T189 Oct- Dec 2008 / Discuss

Studyjunkie    says:

It's time to feature another member of the group. This time it's Giles, aka kantryla.

My favorite shots:

St Andrews Church - Covehithe



I'd set out early in the morning to capture the dead trees on the beech around Covehithe, I parked in front of the church and spent 3 hours or so on the beach capturing gnarled old trees. I was pretty happy with what I had so headed off home. As I got to the car the sky was full of towering bubbling clouds and it was windy too. So I took a quick detour into the graveyard and started composing. I'd often seen this shot in my head, and knew exactly what I wanted. I didn't have much time as I was already late getting home. I took 6 shots and everyone of them was just how I wanted them - this one standing out from the rest - the clouds framing the tower. I think it's my best shot to date and I've not seen any other shot of the church like it.

Vortex



I like this one because I don't think I've ever seen a similar shot to it. I used to subscribe to a magazine called JPG and in there was an article by someone who always took shots from the plane window. I'd been travelling to Poland quite a bit last year and so decided to take a few shots. The first few journeys I got some quite nice shots but they were very static - even though we were flying through the skies. So I decided to try and capture some movement. On went my trusty ND110, and I started trying to take shots. I finally got the technique of wedging my arms into the side of the plane and pushing hard against the camera and the bulkhead to hold it still. I was getting some quite reasonable results and then we started banking right - and that was it - that was the shot. I was excited as anything until I got home and looked at the shot on the screen. Where I'd been pushing the camera hard against the bulkhead I'd also scratched all over the plastic cover over the window. Still an awful lot of processing later I managed to get rid of most of the scratches.


1. How long have you been involved in photography?
I really started taking photographs seriously in 2007 when I tried to combine an interest in motorsport with photography. Before then it was just really holiday snaps. My wife had always been a keen photographer so I used to steal her camera and head for race tracks for the weekend. I guess I thought I'd be able to make a bit of money out of spectating.

2. What equipment do you use?
I use a Nikon D300 and primarily a Sigma 10-20mm lens - it pretty much stays on my camera all of the time. I also use the standard Nikon kit lens 18-70, and lenses I bought for motorsport - Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and a Sigma 120-300mm f2.8, neither of which get a whole lot of use at the moment.
I've also started to try film as well, so I have a Holga - which I love to bits, an old Olympus XA and a Rollieflex TLR which my Dad gave me and I haven't yet had the courage to use - I just look at it longingly.
Oh and I almost forgot - my trusty ND110 filter

3. Next bit of kit?
I have a list and depending what I'm doing depends upon what's at the top:
At the moment probably a printer of some description - the shots I print out at the moment are either done by Photobox or in book form at Blurb, but these are expensive, especially when I have no way to print out proofs.
When I'm shooting film then a scanner as processing and getting them scanned is costing me a tenner for 12 shots.
When I'm doing long exposure stuff or night shots then a light meter, the camera metering is ok but can be a bit hit and miss, often it takes perhaps up to about 30 minutes before I get the shot that I want, a light meter would certainly help.

4. What editing program(s) do you use and is it on Mac or PC?
I use a PC and I have Lightroom 2.7 and Photoshop CS3 - both courtesy (sort of) of T189. Because I was a student managed to buy both at Student Rates - which was quite some saving. I also use a CS3 plugin called Silver Efex Pro - which is fantastic for monochrome conversions.

5. What inspires you?
Interesting question and a difficult one. I guess it's my need to be creative. My parents were both artistic types. I do IT and there's not too much creativeness there (although my powerpoint diagrams are a bit snazzy if I say so myself !!). So I like to do things that maybe not everyone else will do. There are also some amazing photographers out there, seeing their work also inspires me - but there's a fine line I guess between inspiration and just plain copying - something I'm very conscious of.

6. Preferred subject matter?
It used to be motorsport, but I got really bored of taking the same shots over and over again - never seeming to create anything different - one of the reasons I did T189 really to broaden my horizons. Since then there are a few things, but speed is has a big part to play in them.
I love speed, but my life's a bit hectic so I like slow too, a lot of my shots are slowed down to emphasise speed, whether that's flattening water so it's silky smooth, capturing vehicle lights streaking through a city or capturing an approaching storm.
Once upon a time I wanted to be an architect, but I chose IT instead. I still love buildings especially in cities, and in particular modern buildings, and that's what I come back to. I don't often get the chance even though I work in London but every time I do I love it.
I also love to travel so I do enjoy travel photography but I guess it's mostly land, city or seascape type shots.
So I guess it's a combination of something with movement and speed and city, architecture or seascapes.

7. Name one thing you haven't caught with the camera that you really want to capture.
There's lots of things I've never really captured, people especially portraits I think is completely missing.
But the one thing I've been trying to capture is the clichéd star trail shot. I have the shot I want drawn in my notepad, but everytime I go to get it things conspire against me. A couple of weeks ago my wife was away so I went to Aldeburgh beach at 1am, I set the camera up in exactly the space I'd set it up before and started get the exposure right - I finally settled on a 10 minute f11 shot, and started capturing. It was pitch black could see much at all. set my camera off capturing 10 minute shots and I fell asleep on the beach. An hour and half later I woke and checked things were still capturing - something was different, I could see - not much but I could see, and the stars there had all but disappeared. I persevered a little and the mist started rolling in. I ended up taking shots of fog and went home to bed thoroughly de-motivated around 6am. I will crack the shot one day !!

8. Apart from T189, have you tried any other photography-related courses?
I haven't tried any other courses, I was going to have a go at the OCA but I think I've been warned off of that now. I may try the LRPS route - and whilst it's not necessarily a course I think you have to get all of the disciplines correct and hence for me there'll be quite a bit of study involved.

9. Plans for the future?
I've just joined the local camera club which I'm enjoying so far. I've never sent off anything before to magazines or anything so maybe that's something I'll have a go at, but most of all I would love to get my shots into an exhibition. There's a few local ones around at the moment so I'm pursuing that. I really enjoy projects and making yourself take shots to a theme which you wouldn't normally consider, so I'm planning at the moment to do a 24 hour photoshoot, taking a picture (or maybe a few) every hour throughout the day and night. It'll probably be in London, I have a few ideas of the shots I want to achieve - whether the situation will arise over the day I don't know - but we'll see.
I've also got a scribble pad that I carry round with me and that's got loads of 'story board' type scribbles in which when I think of an idea I scribble down - so there's loads of shots there to be taken.

10. Describe your photography in one word.
Escape

Thanks for answering our questions, Giles.
Posted at 4:39AM, 29 June 2010 PDT (permalink)