MBesantPhoto's photostream  

Anyone interested in purchasing any of my images can do so by contacting me through a Flickr Mail or emailing me directly at MBesantPhotography@earthlink.net. Licensing for commercial publication is also available. All images are © Michael Besant Photography, All Rights Reserved. These images may not be used for anything without my explicit permission.

I love to share my knowledge about photography and I have started putting it on my website which you can view at Michael Besant Photography. There is a lot of good information to help everyone to become a better photographer.

About me

I am a professional photographer residing in Gore Virginia. I had photographed over 200 weddings in an almost 10 year span before walking away from wedding photography in late '08. It was around that time I decided to re-join Flickr because I needed a creative outlet to communicate with others who shared my passion for photography. I was moving away from one style of photography and into what had interested me into ever picking up a camera in the first place, Landscape, Scenic, and Travel Freelance Photography.
It was 20 years ago (as of Sept 2010) when I first stepped foot through the doors of a few college photography courses. Obviously those were the pre-digital days. I learned how to shoot film, process film, print images in a darkroom. I also learned a little Photographic History while I was there too.
I have taught myself Digital Photography. What helped me do that was my wonderful base of knowledge from those college courses. A digital camera is still a camera which captures the light the same way. The real breakthrough is how the darkroom had changed. Now we use a computer and Photoshop to edit our images instead of a negative and enlarger.
I respect the art that is photography and the history of those who made it what it is today. I also believe in the continuing education of photography. We live in a digital world where we have new hardware, software and artistic/photographic styles coming out nearly every week which gives us the ability to unlock our deepest visions and create images that only a few short years ago could only be imagined. Even with all of the technology and wonderful cameras we have at our fingertips, for me the one thing that either makes or breaks an image is COMPOSITION. If you ever chat with me, the one thing I will always say is “Composition is the foundation to any image. If you want to learn to be a photographer you must first learn composition”.

COMMENTING

I also love to share my knowledge. I am not one of ‘those’ photographers who are insecure about themselves. ART is not a competition, which is sort of a dichotomy because the business side of photography IS very much competitive. None-the-less, I do believe in helping those that want to learn. So, when I leave comments on images I may and probably will leave CRITIQUE. Do not be offended because how else will anyone learn if what they are doing isn’t correct or good? I even accept critique from my peers.

MY CONTACTS

To me, contacts here on Flickr are friends. I have known some of my contacts for as long as I’ve been (re-joined) on Flickr. We know each other quite well and some of us actually meet up and go out shooting together. I WILL make time to comment on all of my contacts images. So, if you want to add me as a contact please feel free. I will do the same in return. I love to meet new artists. But please understand that if you are a contact of mine I will comment on your images. I expect the same in return. If you become a silent contact, I will eventually delete you. Don't be offended if I don't comment every day, I get most of my comment time on the weekend mornings and I will go through as best I can to look at all of your images that you post.

I make Photos/Images with a Nikon D3S and a Nikon D700. My choice of glass is as follows:

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 fisheye
Nikon 24mm f/2.8
Nikon 35mm f/2.0
Nikon 50mm f/1.4
Nikon 16-35mm f/4 VRII
Nikon 24-120 f/4
Nikon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR I

I know what some of you are thinking, "Why so many pieces of glass"? It is simple really, I have NAS. That is Nikon Aquisition Syndrome. LOL.

Actually I use most of them ALL throughout the year. I have favorites for every season and reason to be out shooting. And if I find myself in a creative rut I will pick out a lens or two I haven't shot with in a while and go out and shoot with just them to re-fire my creative juices. It is sort of like getting a new pair of glasses and putting them on for the first time, the world just looks a bit clearer.