Billy Wilson Photography's photostream  

Introduction

I'm a fine art photographer based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. In photography my areas of interest change as my inspiration shifts, but mostly I enjoy producing creative stories, moods, and atmospheres using images of architecture, man-made landscapes, and close-ups of natural scenes. I'm constantly trying to find beauty and meaning in the world around me and I try to do work I feel passionate about. I admire artists who are innovative and are able to produce a wide variety of work. I have a Bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology and having lived with ADD my whole life makes me believe I have a unique perspective when it comes to photography. I have a passport and I enjoy travelling to new places. Please feel free to message me.

Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin / SmugMug / Youtube / Klout / 500px / tumblr / foursquare / Schemer / istockphoto / Modelmayhem / Panoramio / Imagekind / Picasa
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Beliefs and Goals in Photography

I believe that a camera is the easiest way to get a fairly close representation of reality captured. Reality happens to be a very subjective matter, what you beleive will be different in some way from what I believe. A camera DOES NOT capture reality in absolute truth, it is mearly a representation of some aspects of a moment in time, it is up to the photographer to decide what they want the reality of that moment to be, whether that means staging a shoot to capture an emotion or editing an image. The image that a photographer produces can be as subjective as the mind of the photographer.

I don't believe in what people call "SOOC" or "Straight Out of Camera", for a few reasons. First, a lens cannot capture a scene with complete accuracy, there is no such thing as a perfect lens, MTF charts that assess lens performance can show you that. Second, if you aren't using a lens that produces a natural perspective on the format you are using, then the lens itself is distorting reality, for example, does anyone's eyes see like an 800mm telephoto lens or a 15mm fisheye lens? Third, there isn't any medium that will perfectly record what a lens produces even if we had a "perfect lens". For example, many people who enjoy SOOC use Xpro film and cross processing, how can this be looked at as a natural representation of reality. Fourth, you can rearrange props around your subject, then why can't you rearrange them in Photoshop? I beleive that since there is no such thing as a camera that captures reality 100%, it is up to the photographer to decide what to enthasize and focus on. For example, can your eyes adjust their aperture to affect depth of focus? No, but they do adjust to let in more or less light, many people who say their image is SOOC might have used large apertures relative to their format that can render the background more blurry. Hence, because of the fact that a camera and lens can and do distort reality, I beleive that the photographer should be allowed to choise his or her reality whether it be by opening the aperture or adding gaussian blur in Photoshop. To me it is the final image that matters the most and it is up to the creator how they are going to achieve the results that they want.

I believe that a great photograph is one that has been thought through durning all stages of the photo taking experience. You have to first have a concept, know how everything is going to look, you light and compose the image effectively, and you edit the image to make the planned idea come to life. I believe in quality over quantity with my images and I try to push the limits of what people think a photo can be or show. I want to create images that cannot be ignored. I use everything I can to create the effect that I want to achieve, I am constantly evolving and changing my style to create the images that I want.

Ultimately, my goal is to create images that are not only as close as possible to being objectively beautiful but grab the viewer and will not let them go. I want the images to stick in your mind. I work with any kind of subject matter from horror to traditional glamour, I aim to make my images my original and unignorable.
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Quotes

'an amateur photographer friend was invited to dinner and took along a few pictures. the hostess looked at his work and exclaimed, "these are very good. you must have an excellent camera." later, as my friend was departing, he turned to the hostess and said, "that was a delicious meal. you must have some excellent pots." '-simon evans

"A photograph is the illusion of a literal description of how the camera 'saw' a piece of time and space."-Garry Winogrand

"Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed."-Garry Winogrand
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The Equipment that I use to take my pictures:

*Digital:
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Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Canon EF-S 18-55mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 IS
Canon EF 50mm ƒ/1.8 II
Canon Speedlite 430EX II
Vivitar 2800 Flash
Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2

Photoshop CS4 Extended

Canon Powershot SX110 IS
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC W35

Film:
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Konica Autoreflex TC
Konica Hexanon AR 50mm ƒ/1.7
Vivitar 80-200mm ƒ/4.5

Kodak Junior Six-16 Series II (I use this as a 6x11 camera)
Kodak Anastigmat 126mm ƒ/6.3

Other:
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Cameron Professional Tripod and Head now broken
Manfrotto 190CX3 Carbon Fiber Tripod
Manfrotto 5001B Nano Light Stand x2
Manfrotto 026 Swivel Umbrella Adapter x2
Westcott 60" Umbrella With Removable Black Cover x2
Hoya 58mm Circular Polarizing Filter
Cokin Filter Holder Z-Pro + 58mm Adapter
Tiffen 4X4" Graduated Neutral Density 0.6 Water White (Soft Edge)
Canon RS-60E3 Remote Switch
Gold and Silver 30" Westcott Reflectors
Plus a ton of other studio stuff......
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Wish List:


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Click below for my current take on the advanced camera market!:



I am really into comparing cameras but I want to make one point clear. It does not matter too much what camera you use, what does matter is what skills and techniques you use with your camera. For instance many of the most striking images in history have been taken on very simple cameras by today's standards. This is not to say that having an expensive camera is a waste of money, but it does not mean you are a better photographer than someone with a low end camera.
In the collage above I never used the word "professional" to describe any of the cameras, at the level of D-SLRs I believe that you can consider any of them to be "professional" because they all offer image quality and controls that in practise will mostly produce the same results. Mind you, I will admit that a 21 megapixel Canon EOS 5D Mark II has a much higher resolution than a 10.1 megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS, but at normal print sizes you will not be able to tell much difference.
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Significant People That I Like:
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Rembrandt, Kurt Lewin, Dustin Diaz, Ryan Brenizer, David Hobby, Thomas Hawk, Scott Kelby, Sang Photography, Pete Souza, Dave Hill, Zack Ahern, Aaron Nace, Michael David, Kazuha Matsumoto, Timothy Hogan, Jeremy Cowart, Koen Demuynck, Alberto Oviedo, Mark Velasquez + Flickr, Jan Scholz + Flickr,
There are also many other photographers out there who inspire me.
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My Groups

Leica-R Lenses:
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Leica SUPER-ELMARIT-R 15mm ƒ/2.8 ASPH.

Leica ELMARIT-R 19mm ƒ/2.8

Leica ELMARIT-R 28mm ƒ/2.8

Leica PC-SUPER-ANGULON-R 28mm ƒ/2.8

Leica APO-ELMARIT-R 180mm ƒ/2.8

Leica APO-SUMMICRON-R 180mm ƒ/2.0

Leica APO-TELYT-R 280mm ƒ/4.0
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