29 September, 2007

Interview with my Flickr friend AngeloCesare

Playing with the year

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

From childhood. I love National Geographic photographers and I've bought a lot of books.

Watching and watching.


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

Lens? 18-70 mm

3. What equipment and software do you use?

My preferred camera is a Nikon D200 (10,2 megapixel), with:
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED (135 equivalent of 27-105mm zoom range);
AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300 mm (135 equivalent of 105-450mm zoom range) f /4.5-5.6 G IF-ED.
I also use a Nikon Coolpix 8700 (8,0 megapixel), optical Zoom Nikkor ED 8.9-71.2 mm (8x), 1:2,8-4,2.
Sometimes I use a compact camera Sony DSC T3, 5.1 megapixels, optical zoom 3x.
And finally a cameraphone: Nokia N95.

Software? Photoshop.


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

Nikon D200 plus tripod and Photoshop: together.


5. How do you decide on locations and subjects?

Everywhere I can.


6. What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

Landscapes and colours.


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

'900 paintings.


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

Woman world.


9. What other artists have influenced your work?

Friends on Flickr.

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

Music: electric guitar. And golf.


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

No. I want not. Flickr is as a Second Life! And Second Life is a second life.


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

Shots, shots, shots and... shots. Camera is a friend.



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

Firenze by me #3
Firenze by me #3

Why? Because I've shotted the dark side of a bridge (as it is in my mind).



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

Articles on great photographers.

These are the photos that AngeloCesare want to show us:

- Playing with the year

Playing with the year

- Sunset cocktail

Sunset cocktail

- A sea of flowers

A sea of flowers

Thanks to AngeloCesare for his kindness and fast reply!

22 September, 2007

Interview with my Flickr friend Horst
hb19




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

My youngest son introduced me to flickr over one year ago. My knowledge of photography came through reviewing my images, viewing others on flickr & asking questions.....so to answer your question, I am self taught.

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

The only camera I have now is a point & shoot digital Canon S3 without any other accessories. All my images were either from my first camera, an Olympus C4000 & now the S3 both being point & shoot digitals.

3. What equipment and software do you use?

An inexpensive tripod & my Canon S3.......Occationally I use Picasa for saturation & cropping. I do not have PhotoShop.


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

Having only one, the Canon S3, but supporting that, I always carry an extra set of batteries & lens cleaner....


5. How do you decide on locations and subjects?

Most of the time I never decide on location whether I go for a morning walk or do things around my property.....I ALWAYS have my camera nearby, that's why I have the variety of subjects in my stream....


6. What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

Everyday ordinary items, any opportunity involving the effects of direct sunlight through reflections, refraction & color & lastly my wooden mannequin "Woody"


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

Being able to express myself through actively seeing the ordinary & having the desire to create something out of nothing, i.e. creating an image that never existed before.....

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

That's difficult to answer but it really depends on the lack of not having the proper equipment.....I would love to be able to capture animals through an improved telephoto lens, obtaining a shallower dof for increasing my bokeh effect and lastly, thinking more in black & white themes.....

9. What other artists have influenced your work?

Most of the contacts here on flickr, whom I admire. I view, read & look at their exposure properties & try to digest what they have accomplished & try that myself on future photo opportunities.

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

Creating a photo opportunity that didn't exist. Action shots would be a challenge.

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

First, my son who introduce me to Flickr (his screen name is dextr), then i have met Dean Forbes in Seattle, one in San Fransisco and two local flickrites from my area. The reward was seeing how each went about their way of seeing the world and both of us capturing the same subjects & thencomparing the differences.

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

With today's technology, capturing as many variations as possible of the same subject through variations of view point, exposure settings & then reviewing the results. You can always delete but you can't bring back that moment.

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

The all time favorite is from my SKYplay series. It's called "Hang loose & let off some steam". This is a prime example of seeing an opportunity & instantly taking advantage of it, creating an image that the average person would not think of.


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

The variety of images on flickr are endless. But I would certainly want to divide them into distinct categories, namely, Raw (no post processing), Photoshop or equal (definite post processing) and HDR.

These are the photos that Horst want to show us:

surfing USA.......




drivethru winery......




coloring my canon......



Thanks to Horst for his patience ;-) and for showing us a creative use of the fingers other that clicking.

Angie_real aka Angela Lobefaro

13 September, 2007

Interview with my Flickr friend Trey (Stuck in Customs)




To get started with answering your questions, my websites are www.stuckincustoms.com and www.treyratcliff.com

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

I got serious only in the last two years. I am totally self-taught. I normally eschew lessons in almost everything, from sports to hobbies to cooking. Of course, I am not much of a cook.

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

It has to be my sigma 10-20mm. Valpopando recommended this lens to me and I thank him every day!

3. What equipment and software do you use?

I use a Nikon D2X. In terms of software, I put together a little tutorial at stuckincustoms.com/?p=548 that you might like to see.

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

My tripod. I carry it to keep steady and as weaponry, since I am often off by myself in third-world countries where things can get a little sketchy.

5. How do you decide on locations and subjects?

I travel primarily for my work, which is an online game company. When I get spare time at night or the weekends, I head off into the hinterlands for interesting sights!

6. What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

I like everything... My favorites are landscapes and architecture.

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

I am mostly inspired by the classic impressionist painters from the Renaissance.

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

I think there are a million things that I would like to shoot... I am always frustrated when I see interesting things and I don't have my camera. There is no one particular thing I would like to shoot, although I definitely would like to visit some of the few unique places left in the world that are rarely visited by photographers.

9. What other artists have influenced your work?

I get influenced by many many many people on Flickr. I can't even begin to list them. Of my Flickr friends I've had a chance to go shoot with, I've had great times and learned a lot from Valpopando, Rebekka, and Asmundur - all great people.

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

I don't know what my other talents are. I enjoy game design and visual design. If I could learn anything, I'd love to learn how to draw and paint. I think I could learn to do those things, as opposed to singing. I could never learn to sing. It's a lost cause there.

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

Yes - I've met quite a few. I am approached randomly in public quite a bit when I travel. These are always some of the nicest people in the world.

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

Experiment and don't be scared... Be like kids on a computer. Have no fear, make mistakes, and learn. Also, get an SLR instead of the little consumer cameras. It is an important step towards expanding the depth of potential talent.

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

Picking a favorite is impossible. I spend so much time with my 10 or so favorites that I have lost all objectivity.

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

I would like Flickr to do something special to recognize some of the best - some of the great photographers on there that fall between the cracks.

These are the photos that Trey want to show us:







Thanks to Trey for his kindness, for sharing his knowledge with us, HDR morons ;-) and for being a good and supportive Flickr member.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/

Angie_real aka Angela Lobefaro

09 September, 2007

Interview with my Flickr friend Gernot (The Father)




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

When i was 14 my father gave me his camera (no automatic) to take some pictures and i shot the whole film with 36 pictures. my father was not amused, for i shot every detail and not the persons he expected.

2. Do you have a favorite lens?

No.


3. What equipment and software do you use ?

I use a 3 year old lumix (no special lenses or filters) and photoshop, since 3 days version CS3.

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

I only have a camera, a flash and a tripod and in 99 % i only use the camera.

5. How do you decide on locations and subjects ?

I'm spontaneous, most by driving car in the region i live. in my before flickr times i only took pictures in vacancy. one of my sons saw this pictures and signed me up at flickr. he gave me my flickr name.

6. What are your favorite subjects to photograph ?

I like buildings, landscapes and details.

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

I'm no artist, but i think, it's a wonderful occasional hobby.

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

There is no certain thing, but i think i should capture more people.

9. What other artists have influenced your work ?

I am a bloody uninfluenced amateur and am green-red-blind.

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

In the last 22 years i made texts, directing and performances in a musical cabaret and i like to draw (to less time).
I'd like to write humorist poems, perhaps a book.

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

The experiences were good, for i like diversity.

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

No, an amateur cannot give any advices.

13. Of all the photos which is your favorite ?

it's my pic "big wheel", uploaded from my son. it was uploaded on new member blog and the beginning of a wonderful hobby: to make photos.

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

No censorship for Germans.

These are the photos that The Father want to show us in this interview:







Thanks to Gernot for showing us a little of his world and for being a great and supportive Flickr member.

Angie_real aka Angela Lobefaro

04 September, 2007

Interview with my Flickr friend Rosemea







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

I was born drawing and painting. Photography comes from that I suppose.
Yes, I am self-taught.



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

Sigma: 50mm macro, Sigma 70-300 mm.


3. What equipment and software do you use ?

Cameras I have and use:
EOS Digital Rebel XT 350

Lenses:
1) Sigma 50mm macro.
2) Sigma 70-300 mm.

Nikon Coolpix S10
Nikon Coolpix 2220 (that was my first camera and I seldom use it now).

Software: Microsoft Digital Image and Picasa.

I prefer pictures the way they come out of the camera. I use Microsoft

Digital Imaging (which does about the same things as Adobe photo shop) for my signature and frame. A little saturation. But not much!


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

Besides the basic camera, you mean? Chips and batteries. I can take one thousand pictures in one afternoon. I don’t think much. I look, I like and I click. I love the noise of my camera clicking.


5. How do you decide on locations and subjects ?

I go with the flow. I can be eating breakfast and see a shadow
on the wall, a reflection. A flower. I love to go hiking and take pictures.
To me less is more and I take pictures of things that most people don’t even
notice.

My husband and I go out every week end and take pictures around Washington D.C., and Virginia.


6. What are your favorite subjects to photograph ?

Reflections shots are second nature. That is how I perceive things. Since I draw and paint I see shadows and light all the time. Those are natural. I take pictures of flowers because I am surrounded by them. My husband is a biologist, he is a “the plant man” with a green thumb. I just take pictures of what surrounds me. I enjoy life and have a great sense of humor. I take pictures of anything that I think it is pretty. I stick with inspirational themes.

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

Live itself. It is something from within. It is just there inside of me. I guess I am just an artist. My piano, my music, my drawings, writing, all comes from within. It is in my wiring.

8. What is the one thing that you have not captured on camera you feel you need to express?
I used to want to take pictures of birds, been there done that. Then rain drops, been there done that. Cloning, been there done that.
I guess the only thing missing on my list is the rainbows.

9. What other artists have influenced your work ?

I don’t think that consciously I have been influenced by any photographer or artist. I try to do my own thing. Since I am self taught I don’t follow rules. I just invent my own things. Since I am an attorney that made me know a lot of rules. In my photography: no rule is my rule..

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

Yes. I have been playing the piano since I could reach the piano keys. My mother was a music teacher and her major was voice. I learn a lot from her. I sing. I compose. I love musicals: so I am always watching musicals. I think I have a line from a piece for
any occasion. My major in college was music. Then I went to law school because I heard that artists die in poverty: I had to protect myself! I took ballet, tap dance, acting. I love interior design. I could have become an architect if I were not math impaired… lol! I write poetry. Photography is something that I started doing more often in the last four years. Photography is just a small part of me. It is not all of me! There are other parts that are even more dominant. Art runs in my family. We all can sing. My sisters and I have sung a lot of quartets.

I am interested in film. I would like to produce and direct. But I don’t know if I will ever do it. I keep putting it off. Also there is a side of entertainment that I don’t want to get involved. The dark side. There is a lot of evil in this world. I would like to, but I have
done a lot in my life that I am content with who I am and what I have accomplished.

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

Yes, I have met a few. But I only like about two people! LOL!
I found that the meeting turned into an international meeting of perceptions and gossip, for the most part. We really don’t know each other. We only say a few sentences to each other and make a moral judgment on that. That is so wrong. People think that they know each other, but no one does, really. I would like to meet very few people at this point. I think that disappointments have caused that. I lost the desire. There are too many cliques in Flickr: love and hate by association. I have always marched to my own drummer. I am gregarious by nature, but I have very few close friends. I am extremely private and love my solitude. When I school I loved people, I would rather be on my own. If you look at my list of contacts you can see that. I really feel sorry for people that go from place to place and meeting to meeting. I love Flickr. But there is life outside Flickr. It is great thing for Fall and cold weather. I spend less and less time visiting people. Reading what I just wrote, makes me think
that meeting people was not all that is cut out to be.

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

Keep taking pictures. Learn by doing: same thing with software. I have come long ways…baby. Practice makes it perfect. Just keep at it. The key thing is not to compare oneself with other people. I think people should do their own thing instead of keep looking for ideas on Explore alone. I consider that copying not creating.

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

I don’t have a favorite. The one I remember the most are the ones that I discovered something, i.e.: My first reflection shot, my first self-portrait, my first drop and so on. I love them all equally. Like a parent should love their children.

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

I would not change anything on Flickr. It is the ideal site. The most progressive and responsible. Flickr is a place where the administration takes responsibility. If I could
I would change the attitude of the users. People are always complaining about everything. Too many cliques, too much gossip, and too much self-promotion. I don’t like that. Work should speak for itself.

These are the photos that Rosemea want to show us in this interview:





Thanks to Rose for her friendship and the many wise advices!
She is a Flickr pillar!

Angie_real aka Angela Lobefaro