Daruma

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: Daruma*

Choosing just two pictures is a terrible task! I've chosen the first one because it represents the work in my ministract series and, more than that, because it's a vent! Some of my contacts will smile at that because it's become a bit of a joke that I like to find a good vent once in a while! (And in case any one is interested the two very best vents in the UK without a shadow of a doubt are (i) at the short stay car park at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five and (ii) near Paternoster Square in the City of London).

-- from daruma* - (?)

The second shot is one of my most recent. It doesn't represent anything, like the vent shot does, it's just one that i enjoy looking at. maybe it's the 'nothingness' of it. I don't know. But I do like it.

-- from daruma* - (?)

1: How long have you been involved in photography?

For me, Flickr and photography have gone hand in hand. I signed up for a free Flickr account in 2005 just as a place to store back ups of the family holiday snaps. Then last October I decided to take it more seriously and got myself a Pro account but it wasn't until this January that I actually started taking my hobby seriously, bought a good lens and went out 'to do photography'.

2: Equipment you use?

A Canon 40d plus the Canon 24-105 f4 L IS, 70-200 f4 L IS, 135 f2 L, 100 f2.8 macro, 35 f1.4 L and a Sigma 10-20. (All of my money and more goes on lenses...). And then I carry a G9 with me Monday-Friday when I'm at work.

3: Mac or PC?

Mac

4: What inspires you?

Lots of things! I'm on a journey of discovery and loving every minute of it. The biggest inspiration comes from the world around me. I've been quite surprised to discover that, since taking up photography, I've developed a new sense of vision - I've started to see things that I didn't even know were there before. And that's a wonderful thing because now I'm always on the lookout and I'm forever surprised by my surroundings.

The other great source of inspiration are my Flickr contacts - people like tanakawho, Barbera, esanatha, gracie's ephemera, Freelancevirtuoso, Opus104, Anne*º and me*voila. All of them are wonderful photographers and also provide me with really helpful advice. (By the way, these are just examples of lots and lots of really great Flickr friends).

5: Preferred subject matter?

At the moment (I'm on a journey, remember!) it's architectural ministracts. Ministract is my term for stuff that might be minimal or might be abstract...
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6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.

That's so difficult to answer!! How about a shot of my kids tidying their bedrooms without me having to tell them 100 times first :) Joking aside (well, only partly joking), I really don't know.

7: When in doubt about your art, who do you confide in?

My youngest son because he will always have an opinion; my wife because she will tell it straight; and my mum because she will always say that I'm the best :) To be honest, though, I've only really been doing this for nine months so I would never ever say that what I'm doing is 'art'. And doubts for me are just opportunities to learn more. My favourite quote is from Robert Browning: "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for?"

8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop

I'm brilliant with the vibrance and saturation sliders on Adobe Lightroom but that's about it!! :) I did try to use Photoshop once but it was far too complicated. I've had no formal training - everything I have learned - absolutely everything - has been from Flickr and (if I can plug another group) most especially from The Jurors Group.

9: Plans for the future?

To grow in confidence about my work and also to break free of the interest in whether my pictures make it in to Explore. Oh, and I also want to be "less tame" in my comments - that's for you, Losy :) Someone bought a photograph of mine a couple of weeks ago and that was a lovely feeling! So I wouldn't mind selling a couple more; not least because it will help me save up for the lens of my dreams...

10: In one word, describe your photography.

Compositional