Dimitri
1st November 2007, 07:21 PM
We all know Brian the "macro" photographer, a very well established amateur (more like a pro to me:lol:) that with his macro photographic skills has taken the web world by storm. Personally i`m glad that Fee (cfcRebel) introduced me to this man`s photo abilities and thank him for letting me enter a part of imaging that i always admired.
Even after all the help Brian has provided us through his detailed tutorials and advice, i could never get the hang of that aspect of photography that always impressed me, the reason i gave up ? No way could i get even close to his talent, it takes a lot to be able to capture such a micro world in such detail.
Lets see what he has to say though, our friends and fellow members, Brian Valentine.
***********************************************
Q. Was there anyone (i.e. other photographers) who influenced your work, and what was it about their work that inspired you?
A. I got a lot of help from other macro-photgraphers on dpreview when i first started especially from Richard Armstrong http://www.pbase.com/dickie/macros. This was mainly on detail on lighting in shots.
Q. Have you done any formal training in photography, or are you self taught?
A. No, I'm self taught.
Q. What is your favourite/most used PP technique (unless this is a trade secret)
A. Has to be using focus stacking. I actually do not enjoy PP work and tend to try and keep it to a minimum
Q. On your photographic journey, did you go through different phases, different styles?
A. Much of the journey in macrophotography is purely technique and understanding the equipment, having got a reasonable grip on that I'm now much more interested in light and composition.
Q. What influenced you in your choice of subject (landscape, portrait, etc.) ?
A. Not entirely certain but I've always had an interest in bugs and in seeing things you can't easily see- I'm PhD microbiologist so must like small things :)
Q. Did you ever have any advice from colleagues, reviews, etc. and how helpful was it to you?
A. As mentioned above I got a lot of help from other forum members on dpreview when i first started and also was introduced to focus stacking by a member on another forum.
Q. When you find your subject to shoot, are you usually looking for something to enhance it? ie nice foreground in a landscape ?
A. Yes I now look much more at composition, angles and background when I'm shooting. If I can't get a reasonable shot then I don't bother. One of the nice things about macrophotography especially of bugs is that they are interesting just to watch without taking a photograph.
Q. Tell us about your equipment and what pushed you to that decision.
A. I tend to go for value and necessity. I bought my first DSLR when they became a reasonable price (a canon 300D) and bought the "best value" macro lens- a sigma 105mm EX. I only buy equipment if I need it and often go in for DIY bits and pieces.
Q. Have you always had the "macro" bug in your blood ?
A. Not really- I only started macrophotography in May 2005 before then I was just a happy snapper.
Q. There is a lot of your work published in various magazines and if i recall there was going to be a program about you on a local TV channel, so how do you see your photographic future, what is next, what do you dream about?
A. I don't really dream about anything as a goal in that manner but suppose I would like top get a book published sometime as long as I didn't have to do too much writing.
Q. Do you have any specific photographic experiences that were of a wow factor and will remain with you for ever?
A. Several I suppose- normally when you see something you haven't seen before and manage to capture it or when a technique you have been trying yields some results. For example when I managed to shoot a water drop balancing on the surface of water or when I found that soap bubbles actually have weird patterns of holes/tears in them just before they burst.
Q. How important is photography to you besides any financial gains?
A. As a retired person it's very important in my life. I spend a major portion of my time on it and thoroughly enjoy it. It also gives you a sense of value via feedback on forums and helping others - something you miss from the work environment when you retire.
Q. If you would change what is now your favourite subject in photography, what other subject would you really like to follow?
A. Not sure I will ever really change but if I do I suspect it would be to bird photography.
Q. What really inspires you now?
A. Many things- one of the great things about macrophotography is that you never know what you will find next :)
Q. Which one of your own images is very special to you and why ? Could we also have that picture to display?
A. Probably when I first started shooting above 1:1 and got my first highly detailed shot of a fly. This was a slight accident as I'd had to send my macro lens away for repair and rigged up an old pentax manual lens I had with some pentax extension tubes (never used) and a canon tmount and took the best photograph I had done upto that time. Turned out it I was shooting at about 1.5:1 so I promptly bought some EOS fit extension tubes and used them with the sigma macro lens when I got it back.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/48257877_600b388b36_b.jpg
Q. Can we have a link for our members to view your work on the internet?
www.flickr.com/photos/lordv (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv)
Q. And finally, what message would you send to the members of our forum and in general any new or fairly new photographers?
Practice and experiment and don't be afraid of posting pics on forums like this and asking for advice
Brian V.
Even after all the help Brian has provided us through his detailed tutorials and advice, i could never get the hang of that aspect of photography that always impressed me, the reason i gave up ? No way could i get even close to his talent, it takes a lot to be able to capture such a micro world in such detail.
Lets see what he has to say though, our friends and fellow members, Brian Valentine.
***********************************************
Q. Was there anyone (i.e. other photographers) who influenced your work, and what was it about their work that inspired you?
A. I got a lot of help from other macro-photgraphers on dpreview when i first started especially from Richard Armstrong http://www.pbase.com/dickie/macros. This was mainly on detail on lighting in shots.
Q. Have you done any formal training in photography, or are you self taught?
A. No, I'm self taught.
Q. What is your favourite/most used PP technique (unless this is a trade secret)
A. Has to be using focus stacking. I actually do not enjoy PP work and tend to try and keep it to a minimum
Q. On your photographic journey, did you go through different phases, different styles?
A. Much of the journey in macrophotography is purely technique and understanding the equipment, having got a reasonable grip on that I'm now much more interested in light and composition.
Q. What influenced you in your choice of subject (landscape, portrait, etc.) ?
A. Not entirely certain but I've always had an interest in bugs and in seeing things you can't easily see- I'm PhD microbiologist so must like small things :)
Q. Did you ever have any advice from colleagues, reviews, etc. and how helpful was it to you?
A. As mentioned above I got a lot of help from other forum members on dpreview when i first started and also was introduced to focus stacking by a member on another forum.
Q. When you find your subject to shoot, are you usually looking for something to enhance it? ie nice foreground in a landscape ?
A. Yes I now look much more at composition, angles and background when I'm shooting. If I can't get a reasonable shot then I don't bother. One of the nice things about macrophotography especially of bugs is that they are interesting just to watch without taking a photograph.
Q. Tell us about your equipment and what pushed you to that decision.
A. I tend to go for value and necessity. I bought my first DSLR when they became a reasonable price (a canon 300D) and bought the "best value" macro lens- a sigma 105mm EX. I only buy equipment if I need it and often go in for DIY bits and pieces.
Q. Have you always had the "macro" bug in your blood ?
A. Not really- I only started macrophotography in May 2005 before then I was just a happy snapper.
Q. There is a lot of your work published in various magazines and if i recall there was going to be a program about you on a local TV channel, so how do you see your photographic future, what is next, what do you dream about?
A. I don't really dream about anything as a goal in that manner but suppose I would like top get a book published sometime as long as I didn't have to do too much writing.
Q. Do you have any specific photographic experiences that were of a wow factor and will remain with you for ever?
A. Several I suppose- normally when you see something you haven't seen before and manage to capture it or when a technique you have been trying yields some results. For example when I managed to shoot a water drop balancing on the surface of water or when I found that soap bubbles actually have weird patterns of holes/tears in them just before they burst.
Q. How important is photography to you besides any financial gains?
A. As a retired person it's very important in my life. I spend a major portion of my time on it and thoroughly enjoy it. It also gives you a sense of value via feedback on forums and helping others - something you miss from the work environment when you retire.
Q. If you would change what is now your favourite subject in photography, what other subject would you really like to follow?
A. Not sure I will ever really change but if I do I suspect it would be to bird photography.
Q. What really inspires you now?
A. Many things- one of the great things about macrophotography is that you never know what you will find next :)
Q. Which one of your own images is very special to you and why ? Could we also have that picture to display?
A. Probably when I first started shooting above 1:1 and got my first highly detailed shot of a fly. This was a slight accident as I'd had to send my macro lens away for repair and rigged up an old pentax manual lens I had with some pentax extension tubes (never used) and a canon tmount and took the best photograph I had done upto that time. Turned out it I was shooting at about 1.5:1 so I promptly bought some EOS fit extension tubes and used them with the sigma macro lens when I got it back.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/48257877_600b388b36_b.jpg
Q. Can we have a link for our members to view your work on the internet?
www.flickr.com/photos/lordv (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv)
Q. And finally, what message would you send to the members of our forum and in general any new or fairly new photographers?
Practice and experiment and don't be afraid of posting pics on forums like this and asking for advice
Brian V.