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Photographer Interview: athleticpete
Athleticpete, the winner of several contests, is answering our questions
1. Who are you? Please give brief background information.
My name is Pete, I am a Maths/PE teacher from the UK, but now teaching at an international school in Valencia, Spain
2. How long have you been doing photography?
I really only got into it seriously about 4 years ago to fill the
void left after retiring from serious athletics (hence the username)
3. Do you earn living from photography or you do photography as your hobby/ your half time job?
Its purely a hobby although I have sold one or two shots.
4. What’s your day job?
As previously stated I'm a teacher.
5. Do you have special education? Did you take courses or go to a school learn photography?
I have had no formal training in photography. What I have learnt is all from books, the internet, and trial and error.
6. Are you specializing in a particular area of photography? What are your favorite places/objects to shoot?
I love taking wildlife and action shots. To capture the moment or animal that might normally not be seen gives me a real thrill.
7. Who are your big photographic influences?
No one particular person. I only need to look at National Geographic magazine to get all the inspiration I need.
8. How do you educate yourself? Do you read special literature,
visit photography galleries? What photo books/magazines do you have on
your bookshelf?
Most of my knowledge has come from the internet using a variety of
sites to ask questions, review other peoples work and have them review
mine. And as I previously stated, lots and lots of trial and error.
9. What equipment and software do you use (camera(s), lenses, film, etc.)?
I have a Canon 400D with the kits 18-55mm lens, plus a 75-300 IS
Canon lens. I also have some macro rings and a x2 telextender which I
rarely use. This means I shoot entirely in Digital, and always have.
Without the digital revolution I would not have been able to afford the
luxury of making mistakes and learning from them, which probably means
I would not have started Photography.
10. What is your opinion on post-processing, especially enhancing pictures?
I use Photoshop Elements for all my post processing, which
generally involves only a little tweaking (this happens in-camera
anyway so I have no problems with that). There are some great effects
and works which can be created by post processing and as long as a
heavily doctored shot is not passed off as an original I think it is
good.
11. What advice would you give someone who is interested in photography and wants to improve their photography skills?
Practice, practice, practice. With digital you can afford to make
mistakes. You must also get other photographers to critique your work
and be prepared to accept, sometimes harsh, criticism. Also look
closely at other peoples good work and see what they are doing that you
are not. If you can't see, ask most photographers in my experience are
more than happy to pass on their knowledge.
12. What’s the most challenging aspect of photography for you? What’s the best part of it?
The best part is when I'm in the right place at the right time and
get all the camera settings right to capture something unusual. The
worst part is when I'm in the right place at the right time and get the
camera settings wrong! But you soon learn not to make that mistake
again.
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