I wasn't tagged, but that's not surprising since I just shot my first sets for Suicide Girls a month ago, and the first of those won't hit MR until July. But I saw @floydian's blog answering the questions in @xheartswornx's blog. I really liked reading @floydian's blog, so I thought it would be fun to do myself. In his blog, @XHEARTSWORNX asked photographers who submit work on SG to answer questions about their photography and post it to their blog. So here goes...
1) What influenced you to take up photography?
Like @floydian, I took photography classes in school. I wasn't really inspired to take these classes. Back then (a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away), we could take elective courses. I took wood shop, metal shop, electronics shop, and photography, as well as a few others. My first photography class was in junior high school (middle school), probably 8th grade. I took another one in high school, probably 10th grade. My teacher for both classes was Mr. Cervenka (everyone called him Mr. C.). But out of all those elective classes, photography was my favorite, which is why I took it again in high school.
This was well before digital photography. We shot black and white film, developed our own film, and created our own prints in the classroom darkroom. While I was taking the second photography class, my step-grandfather gave me his Argus Match-Matic 35mm Rangefinder camera, which I still have. The rangefinder is messed up and the light meter doesn't work, but the camera itself works fine. I received a Konica AutoReflex TC SLR camera as a high school graduation present from my parents and grandparents, which I also still have. I usually shoot color positive transparencies (slides) with my Konica (I need to get a better slide scanner). I want to shoot black and white film with my Argus. Unfortunately, I don't remember how to develop my own film any more, but I plan to relearn once I decide to buy the equipment and chemicals to develop the film myself.
Since then, I dabbled in photography sporadically, but not seriously. In 2015, I was let go from a job. While I was looking for a new one, I started taking time to go out around southern Nevada where I live and photograph the area: Red Rock Canyon, places on the Las Vegas Strip, the Arts District in Downtown Las Vegas, Exploration Peak Park in southwestern Las Vegas, and a few other places. And I've been doing that ever since. During the summer of 2017, I decided I wanted to start photographing people, and in October I had my first shoot with a model. Since then I've had 8 shoots with models, the last resulting in four sets that will eventually be seen here on Suicide Girls. The first one should hit Member Review in July. I have one shoot scheduled this Sunday with @avrora (I am so looking forward to this shoot!). It will not be submitted to Suicide Girls; rather it will be featured on my Patreon page later this year.
But I guess if I have to come up with an influence, I have to say, Ansel Adams. His photographs are so timeless, iconic, beautiful, and awe inspiring. Plus he photographed one of my favorite places on earth a lot... Yosemite National Park.
2) Was there any sort of schooling involved whether official or unofficial?
Other than those two classes taken all those years ago, I've had no formal photographic education. Just lots of practice, reading about photography, and many YouTube videos watched about editing with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I might have taken a self-study course or two through Udemy.com too.
3) What was the first shoot you've ever done? For who, what, where…
My first shoot with people was with @damseldoll in October 2017. It was a fashion/glamour TFP (time for print) shoot at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada. I made a lot of mistakes, but we still got a lot of good photos. One was published in GEINK Magazine Issue 7 (it's an online magazine, you can find it through MagCloud). I learned from those mistakes and improved my skills behind the camera and directing models.
4) How long have you been doing this?
As I previously mentioned, I took my first photography class in junior high school, probably 1975. I've dabbled in photography ever since. In 2015, I made a conscious effort to get out and shoot between looking for a new job, partly because my wife worked from home, and I didn't want to disturb her while she was working. I started my photography business in 2017, about a year ago. My first Suicide Girls shoot was in March 2018. There should be four sets submitted to Suicide Girls from that shoot.
After starting my business, I shot TFP or I paid models to shoot. But I think I've progressed enough that I think I should get paid now, at least occasionally. So that's the new challenge... acquiring paying clients. It'll happen, eventually.
5) Craziest behind the scenes story of a shoot that may have been a success or a failure?
I haven't had anything really crazy happen on a shoot. But I have this story... I had rented a suite at the Luxor Hotel & Casino. The shoot was a few days before my model's birthday, so the theme of the shoot was a birthday party. We were supposed to start around 6 PM. But she was late, really late; like 5 hours late. She was finishing up one of her outfits. Then she went to the wrong hotel. To be fair, she was in contact with me the entire time, apologizing profusely. But we got some really amazing photos from the shoot once she arrived and we finished setting up the set. I didn't get home home until 5 AM. I was supposed to go to work that day, but I called out. I would have fallen asleep at my desk.
6) Favorite unintentional photograph that just made perfect sense after all was said and done?
I haven't had something like this happen during a shoot yet.
7) Favorite "object" to photograph (nature, humans, etc) and why?
I don't think I have a favorite "object" to photograph. I enjoy shooting anything that looks interesting. I like getting out in nature by myself or with others to shoot landscapes, wildlife, nature, abandoned places and objects, like cars, buildings, etc. I enjoy astrophotography and light painting a lot. But I also really enjoy photographing people, especially model shoots, whether it's casual/business wear, fashion/glamour, cosplay, swimwear, implied nude, or artistic nude. There is so much creativity that goes into these shoots, and I, as the photographer, have a lot of latitude to find the best angles, light, composition... that is, I have a lot of latitude to be creative. I know that's kind of a cop out answer, but I really don't have a favorite thing to photograph.
8) Most influential photographer that earned a spot in the Admiration Hall of Fame in your heart and why?
I already discussed Ansel Adams. His photographs are timeless, and he was meticulous in finding the right composition and light for his landscapes. I'm also a big fan of Annie Leibowitz. I cannot really say why. I just like her photographs.
If pressed to name some photographers known for artistic nudes (and much more explicit photography), I have to mention Ken Marcus, Suze Randall, and Holly Randall. Ken Marcus and Suze Randall both shot for Playboy and created some of the most iconic photographs during Playboy's heyday.
9) What is the most inspirational or influential thing to your art currently?
This is a hard question for me to answer. There isn't just one thing, just as I don't have one favorite thing to photograph. I have varied photographic interests. But I guess I'd say nature of all kinds... and people of all genders and sizes. Everyone has his/her own beauty. It's my job to find it, bring it out, and capture it. I find Arcadio Del Valle, a plus size male model, extremely inspirational. Google him!
10) When not taking photography what takes up a lot of your free time?
I have a full time day job as a software test engineer for an international software development professional services company, so that obviously takes up a lot of my non-photography time. I also enjoy playing my guitars occasionally. But most of all, I enjoy spending time with my wife of almost 24 years, whether it's going out for date night, or simply staying home watching television.
11) Physical film, is it a love or hate relationship and why?
I love film photography; I just don't do it often enough. It's sort of a mystery. Since it costs more to shoot film, you have to really study the scene and plan out your shot a lot more critically. But you don't know if you got the shot until later when you get the film developed. The hate part of the relationship is the costs involved, whether you develop your own film or you have a third party process it for you.
12) Current setup (camera, lights, or whatever you may use mainly)?
CAMERAS
Nikon D3300 (primary)
Olympus C7070 (digital backup)
FujiFilm FinePix (doesn't get much use anymore, but I have plans for it when I have an assistant on shoots)
Konica AutoReflex TC SLR
Argus Match-Matic 35mm Rangefinder
LENSES
AF-S NIKKOR 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 GII ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.4-5.6 GII VR
NIKKOR 50mm 1:1.8 D (Manual Focus)
AF-S NIKKOR 50mm 1:1.8
AF-S NIKKOR 35mm 1:1.8
500mm Manual Focus Telephoto with a 2x Magnifier (used for wildlife photography with my Nikon D3300)
Konica 50mm kit lens
Quantaray 75-200mm Zoom/Macro (for the Konica)
I have portable studio lights, and a portable backdrop system. I do use the studio lights for Suicide Girls shoots even though it's not encouraged. Hotel rooms are not always well lit, and since I have a day job, I can't always shoot indoors with natural light coming through windows. In the winter, there isn't just enough daylight left to shoot outdoors after work, plus it's too cold.
I have quite a collection of filters I can use for landscapes, sunrises, sunsets, long exposures, etc. And there are a few other nifty gadgets that find their way into my camera bag on some shoots.
13) How would you describe your style of photography?
I am not a fan of low contrast photos. That said, because of the haze from the sand and ocean, I do have a few sunrise photographs I took near Cabo San Lucas that are low contrast that turned out really nice. But, my style is bold, vibrant, saturated, but not overly so, colors with a good amount of contrast. I like it when colors pop in a photograph. I also like a bokeh effect, especially with lights in the background or foreground.
14) Best advice to someone wanting to go into photography?
Get out and shoot. Shoot anything and everything that you find interesting. You don't need an expensive camera to take great photos, so don't spend a ton of cash on a high end camera until you know you enjoy photography and want to continue with it.
Start with program mode. Let the camera do the work for you and concentrate on composing your photograph and learning how light plays on the scene. When you start getting good photos, start learning how to use Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes on the camera, eventually moving to full manual. Learn to get the shot as right as possible with the camera so you don't have to spend as much time editing it later. That's one advantage for shooting film... it forces you to figure out the best settings for the shot, to plan the composition out, to find or wait for the best/right light, so that you can get the shot right with the camera and not have to rely on fixing it later.
15) Best advice for someone who wants to follow a creative path in any art form?
Create what you're passionate about. If you want to turn it into a business, then figure out what you're willing to do, and not willing to do, to make a living by creating art.
For example, in photography, find out what makes you want to shoot, find out what inspires you to shoot. It could be sunsets, it could be seaside landscapes. Whatever it is, find it. Then, if you want to make a living with photography, figure out what you're willing to do, and what you're not willing to do.
My cousin, shoots seaside landscapes, her dogs, birds, wild horses, wild burros, sand dollars and other things found on the beach, antiquities (old abandoned vehicles and buildings) , and a bunch more stuff. She gets her photos printed, then mattes and frames them herself. She also makes a lot of her other products, like stone coasters and magnets with her photographs on them. She has an Etsy store and fulfills all her orders. She spends her summers in northwestern Oregon selling her products at craft fairs and shows. Year round, she creates the products for orders she receives through her Etsy store, packages and mails them out. It's a lot of work, but she enjoys it, and is willing to do all the hard work. And she is able to make a living doing it. But that's not something I have time for or am willing to do. I'd rather let another company take care of making products from my photographs, and fulfill the orders. And I do. I have an online shop at SmugMug for all of my landscape, wildlife, astrophotography, sunrise, sunset, nature and city photographs.
16) Is there any moment in time that you almost gave up because of a horrible experience, but instead decided to push forward? If so, what helped perk you up to move past the experience?
Due to some recent marital issues, I seriously thought about not photographing people anymore. But I ultimately decided against it and will continue to do so. But after this coming Sunday's shoot with @avrora, there is a very good chance I won't be shooting nudes for awhile, maybe not ever again.
17) Favorite shoot for SG and why?
I've only done one shoot for Suicide Girls, so I cannot say I have a favorite Suicide Girls shoot, yet.
18) Model you're most looking forward to shoot with one day?
I probably won't be shooting nudes for a while, but there are some models I'd love to work with in some capacity someday: @dulces, @asteria, @chvrch, @calla, @chef, @cooky, @gaiah, @magnea, @amirarayne (if she decides to become a hopeful)... gosh there's just too many to name.
19) Photographer (SG or non) that you'd actually like to work with for a collaboration shoot (also SG or non)?
I'd love to collaborate with @zen and @floydian someday. More of a pipe dream, but I think it would be an amazing experience to collaborate with @coolicio, @tripodski, @andrealaz, @gemmaedwardsuk, @frankndame, @thelabrat, and Martin Wong (look up his Patreon page).
20) You take photographs, but what is another form of art that you typically enjoy and appreciate?
Music! Without. A. Doubt. I play guitar, a little bass, and some vocals. I write my own songs occasionally. I just don't do it often enough.
22) Any tunes that you enjoy listening to as you work? To help motivate or even give you a beat to work off of as you bounce from angle to angle.
If given a choice, I'd choose heavy metal and rock, maybe country. But I normally let the model choose the music. Whatever music s/he likes and helps him/her get into a groove, works for me. I like most types of music anyway.
23) How did you get involved with Suicide Girls?
Someone I know became a hopeful in 2013, so I joined to support her. But, I didn't really become an active member until 2016. That's when I started writing blogs, sharing photos, commenting on group threads and model photosets. I've got a bit of a reputation, I guess, for a blog series I wrote regularly for most of 2016, called PINK MAGIC. I don't write it regularly like I used to, but I still do on occasion.
I used to look at every set published, but frankly, I don't anymore; I don't have time. Don't get me wrong, I like the ladies, but I stick around for the people and online friends I've made here, like @thekarmaguy, @magnea, @avrora, @lewolf, and many, many other people, members, Hopefuls and Suicide Girls.
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That's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Shout out to @xheartswornx for asking these questions, @floydian for writing his blog. and for sheer dumb luck that I happened to see @floydian's blog pop up in my feed. Feel free to ask me any other questions in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them.
Be on the look out for my first Suicide Girls set in July. 'Til next time, as always...
Stay Tuned…
DeadGuitarist
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