S0ulsurfing

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: sOulsurfing

"Could have picked any of 500 really, but i chose two that meant something to me personally."

This one represents all the fun times i've had playing silly games with my family at the bay and keeps that moment forever alive


and this one because i think that it sums up my occasionally dumb approach to photography and life, i got hypnotized by the beauty and forgot about the possible consequences :)



1: How long have you been involved in photography?

Forever and only recently... :) I used to see photography more as a means of recording a scene for reference in my paintings, and as inspirations for designs, slowly over the years, it grew on me as an art form, and I think it was probably the shots from my travels in Peru that I first felt were interesting enough to be viewed in their own right. But it was really when I joined Flickr (almost 3 years ago now) that the bug properly took hold and once I got my first DSLR I was lost forever. The downside of this could be seen as that i haven't painted anything in the last few years, but i'm sure photography is just part of the total journey, and doesn't mean anything is over yet



2: Equipment you use?

Canon 400d with the standard 18-55mm, Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 70-300mm, Lensbaby 2, Lowepro slingshot bag, and a few COKIN z-pro filters for my wide angle lens.


3: Mac or PC?


This was the year i was finally stepped into the light and got a mac, using the 24" imac and my Wacom A3 tablet is what i dreamt of all those years I spent being frustrated on slow clunky PC's.



4: What inspires you?

I find inspiration everywhere around me in the natural world, i'm lucky enough to work for myself and I have a flexible approach to the working day so i let the constantly changing english weather and light be my daily inspiration.

I'm also inspired and fascinated by the work of others, I love the vintage photographs in old auction catalogues, and because my passion for photography has most recently fueled by Flickr, I'm constantly inspired by the people around me in this place.

There are many superb artists out there, and I genuinely find my contacts list inspiring every single day I look at it, I cant list everyone here without sounding like Richard Attenborough at the Oscars ceremony, but these are a few that came to mind:

The breath-taking water photography of Morgan
Incredible technique of Extra Medium (proving HDR doesn't have to be garish)
Magical light of Fotonstudio
The incredible still-lifes of Kevsyd (i think he's actually one of the old masters with a time-machine, just look at his use of light)
Haunting beauty of Adele's recent texture work
ecstaticist for the endless fascination he provides and the diversity of his work
Philipe for his amazing landscapes, pretty much the best i've seen on flickr
Leschick for her constant invention and pretend grumpiness
kayodeok for his pursuit of technical perfection (and memories of London)
The imagination of all at the DOI group, especially the admins, this group has probably been the biggest inspiration of all.





5: Preferred subject matter?

As soon as i think I have one, i want to go out and try something different, but i always return to the landscape and more specifically the meeting of land and sea and the life that lives in the small places between them. It was always my favourite subject to paint and i try to catch the beauty of changing light there whenever i can.



6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.


I think it might just be impossible, but one day i'd like to capture that feeling you get in the magical few seconds when you lose yourself in the beauty of a breaking wave in the special light of a winters morning when even the numbing cold cant touch you.



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

Myself, i trust my instincts and try not to be afraid of making mistakes.

or i ask Flickr... i'm often wrong about what works and what doesn't, and i like it when people are honest enough to tell me.




8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop

Pretty much self taught with photography, i keep trying out different stuff until i like it or it works.



9: Plans for the future?



Mainly to keep enjoying it and learning the technical bits to let me truly capture what i see. As i've learnt the basics, I've found it enhances the way I look at the world so i'm intrigued to see how much more there is to learn. Of course it would be nice for the 'fine art photography' to pay the bills, but that seems a long way off, and I want to keep learning and retain an open mind about where it might end up rather than get set in my ways too early. I like to think of it as doing my apprenticeship right now, so maybe that will result in holding exhibitions, but as I found them the least enjoyable part of being a painter, I'm wary of taking that route.



10: In one word, describe your photography.


evolving