography (Charlotte Lab), 2000-2004

This was about driving the production departments’ transition away from optical processes to digital processes. As one who researches and understands photo technologies as a matter of course, Bill managed a staff of 70 while “putting the right hardware in place in the right way” to get the job done. It was during the brief era of film scanning and digital printing on mini-labs, culminating in a fully digital workflow from image capture to delivery.

Early in that role, Bill also developed a turn-key database and automated printing system to handle holiday greeting card production for Herff Jones’ photofinishing account, The Picture People (and their 310 stores nationwide). That FileMaker Pro driven system was in daily use from 2000 to 2005, in four labs. It was some of the most profitable fun he ever had.

Sales Training Program Developer, Herff Jones Photography Division, 2004-2011

In this role, Bill trained sales people and produced curricula for field operations and photography training, along with manuals, PowerPoints, videos, newsletters, hands-on exercises, exams, and other media used in that training. He was certified by AchieveGlobal as an instructor for the Professional Selling Skills series, and traveled throughout the USA, training retail territory photographers, wholesale lab customers, retail operations managers, and others who needed to use Herff Jones’ software, business processes, and digital photography systems.

Lifetouch National School Studios acquired Herff Jones Photography Division in May of 2011. Bill remained for 15 months, guiding transition and training of a Herff Jones system to Lifetouch Sports photography teams.

Meanwhile Bill was Network Administrator for Smith Admin Services, his wife’s marketing services business from 1998 to 2013.

Bill held the PMI Project Management Professional certification from 2013 to 2016. He is a former member of:

The Association of Audio-Visual Technicians (defunct)
The National Audio-Visual Association (became COMMTEX)
The Association for Multi-Image (defunct)
The Photo Marketing Association International (defunct)
The Digital Imaging Marketing Association (defunct)
The Professional School Photographers’ Association (Now PSPI)
Project Management International
The Association for Talent Development

Now semi-retired, Bill does training content development on a contract basis, and coaches learning photographers.

He has a wife, three "semi" adult kids, and a tuxedo cat named Yoda.

Photographic specialties include all types of printing and Micro 4/3 photography and videography. However, Bill has used most types of film cameras from Minox to 4x5, including long roll cameras. So he'll comment on film issues from time to time, even though he's abandoned film since 2005.

Reply
Mar 26, 2018 14:21:25   #
gwilliams6
 
Gerald S. Williams

I have been a photojournalist for 40 years and an adjunct professor at Rowan University since 2009. I am a photojournalism, film and TV graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA degree (with honors). I also hold a M.A. degree (summa cum laude) in Digital Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design.

In the 70's I worked as an Assistant Director for WTTG-TV News in Washington D.C., as well as a staff photographer at Newsday Newspaper in New York, before moving to the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper as a staff photojournalist in Oct. 1979.

During my nearly 29 years as a senior staff photographer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I was the recipient of over 150 international, national and regional photo awards. Between my Newsday and Philadelphia Inquirer tenures ,I have received seven Pulitzer Prize nominations. I have also been nominated for the Overseas Press Award in Photojournalism. I was honored to be elected to and served on the Executive Board of NPPA and its Board of Directors. During my four years on the NPPA board, I was the recipient of NPPA's Sam Mellor Award for Outstanding service to NPPA (The National Press Photographers Association).

Since 2009 I have been an Adjunct Professor at Rowan University teaching Photojournalism, Digital and B&W film Photography, while continuing my freelance photography.

My work has been published in numerous books, newspapers, magazines including Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Paris Match, Der Spiegel, Good Housekeeping, Car and Driver and others. Many of my photos have been distributed worldwide by Associated Press, and other Wire Services, and have been exhibited in museums and permanent collections in several countries. Some of my subjects included photographing celebrities, heads of state, royalty, and five Nobel Peace Prize laureates among others. As a compassionate photojournalist I have covered the ravages of war and documented the human condition, with my photos making a positive difference.

Cheers

Reply
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Advice from the Pros
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.