Getting To Know Your Skyscraperpage Photographers - Page 6

i_am_hydrogen · #**101** Posted **May 21, 2011, 2:44 AM**

What are you shooting with and what would you like to shoot with?

My gear is as follows: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L, Canon 35mm f/2, Canon 50mm f/1.4, and Canon 70-200mm f/4 L IS. I'm in the process of selling my 70-200 zoom and replacing it with the Canon 135mm f/2 L. These days, I'm much more into prime lenses. I feel like they make me more inspired and creative. That's not to say you can't be creative with zooms, I just feel like primes are more congruous with how I compose photos. As for what I'd like to shoot with, I have some obvious focal length gaps to fill. I eventually want the Canon 35mm f/1.4 L and the Canon 85mm f/1.2 L.

If you could sum up your style in one photograph what photo would it be?

I can't really sum it up in one photo. I have two somewhat divergent styles. On the one hand, I like big, epic night skyline photos. On the other, I take moodier, more thoughtful black and white shots.

Talk about your inspirations and influences.

This takes me way back to around 2004 when I first joined Skyscrapercity. That's where my love for urban photography really developed. I didn't have a camera yet. But I remember my main influences were swivel (ninjatune here at SSC), goonsta, and flash. These three people blew my mind over and over again. When I first joined SSP shortly after joining SSC, giallo was one photographer who really stood out to me. I also draw inspiration from a lot of photographers here at SSP--too many to list.

Talk about your most popular (in your opinion) photothreads.

I'm not sure which one. I think most have done pretty well. People say really kind things about my work. I definitely appreciate their feedback.

Talk about your photothreads that didn't get the response you wanted.

My 2005-2006ish threads before I had a SLR. There were some that got fewer than 20 responses.

Any tips or personal wisdom you'd like to pass on to others?

Don't try to take photos like someone else. Take inspiration from them and be influenced by what they do, but be yourself. Make a style for yourself. Like Miles Davis said: "It takes a long time to sound like yourself." The journey and end result are worth the tribulations.

Who should we ask these questions of next?

diskojoe

photoLith · #**102** Posted **May 21, 2011, 3:09 AM**

^
Yeah man, your Chicago skyline shots are epic. Yours are a billion times better than half the schlock you see in Chicago gift store post cards. You need to market your work, you could probably make a little extra money on the side, if you dont do that already.

diskojoe · #**103** Posted **May 23, 2011, 4:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photolitherland

^
Yeah man, you Chicago skyline shots are epic. Yours are a billion times better than half the schlock you see in Chicago gift store post cards. You need to market your work, you could probably make a little extra money on the side, if you dont do that already.

Yes, epic work. Chicago should feel lucky to have such a talent in its midst. Off course I like to see when you do things besides your typical skyline shots. In case yall dont know Hydro is a very talented photographer all around.

Quite an honor to have you pick me to be next too. Im going to have to think up some good response, lol.

Okayyou · #**104** Posted **May 23, 2011, 6:37 PM**

I'm with photolitherland, your city shots are top notch. Make a book and I'd buy a copy. How do you like your TS lens? I am debating about buying one.

bulliver · #**105** Posted **May 23, 2011, 9:52 PM**

What are you shooting with and what would you like to shoot with?

Currently using all Nikon gear. For bodies I have the D90, D40, and F80 for when I feel like shooting film. For a typical walkabout I will use the D40 with the Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II, and the D90 with the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. I also have the Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR II, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D, and an SB-600 speedlight.

As far as wishlist goes, I would definitely like to go full-frame eventually. That means D700 (or its replacement if it ever arrives) and the 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm f/2.8's. Obviously all that costs a lot of cash...so I won't be getting all that anytime soon. I would also like to get the 85mm f/1.4, the 105mm f/2.8 Macro, and the 135mm f/2.0 DC for portraiture.

If you could sum up your style in one photograph what photo would it be?

I'm not sure I have a single style. I try to shoot almost all styles, with varying degrees of success. This includes landscape/cityscape, architectural, portraiture, strobist, street/reportage and others.

I guess my favorite type of photography would be blue-hour cityscapes. While I like epic skylines, I often prefer to focus in on a specific building or street corner. Here's an example:

Talk about your inspirations and influences.

It was this very site that first encouraged me to pick up a camera seriously. I was just doing some construction updates and got some positive feedback, then I did a few threads...it has progressed steadily from there.

I'm not really inspired by 'famous' photographers. I'm inspired by the people I shoot with and the city I live in. I find plenty enough inspiration from my flickr contacts (and SSP shooters) and events that happen here in Edmonton and elsewhere. I always have my camera with me, and I look for the photographic opportunities in everything I do and everywhere I go. I really have become one of those affected twits who has a camera in their hands constantly

Where have you not been that you want to photograph?

I'm not particularly well traveled, so...lots of places. I very much want to drive the Dempster Highway to Inuvik and see the arctic. My top-three US destinations would be NYC, San Fran and New Orleans.

My ultimate epic trip would be to spend a full year in Europe, no real plan, just hang out if a place seems cool, and roll on when it's time to roll on.

Talk about your most popular (in your opinion) photothreads.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the response my first Penticton thread received. I did not think there would be that much interest in my small hometown.

Talk about your photothreads that didn't get the response you wanted.

I'm happy with the response to all my threads. I'm just happy to be out shooting, and if others enjoy my work then that's gravy. I do appreciate people taking the time to have a look.

Any tips or personal wisdom you'd like to pass on to others?

Forget school, lessons, or any of that crap. Just go out and shoot, and shoot lots. Find other folks with similar abilities and tastes and go out shooting with them. Don't expect to be great overnight. It takes some time to learn and progress. It is directly proportional to the amount of time you put into it.

Who should we ask these questions of next?

Calgary is very well represented on this forum, and one of the cities best ambassadors, photographically speaking, is Witty Nickname.

mr.John · #**106** Posted **May 24, 2011, 5:12 PM**

you do very nice work sir,unfortunately living in Edmonton must be very frustrating for you in terms of practicing urban photography, it doesn't take long before you start repeating yourself, I know that's the case for me and I live in a city 3 times larger than Edmonton.( PS I'm not trying to bad mouth Edmonton in any way) oh try to make it down to NYC it really is an urban photographers paradise

bulliver · #**107** Posted **May 25, 2011, 2:23 AM**

Thanks mr.John, yeah, I totally know where you're coming from. The urban stuff is getting a bit stale here, I've pretty much shot all angles of the skyline there are to shoot, so that's why I practice all sorts of photography. There are so many festivals and events here that it never gets too boring.

Definitely need to travel though...I've even been thinking about just taking a long weekend down the highway in Calgary to shoot some different stuff.

i_am_hydrogen · #**108** Posted **May 25, 2011, 7:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okayyou

How do you like your TS lens? I am debating about buying one.

I have no complaints. Great image quality. You can use it as a regular 17mm prime or take advantage of the tilt/shift capabilities. The creative potential is really endless.

diskojoe · #**109** Posted **May 26, 2011, 7:07 PM**

What are you shooting with and what would you like to shoot with?

Currently I use a Sony Alpha 200 with the following lenses: 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens; Minolta 50mm f1.7; and a Sigma 70-210mm fixed f2.8 APO. I would like to add to my collection of lens and add a 24-70mm f2.8 preferably made by Sigma and a 11-16 f2.8 by Tokina. Also having a Carl Zeiss 85mm f1.4 is a dream of mine but I’ll probably end up with a Rokinon 85mm f1.4 well before that ever happens. As for a motor I would like to upgrade to a full frame camera like a Sony Alpha850

In a truly perfect world where I had unlimited funds id probably go for a Sigma SD1 with a full barrage of Sigma lenses to go with it. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Of course a Hasselblad H4D-60 would be nice too.

Now the hipster in me wants a Fuji Film FinePix X100. I think these are really cool and would be nice if one wanted to travel light but still be able to take high quality shots. I might actually get one of these.

If you could sum up your style in one photograph what photo would it be?

I can’t sum my style up to just one photo because it has been, and continues to be, a natural progression…..

I started out doing stuff like this…..

Which lead to street photography like this…….

And meeting strangers like this……

Which has most recently lead to funky hotness like this…..

So basically I like to keep it hot with an urban tip. My most recent work doing Fashion photography is something I would like to do more of. I feel it is a great culmination my past experience into something new and fresh but still very urban. Plus I like it when the hot ladies want me to take their pictures.

Talk about your inspirations and influences.

SSP and the photographers on here have been my biggest influence. I have stolen tricks from everyone that has participated here. So keep posting so I can steal more of your tricks!!! My next biggest influence is people I find on Flickr. I continually get new ideas from the people I meet there and the images they take.

In particular I would like to note Sekkle. I used to dig through his thread and view them repeatedly. He really had the kind of style I was looking to achieve with his mix of day time street shots/portraits with the mix of long exposure night photography. He was already well traveled down the road I wanted to be on.

I have also received lots of encouragement from I_AM_HYDROGEN over the years which has also helped keep me going forward. Thanks Kev!

Where have you not been that you want to photograph?

I unfortunately do not get to travel nearly as much as I would like to. So there dozens of places I would love to go. Any major urban local in the states would be a good start. Definitely London. And I would love to go to Melbourne one day. Seems like my kind of town.

Talk about your most popular (in your opinion) photothreads.

I noticed a big increase in viewer for my thread titled: In The Loop

This was my first thread after I got new lens.

My thread Home also did quite nice and I think artistically it had some of my best work yet.

Talk about your photothreads that didn't get the response you wanted.

My Fall Forward did not do quite as well as I was hoping. I was really trying to branch out and expand my style on this thread.

Any tips or personal wisdom you'd like to pass on to others?

Patience, Practice, Patience………

It takes a long time to learn to do something right and continual practice to keep your skills up. So just stick with it and don’t get discouraged.

Don’t be afraid of people!

Last piece of advice: Don’t wait for it to happen. MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!

Who should we ask these questions of next?

Desert Diver

Expat · #**110** Posted **May 27, 2011, 12:12 AM**

I have identified the the common thread in Diskojoe's ever evolving body of work. Pretty girls

.

It has been fun catching up on this thread. A lot of inspiration & much to learn from the masters!

diskojoe · #**111** Posted **May 27, 2011, 2:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expat

I have identified the the common thread in Diskojoe's ever evolving body of work. Pretty girls

.

It has been fun catching up on this thread. A lot of inspiration & much to learn from the masters!

I work with what I got

Sekkle · #**112** Posted **May 28, 2011, 2:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by diskojoe

In particular I would like to note Sekkle. I used to dig through his thread and view them repeatedly. He really had the kind of style I was looking to achieve with his mix of day time street shots/portraits with the mix of long exposure night photography. He was already well traveled down the road I wanted to be on.

wow, thanks man. That really means a lot. I really enjoy checking out your photo threads and watching your evolution as a photographer. Keep up the good work

photoLith · #**113** Posted **May 28, 2011, 3:55 AM**

Hey Disco, we need to meet up sometime and photograph downtown and whatnot.

i_am_hydrogen · #**114** Posted **May 30, 2011, 5:19 AM**

I agree with Sekkle. It's a pleasure, diskojoe, to see how the progression of your style has played out. Keep exploring.

diskojoe · #**115** Posted **May 31, 2011, 1:42 PM**

thanks guys.

@photolitherland - we can make that happen. hit me on the pm and ill send you my number.

Desert Diver · #**116** Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 8:31 AM**

Thank you, diskojoe, for your PM inviting me to participate in this thread. I am not very active on this forum and am amazed by the variety of images I see in this thread. I will certainly take the time to go through all the postings

But first, let me answer some of your questions:

What are you shooting with and what would you like to shoot with?

I am a Nikon guy and have been adding to my equipment like crazy over the last few years. I use two bodies, D300 (crop format) and D700 (full frame) with several DX and FX lenses, most of them Nikkor. You can find a complete list of my equipment here.
With regards to what I would like to shoot with all I can say is I am plain happy with what I have. The trio of a D700 with the 14-24mm f2,8 Nikkor and the 24-70mm f2,8 Nikkor is all I could ever ask for. The quality of these two lenses never ceases to amaze me! But now I feel even more pressure to make the most of it... no more excuses that the equipment messed it up

If you could sum up your style in one photograph what photo would it be?

That's a tough decision, but I guess it would be something like this:

Of course, I don't only shoot Panoramas. Click on the image to see some more of my urban shots

Talk about your inspirations and influences.

The biggest influence on my photography has been the city of Dubai itself. The incredible scale of ongoing construction, the colorful lights at night time, that very special atmosphere on a construction site at night... this made me become an addict of urban night photography. However, I don't think I would ever do it to the same extent in any other city. I am actually more of a nature lover and would always choose landscape photography over urban, if I had to decide. I've just set up a new website where I want to show that other side of my photography as well

Stop by and have a look, if you find the time:

AblazeWithLight.com

Lately, I have found a lot of inspiration on deviantART. There are many amazing photographers whom I truly admire

Where have you not been that you want to photograph?

I'd love to visit Alaska, The Andes, Nepal, Tibet, Iceland... living in Dubai makes me long for colder places, it seems

And when the kids are a bit older I'd love to get back into scuba-diving and underwater photography. I definitely will!

Cheers,
Sebastian

Desert Diver · #**117** Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 11:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

I appreciate the love from all so I'm going to do what ColDayMan's gotta do: keep it 100% in this motherfucker. I've been around on this forum for damn near 12 years ....

Rude, heartwarming, honest, knowledgable, funny... I INHALED this posting

Reading this inspiring thread makes me realise on how much I am missing out by not really participating on SSP. Keep it up, guys! I shall be on here more often now

diskojoe · #**118** Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 7:12 PM**

Thanks for contributing Sebastian. Definitely a treat to get inside your head. i never get enough of your amazing work in dubai.

And just in case people have not seen this, Sebastian has the most e[pic Norway thread ever. Personally I like it more then the Dubai thread but thats me.

Norway: Fjords and Glaciers

one more question, Who should we interview next? Or would you like me to choose someone for you since you dont post here much?

Desert Diver · #**119** Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 7:20 PM**

Thanks!

That's my problem... I am just starting to get to know the awesome photographers here on SSP in this very thread... shame on me!

glowrock · #**120** Posted **Jun 14, 2011, 2:55 AM**

Give me some time to practice with my soon to arrive Nikon D5100 and I might just be on the short list here in a year or so!

Yeah, I was all gung-ho for the Sony a55, but decided to stick with the classic Nikon. I'm going to have the kit 18-55 lens plus the Nikon 55-300 f3.5-5.6 VR lens, so I'll just need to eventually get that ever-elusive (and expensive) 10-20 or 11-16 lens!

Seriously though, it was a blast hanging out with you and photolitherland last Friday night, Joe!

Aaron (Glowrock)