DM Weber's photostream  

Oh! So you want to know something about me? Ok. I wrote an FAQ that I hope meets the need!

The DM Weber FAQ

Q Do you do photography for a living?
A No. It's just a great hobby that gives me plenty of excuses to get into God's country

Q Well then, what do you do for a living?
A I do software development for a popular online comparison shopping service, mostly backend AI stuff.

Q Do you draw inspiration from other photographers?
A Yep. I like Ansel, Galen, and the many great landscape photographers on flickr, but my style, if there is one, is probably mostly like David Meunch.
See my extensive contact list of those flickr photographers whose work I watch constantly.

Q Inspiration from anything else?
A Absolutely. I'm a christian, believe in the God of the bible, and see the things I photograph as being made specifically for our enjoyment by intelligent design and to cause us to thank Him and worship Him.

Q What kinds of photography do you do?
A 99% landscapes so far, but if I find other things of interest I may be tempted to try other venues, cityscapes for example

Q What equipment do you use?
A I have an Olympus E510 with a 14-42mm lens and a 40-150mm lens. I recently added a Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105mm lens, full-frame. I use an Induro C013 carbon fiber tripod and a Induro DM12 ballhead. My old Canon A1 served me well for many years had to be retired due to failing health, but allowed me to practice my craft and fill up many binders of slides. Since I like to backpack, I've tended toward the light equipment, but the 5D is a brick, so I only carry it on trips I can manage physically to do. I also have a handful of filters, including circular polarizers and neutral gradient filters.

Q What about software?
A I'm currently using ACDSee pro for most of my post-processing. I also use the open source PS clone, GIMP, whenever I need to use layers. Occasionally I'll use Photomatix HDR software to either do exposure fusion or HDR, but I'm not really wild about HDR unless it looks like how I saw the image when I took it. I'm using MS products, but I think Apple products are superior. I'm a tech guy so I can cope with the windows nonsense better than most. But I'm thinking, as of late, that ease-of-use and time-savings are in Apple's court, and may actually justify the extra expense. I'm sure the Apple devotees will consider me fool for not having concluded this long ago ;-)
Q.1 Why not use CS4/5 or lightroom, or Elements?
A.1 Basically cuz I'm cheap, and I like supporting open source. You need to be in the programming business to understand this.
Q.2 Why ACDSee?
A.2 It's economical and it offers a LOT of control over the final outcome. I shoot raw, and this software allows me to squeeze a lot of light balancing and color control out of the image. It has a tool that's analogous to Ansel Adam's zone system.

Q Do you lead workshops?
A Not at this time. I don't have the time while raising a family and working about 60hrs/wk, including weekends sometimes. Plus, I don't rate myself to be in the top tier of photographers to warrant such ideas.

Q How/why did you get started on flickr?
A I started in 2008 when a co-worker created a private group in which my company could place photos. I joined so I could share from my extensive slide collection. (I had to get a scanner too). I was amazed at the number of photographers on flickr and was really impressed with some of their work. Their work put my own work to shame so I got motivated to improve and see how far I could take my own skills and ability. When I discovered that other flickr folks actually liked my work, I decided to get a Pro account and just have fun informally competing with them, but mostly developing my skills. This was my first forray into "social media". Since then I've reluctantly joined facebook and linked in. I don't "tweet" at this time.

Q Do you have a blog?
A No, but my descriptions with my photos do the same job.

Q What about other photo sites? SmugMug, Pbase, 1x, etc, etc?
A I'm not sure my work is up to 1x quality, but I may judge myself too harshly. The others? Well, if was a pro and just wanted to advertise my work as far and wide as possible, I'd probably take the time to post to those locations too. Flickr is the behemoth of them all, and you have to be really good to get decent exposure. It demands more of me which helps with the self-discipline side of photography.

Q What do you think of flickr's Explore?
A I view it as an interesting computing problem. It does a remarkably good job at selecting "good" photos out of the many millions of photos submitted each day, but there are plenty of stinkers that make it into Explore. It does draw traffic to your photo in a way that posting to the many groups cannot do. I don't loose any sleep over it, and neither should you.

Q How do you handle those that make you a contact?
A While I'm grateful folks wish to follow what I post to flickr, I can't know what the motivations are: are they just scooping ideas? are they wanting me to make them a contact too? are they just trying to learn from me? It probably doesn't matter. I've no reason to block anyone regardless of the motivation at this point. I just assume the best and hope for the best. I know that others get upset if someone makes them a contact but never post comments, but I refuse to give in to such petulance.

Q Ok, so when do you make another photographer a contact?
A. So far, it's been personal friends, and those whose chief work is landscape photography that I admire. I think I have too many contacts now to maintain some semblance of a "relationship" with them. It just isn't possible to comment on all the work that gets posted, but I do try. If I don't make you a contact in return for your making me a contact, please don't be offended! It's nothing personal!

Q What about faving?
A I don't fave very often I admit. The ones I do fave are usually extraordindary and I wish to remember and return to them, like bookmarks. I "like" far more photos than I fave and I tend to comment on those I like.

Q What about critiquing?
A I solicit critiques for my photos, and far more than not I end up agreeing with the critique. Few people offer critiques because they don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. That's too bad, but understandable. Critiques help one grow..really! I've found out the hard way that offering unsolicited critiques wins you few friends, especially if you don't have a big reputation, so I don't do that anymore. I've been pondering starting a group for this purpose where the thin-skinned need not post, and honest good/bad remarks can be offered on a photo for the benefit of all.

Q. Published?
A. www.kernfoundation.org (banner, not credited)
5/2011 Yosemite Conservancy Magazine
7/2011 Astronomy Magazine