Ohsleepless1

I love how macro can take us further than he human eye can see clearly and allow us to delve deep into mother natures little world of glory....


When taking macro photographs of flora, I tend to get lost in them in a good way!

1: How long have you been involved in photography?
I started to get really interested in photography since the age of 13, when my father bought me my first 35mm slr camera, a Canon AE1 Program. I slowed on the subject for some years as marriage and children took over.... But I recently rekindled my love with photography again after I was accidentally introduced to digital with my very first camera phone.... Since then, my love for photography has grown deeper and deeper and my bank balance has got smaller and smaller!


2: Equipment you use?
I currently use a canon rebel/350D.
canon 430EX flashgun
60mm Macro Lens
50mm F1.8 prime lens
75-300mm canon zoom lens
18-55mm kit lens
cokin P series flters

3: Mac or PC?
I have always been a PC girl.... Mac will just get the better of me.... this I know!!

4: What inspires you?
I find great inspiration in Flickr, but my main inspiration comes from everyday natural beauty that a lot of us can simply overlook.

5: Preferred subject matter?
My preferred subject matter is nature in macro form as you ill see from my images above.... But I am always trying to diversify and try new things.

6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.
LOL.....A pan shot, yes i know... very random.....But I have tried to capture my youngest son riding his bike whilst the rest of the world zooms by him..... but alas, up to now it has not happened! I will continue to persevere... so maybe one day!

7: When in doubt about your art, who do you confide in?
I have some wonderful friends that I have me through flickr who are always there to help when I need them...KristinHayes, Andreinafrica, Jwas, plus many many more but should I ever feel the need to confide in somebody about my work [and it does happen quite often!], I will always turn to whom I consider to be one of my closest friends, Johnnypearl, he is the very best for giving me the advice and encouragement i need to get back on track again.

8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop
I'm purely self taught with most things i do, along with a little help from friends and family.

9: Plans for the future?
I have no formal plans for the future, but I hope to carry on enjoying life to the full with my five boys [hubby included!] recording and documenting along the way with my ever faithful 350D!

10: In one word, describe your photography.
Goodness...That's not easy!!! I guess it would have to be 'Exploration'.... Because that's just what photography is to me...one huge exploration of life... in picture form!

LynchburgVirginia

1: How long have you been involved in photography?
1 I have been involved as young as I can remember. Usually, I got to take pictures at special happenings like Christmas as young as five.

2: Equipment you use?
2. I use a Sony H 5 camera, previously I had the Sony H 1. These are both excellent cameras. Someday I hope to be able to afford a DSLR. But in the meantime, I am very happy with the Sony H 5.

3: Mac or PC?
3. I use a PC based machine. I have never used a Mac, I think I would be lost if I did.

4: What inspires you?
4. I am inspired by all the wonderful pictures I see on Flickr. I can say that Flickr is the learning ground that improves my photography.

5: Preferred subject matter?
5. I really enjoy taking landscape images. And one thing I concentrate on is the seeing light. The two pictures I choose for this interview are examples of the light I look for when I photograph.

6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.
6. The thing about photography, is there is always something new and different that you have not captured. One thing I try to capture with each picture is a feeling. It is something unseen, but can be felt.

7: When in doubt about your art, who do you confide in?
7. When in doubt about art I confide in Nature. Nature captivates me, and once captive, if I manage to click the shutter there is no worries about art.

8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop
8. I have no qualifications whatsoever. Just an open mind, a willingness to experiment, and to gain instruction from all the great photographers that I see on Flickr.

9: Plans for the future?
9. Someday I hope to have a DSLR. Perhaps the only way I will be able to afford one is to sell more of photographs. But even if all I had was a shoe box with a pinhole. I think I would still be happy.

10: In one word, describe your photography.
10. One word lol, that is difficult. Perhaps sometimes: Colorful.

Mr Bones

One of the first images I consciously planned in terms of set up, aperture and shutter speed. What a great feeling when I saw that it worked out like I had imagined. This is still my most popular photo on flickr.


And here's one from the other side of the spectrum. Not set up, not planned - a pure chance encounter when I happened to be at the right place at the right time with my camera ready. One of my personal favs.



1: How long have you been involved in photography?
About two years now. It's really hard to tell because I always liked to take pictures but never saw the need to go past the point and shoot level. The discovery of Flickr changed that and Digital made it easy.

2: Equipment you use?
I'm a Nikon guy. My main camera is a Nikon D50 but I also like to shoot with my manual film SLR (FM). Favorite lenses are the 50mm f/1.8 and the 17-35 f/2.8. I can't seem to get much use out of long tele lenses.
A few weeks ago I sort of inherited a Rolleiflex TLR from the 1930s. It belonged to my great-grandfather. I can't tell you how excited I was. I gave it a good cleaning, bought a roll of film and it was ready to go. Amazing! I only need to buy a light-meter and learn how to use it before I can get consistent results. Hopefully soon...

3: Mac or PC?
PC

4: What inspires you?
You guys

5: Preferred subject matter?
I always prefer the subject that is in front of my lens to the one that isn't.
.
6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.
Star trails

7: When in doubt about your art, who do you confide in?
I'm never in doubt about my art because I don't take it as such. I can tell you that this is a very liberating approach. I believe it also saves my mind.

8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop
Self taught. Trial and error approach. I've probably looked at thousands and thousands of photos over the past two years. That helps a lot.


9: Plans for the future?
I want to be rich and famous. No skip the famous part. Just rich. Thank you! :-)


10: In one word, describe your photography.
Eclectic

Thanks to all the members of "The World Through my Eyes". Thanks for your feedback, your support and kind comments. I enjoy this group a lot!
Axel aka Mr.Bones

Norma Desmond

My son has Aspergers Syndrome and I originally came on flickr to post his photos and artwork as a way of building his self esteem. Then I discovered that I could use photos of him to illustrate how life is for us living with, and embracing autism. I have a couple of sets which show the positives and negatives of having Aspergers syndrome mainly to increase awareness of the realities and not the myths surrounding the autistic spectrum. This is from one of them. I also chose this one because it is one of my Polaroid shots from my holga toy camera, which is one of my favourite cameras.



This photo is one of a series called ‘Metropolis’. I chose this one because it illustrates how inspirational flickr is. I created the set for a group called Das Kabinett which is a great collection of atmospheric photos, manipulations, collages, montages that are influenced by the German Expressionist movement in film. It is just one example of how being in a flickr group can stretch your skills and make you produce more interesting work, as do the TWTME challenges and competitions.

And the questions...
1: How long have you been involved in photography?
I had a brownie camera when I was 9 years old. Film was an expensive luxury though so it was for holiday use only. My Uncle Stan gave me his old pentax slr when I was 18 and I upgraded to a Nikon to go travelling in the early 1980s. I had a long break from photography and got myself a digital camera to record my son growing up. Since discovering flickr I have re-discovered photography, and more importantly the beauty of film. I never travel without at least two cameras now.

2: Equipment you use?
This is a bit embarrassing now considering a year ago I just had an Olympus point and shoot. I now have a Canon 350d for digital stuff. I have several toy cameras – holgas, Diana clones and my lovely lomo lc-a. I have a fabulous vintage graflex twin lens reflex, a few Polaroid cameras, a duaflex for ttv (through the viewfinder) shots and have just splashed out on ebay for a hasselblad 500 c/m. I have only put two rolls of film through it so haven’t seen the results yet.

(Yes it does seem excessive when you have to write it all down!)

One of my most important bits of equipment is the computer, film scanners and photoshop.

3: Mac or PC?
PC with huge hard drive and several back up drives.

4: What inspires you?
Well my wonderful son is my biggest inspiration but I do get inspired by a variety of things – particularly words and music. My problem is that I get inspired by so many things that I often have several different projects going on at the same time.

5: Preferred subject matter?
I could never restrict myself to only one style or type of photography. If pushed I’d have to highlight people, trees, buildings and plants.

6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.
Minimalist shots – I just don’t seem to be able to do it.

7: When in doubt about your art, who do you confide in?
My son who always says ‘It’s OK’. My partner Tim who is a trained artist and always says ‘It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks’. He’s right of course. Doesn’t help the doubts though which happen often as I’m a perfectionist (or as Tim says obsessive and compulsive!).

8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop
All self taught. I often find tutorials on the web if I need to learn something new. I’m trying to learn flash now for a new website – bit of a challenge.

9: Plans for the future?
I’m working on a new website to show my photos in a different way. I’m currently making some themed movies using my photos and music, which seems like a good way to show several photos quickly. I’ve got loads of projects planned and not enough time because of my day job. One plan is to try not to stay up till 2.00am every morning catching up with all my contacts on flickr.

10: In one word, describe your photography.
Experimental.