Photographer Interveiw: JLW

Our next interviewee is an experienced and creative photographer known at shotaddict as JLW.

1. Who are you? Please give a brief background information.
My name is Jim and I live in Marion Kansas. I am married with three grown children and three grand children. My other hobby besides photography is cycling. I had the opportunity to ride from LA to Boston in 2005. What a trip!

2. What's your day job?
I don’t really have a day job unless you consider remodeling a 19 century Victorian commercial building a job. I get to work on it when I feel like it mostly. I was in the restaurant biz for a decade and spent 17 years doing massage. I have also messed around in the real estate biz for ten tears now, buying and fixing up old houses mostly in Phoenix, AZ where I spent 56 years.

3. How long have you been doing photography? How did you start doing photography? What got you interested in it?
I guess I’ve been shooting pictures since about 10yo. I remember using the Kodak Brownie and the Original Polaroid. The family also had an 8mm video camera that I had some fun with in early high school; which is about the time I got involved in doing “photography”. I took a class my freshman year in high school. I fell in love with the darkroom process and B&W photography. All that is long since passed since the “digital” age was thrust upon us. Now my darkroom is my computer. That said…

4. Do you earn living from photography or you do photography as your hobby/ your half time job?
I have never been paid for a photo so I guess I am still an amateur. :)

5. Are you specializing in a particular area of photography? What is your favourite type of photography?
My wife has commented many times that I never take pictures of people…. She’s probably right.. Mostly I photograph bugs and birds and old dead trees. At this point I think I like macro photography and extreme close up. It’s amazing what you can find in a picture that you didn’t know was there when you snapped the shutter.

6. Who are your big photographic influences?
I don’t have any photographic idols. I couldn’t give you the name of a single professional photographer. I occasionally pick up a photo magazine so I can drool over all the new cameras and gear, but mostly I just shoot – upload – high-grade and crop till I find something that appeals to me.

7. What are your favorite places/objects to shoot?
My favorite place to shoot is a row of bright orange flowers that lines my drive; lots of spiders, butterflies and bees. It keeps me busy for hours. Across the street at the lake is another favorite spot, birds, squirrels, frogs and occasionally a raccoon. There are also some interesting buildings around the lake.

8. What equipment and software do you use (camera(s), lenses, film, etc.)?
I am currently shooting with a Nikon D80 with an 18/135 lens (my favorite). I also have 70/300 Nikor lens that I put on the camera occasionally. I still have the old 35mm I used back in high school but it mostly just sits on the shelf. The software I use is Photoshop.

9. What is your opinion on post-processing, especially enhancing pictures?
On the subject of editing and manipulation. Here again my wife has an opinion that differs a bit from mine. She says she’ll never believe what she sees in a picture again…. She says this after seeing some of the things I do to manipulate certain photos. My opinion is this… Photography is an art and as such subject to the interpretation of the artist. It is the only medium where the artist has but a fleeting moment to capture an image that is meant to convey meaning or emotion. If I’m working on canvas and I don’t like the way something is coming out I can simply paint a new image over the old one. If I work in clay I simply smash it back into ball and start over. So if you can enhance the mood or meaning you are trying to achieve by “dodging n burning” so to speak…. Go for it. This would not apply to journalistic work…that should be left untouched.

10. What advice would you give someone who is interested in photography and wants to improve their photography skills?
OK my advice to a newcomer just starting out…. Turn off the auto function on your camera and shoot shoot shoot. Learn what exposures and shutter speeds you are being successful with under different conditions. It’s the only way you can learn to be “creative” with your photography; which is not to say you can’t get many excellent pictures pointing and shooting on auto. I am wishing I had a camera or lens with image stabilization. I loose many otherwise good shots because I didn’t hold the camera perfectly still at the exposure settings I was using. Trying to chase a butterfly around with a camera on a tripod is a bit challenging.

11. What's the most challenging aspect of photography for you? What's the best part of it?
The best part of photography is the individuality that goes into the enjoyment of the work by others. I recently entered a photo contest and asked friends to evaluate 10 photos I was considering for submission and select the 3 they liked best. Except for one picture all three selected different photos. Everyone is going to have a different opinion about the value of the work. One person’s “the shot is blurry” is another’s “I love the soft focus”. Go figure…

So to the new comers out there… Shoot what you like and enjoy what you shoot!!

Jim