Earl-Wilkerson's photostream  

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Many of the images in my photostream are 100% free for download via a Creative Commons license. There's only one thing I ask: please provide attribution. All I request is a simple mention of my name, the image name, image link, or even just a link to my Flickr Photostream (www.flickr.com/photos/earlwilkersonphotography).

Alternatively, if you would like to support my work financially, select images are available for purchase from my Red Bubble website: www.redbubble.com/people/earl-wilkerson/portfolio.

For the other images in my photostream that are copyright, I ask that you please do not duplicate or use without my approval. To do so is immoral, sad, and just plain not nice.

A little about me:
I’m a father, husband, photographer, and (as of late) graphic design student, living in Illinois. Photography became an interest of mine a few years ago with the purchase of an "advanced point and shoot,” the Olympus SP510UZ (or "Oly" as I chose to call it). I've since moved on to the Digital SLR world, simultaneously falling in love with digital photo manipulation and creation through the use of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, changing what was once an "every now and then" hobby into such an amazingly important part of my life.

In regards to my photography, I do not consider myself a purist of one particular style. If you shoot digital or film; RAW or JPG; black and white or color it's all art. I believe art is an expression of the person creating it. Personally, there are too many photographers have a misguided concept of how others should approach their craft, and think people must adhere to a set of rules. I simply do not agree. The "rules" of photography are - and should always be - a starting point and guideline. Spend too much time and effort remembering the rules every time, and you'll miss the "moment.”

I'm not an "equipment-is-everything" kind of guy, but believe having decent quality gear will save many problems in the long run (sometimes you just get what you pay for). The most important thing I have come to understand: The gear is only one part of making the image. Having said that, I also do not mind sharing with others information on the gear I have and use. One reason is this information might help others who happen to be in the market for a particular piece of equipment, and would benefit from a "real world" review. Another reason, I simply love all things technology, camera equipment included.

The following quote from Lou Ann Aepelbacher (photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=572573) adequately sums up my thoughts on camera equipment and its importance in creating images:

An amateur photographer was invited to dinner with friends, and he took along a few pictures to show to them. The hostess looked at the photos and commented, “These are very good! You must have a good camera." The photographer didn't make any comment, but as he was leaving to go home, he said, "That was a really delicious meal! You must have some very good pots."


For those interested in what I use to create the images you see here, here's my current equipment list:

- Canon EOS Rebel T2i dSLR

- Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro Lens

- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

- Canon PowerShot A1100 IS

-"Virtual dSLR" within Gran Turismo 5

- Velbon El-Carmagne 530 Carbon Fiber Tripod

- 13” Macbook (Late 2008)

- Vivitar 285HV

- Cowboy Studio NPT-04 Four Channel Wireless Flass Trigger

- Cowboy Studio Light Stand, 33" Shoot-Through Umbrella, and Umbrella Bracket

- Datacolor Spyder3 Express Monitor Colorimeter

- HDR Soft Photomatix

- Adobe Photoshop CS5

- Adobe Illustrator CS5

- onOne PhotoTools 2.5

- Wacom Intuos4 Medium Tablet

- Data Color Sypder3 Express Colorimeter