Gumby*

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER:

I love this one for the comments from the DeleteMe group on Flickr. They are so delightfully snarky, they feel just like family...


And this, because there is something initially creepy about it, but its sense of calm has grown on me...

1: How long have you been involved in photography?
I have had a camera since I was about 6, and can still remember the smell of the spent flash cubes.

2: Equipment you use?
I currently have a Nikon D700, and my most frequently used lenses are the 60mm 2.8, the 80-200mm 2.8, and the 24-70mm 2.8.
I have tried numerous times to use the SB600 flash I have, but the results are always horrible.

3: Mac or PC?
I use a Mac, but I used a PC until last year.
I am equally inept on both, which is saying something.

4: What inspires you?
I am inspired by Flickr, plain and simple. Many photographers here are better than the professionals, and there is always something fresh and uncommon here. It hardly takes any time at all to find a photographer that you have never seen, and a photostream that is a revelation. I have been hooked from the first day. Even better than this, I consider many of these people lifelong friends.

5: Preferred subject matter?
My preferred subject manner changes, but I am fascinated by the elk in the autumn in Banff National Park. I also seem to shoot a lot of flowers, but I have no idea why.
It could be the fault of my macro lens.

6: Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you REALLY want to capture.
I went to Death Valley this year and never caught on camera what I wanted, some elusive quality of light and land that would represent the place. I am terrible at landscapes.

7: When in doubt about your art, who do you confide in?
I think there is always a low-grade dissatisfaction with what I shoot, but when it becomes acute, I turn to Flickr, and although the comments are usually generous, I can tell by the quality of enthusiasm from my good contacts exactly what is wrong by the things left unsaid. That strangely convoluted honesty is wonderful....it inspires me to improve.

8: Qualifications/training in anything? ie: Photoshop
I took a landscape course at night school last year and failed miserably, apparently by refusing to put a person/clump of flowers in the foreground to demonstrate scale. I have CS4, but rarely open it. I am no purist...I just have no idea how to use it.

9: Plans for the future?
I have no specific plans. I love the luxury of photography as a hobby, and am deeply grateful that there is no pressure to shoot anything in particular, in any specific manner.

10: In one word, describe your photography.
One?!

11. I just wanted to personally thank Jill (borealnz) for her energy and enthusiasm on Flickr, and her outstanding photography, which has always been an inspiration.
There are many people who seem to guide the tone and level of creativity here, and Jill has always been one of those individuals who show untiring leadership.
And her photography is amazing...