WHAT TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY ARE YOU CURRENTLY FOCUSING ON AND WHY?
I focused on wedding photography for the majority of 2011 for three reasons. 1) Shooting weddings is not an easy thing to do. After talking to many seasoned, professional photographers out there I found a lot of them agree with me and some chose not to shoot weddings at all. I look at this as a challenge and a way to improve my skills as an artist. A wedding photographer must be able to produce excellent images in all sorts of lighting conditions, is always pressed for time due to the unforeseen and sometimes unreasonable timelines, be a director in charge due to the necessity of managing people with a wide variety of personalities…the list could go on. Long story short, wedding photography forces a photographer to use all of his/her skills and there is no room for errors or weaknesses. 2) To be in the presence of family and friends all gathered to celebrate two people in love. Yes, it sounds cheesy but to be a part of the celebration is a very rewarding experience especially when you know you play a big part in the bride and groom’s special day and also in their future years when they look back to remember the event through your work. 3) Shooting weddings can also pay very well as long as you charge your proper worth. 🙂 Having said all that focusing again on shooting fashion and editorials is one of my goals for 2012.
TELL ME ABOUT A PHOTOGRAPHER WHO INSPIRES YOU
It is hard for me to name just one. Sometimes I like to research some of the great photographers before our time. When I look at their work I see a common thread in that the images they produce are timeless. For portraiture some of my favourites are Yosuf Karsh, Irving Penn, Alfred Stieglitz and Richard Avedon. For fashion I admire the work of Steven Meisel, Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino and Russell James.
FOR YOU, WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST PARTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY?
The best part of photography for me is that there are so many different types of photography out there. If I start to get bored with one genre I can always pick something else to shoot. The worst part of photography is that it is very expensive! I’m not saying every photographer needs all the latest and greatest toys but if you want the good stuff then you have to have deep pockets…if you know what I mean.
WHAT IS THE LATEST PIECE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT THAT YOU HAVE ACQUIRED AND HOW IS IT USED FOR THE TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY YOU DO?
The latest photographic equipment I purchased was a pair of Photoflex StarFire flash units. For situations where you need portable lighting to shoot outdoors it is not always feasible or convenient to bring strobe light heads. I already own two Nikon Speedlights, however if I wanted to buy two more it would cost me almost $1000. The Photoflex StarFire flashes are great especially when using them as off camera light sources. The reason they are more affordable is that they do not have TTL functionality but if you are the type of shooter that likes to control the power manually then its hard to pass these up. I’ve used them to shoot portraits outside the studio as well as weddings.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAMERA?
Being the son of a photojournalist there was always a camera within reach at home. When my father came to Canada he started to shoot weddings and I tagged along as his assistant. That planted the seed and the rest is history. My first camera was a Yashica Electro GX. Basically it was a small 35mm rangefinder type camera.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LENS IN YOUR BAG?
My go to lens is a Nikon AF-S 24-70 f/2.8 and its on my camera body most of the time. My favourite lens however is my Nikon AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 VRll. Its sharp, focuses extremely fast and it truly is a workhorse of a lens.
WHAT, WHO OR WHERE WAS YOUR ULTIMATE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE?
Time was November 2005. Place was Italy. It was my first time in Europe and everywhere I turned there was always something worth shooting. The country, the people, the food…everything was beautiful! I couldn’t put my camera down and I filled so many memory cards. Yes, that was the ultimate experience alright but the sad part was that I was on my honeymoon and to this day I have never heard the end of it. 🙂
WHAT, WHO OR WHERE WOULD BE YOUR ULTIMATE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE?
I would love to shoot beside Russell James photographing the Victoria Secret Angels all around the globe. I would ask him to teach me the ropes and then I would work my butt off to impress everyone in the hopes that VS would hire me as one of their regular photographers! LOL
WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU CURRENTLY LISTENING TO?
Compilation of classic house anthems. 🙂
THANK YOU AND KEEP SHOOTING!
