Interview with my Flickr friend Johny Day

1. How did you first get interested in photography? And are you self taught?

My father was an amateur photographer and I grew up looking at his color slide show ,,it's all his fault ;o) ,

I'm basically self thought , i did take two night classes on model ( women ) photography , but in Photoshop I took three night class on it , it's the only logical and fastest way to learn Photoshop

2. Do you have a favourite walk around lens? If so, what is it?

Ya , I wish they made a 10-200 mm , do they ?


3. What equipment and software do you use?

Cameras : Sony DSC-F828
Sony α 100 18-70mm 70-300mm

Computer : 4 yrs old PC pushed to da max with 2 GB Ram with two new Dell 19" monitors & a new Mac 17" ProBook ( lucky me )

Software : I use Picasa & CS2 every day and I'm in the process of learning Vue 6 Esprit , Ultra Fractal 3 and when I grow up Maya

4. Which one item of equipment is the most important for you?

In digital photography their is no such thing as one item , ( that is why its so freaking expensive ) but if you really want an answer it's my Spider2PRO monitor Calibrator , how can you work on your photos if your monitors are not calibrated ???


5. How do you decide on locations and subjects?

I don't , i do not have a car , so i shoot what I see in my every day life , but thanks to my Flickr contacts Secret Samba & Nino for taking on shoots with them ;o)


6. What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

I'm not sure , really depends on my mood , i love light & shadows , anything I find beautiful at that moment , but i really love capturing that Angelic je ne sais quoi look from animals and humans






7. What continues to inspire you as a photographic artist?

In one word Passion , I use to have three jobs , I was a telephone Tech. during the day and a New York State Firefighter , Fire instructor and Paramedic ( AEMT-I ) at night , and since I got force into retirement because of an accident , i had to replace all that passion , with a passion , so photography , photoshop & Flickr Flickr & Flickr , did I say Flickr ? Seriously Flickr has changed my life....

8. What is the one thing that you have not captured on camera you feel you need to express?

The million dollar question ,,,,,, OK I'm proud of what I do , I'm excited of what I need to learn ,, but the one thing that i have not yet captured , is the unknown , the what i don't know that i don't know




9. What other artists have influenced your work?

Norman Rockwell , and many others , but N. Rockwell is my #1 influence since I am a kid , my Grand Father used to receive the Saturday evening post , National Geographic , Life mag etc....

10. What other talents do you possess besides photography? And is there another area of talent you would like to explore?

Oh I love drums ( I'm a Rocker ) but a talent I think i have is teaching , eventually i would love to give classes on Photoshop but I'm not ready yet , i still need to learn so much more


11. Have you met other flick rites in person, and how was the experience?

Yes I did and it was really great , and since I have unlimited long distance telephones calls in North America , I talk to a dozen of them on the phone , so much better and faster than e-mails to exchange information , I cant wait to meet them in person ,


12. Any words of advice for those who would like to dig deeper into photography?

Oh yes , Share your knowledge , your tricks , your techniques , it will attract photographers just like you and practice , practice practice , for example learning photoshop is like learning guitar , three years ago with Photoshop 7.0 i was going bling bling bling , today i write my own songs with CS2

13. Of all the photos you've taken, what is your favorite and why?

OMG the impossible question !! OK , lets say I'm going to the moon for a year and I can bring only one photo ? Well it would be a photo that would have to help me with my inner self ,,,




14. If you could change anything on flickr, what would it be?

I would change Explore , I cant stand making Front page with a photo i worked twelve hours on and on top of me on that page is a hamburger and below is
the content of somebodies pocket or a cheap pair of boobs

Thanks to Johny for sharing his wonderful shots and a few bits of his inner world with us.

www.flickr.com/photos/johnydaystudio/

Angela Lobefaro aka angie_real