Photo Live Issue 3
This issue features brilliant Street, Travel and Artistic photos plus Going Pro - how difficult is it?
This issue features brilliant Street, Travel and Artistic photos plus Going Pro - how difficult is it?
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PHOTOlive<br />
ISSUE THREE 2018<br />
Cover shot by Renee Robyn — Feature Artist<br />
TRAVEL<br />
STREET<br />
FILM<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY
<strong>Photo</strong> by: Travis Burke (See page 26).
CONTENTS<br />
4 WELCOME!<br />
Polaroid <strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
6 INSTANT DREAMS<br />
8 SELF DEVELOPING NOSTALGIA<br />
Film <strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
14 PUSHING FILM<br />
Fine Art <strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
20 RENEE ROBYN<br />
Adventure <strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
26 TRAVIS BURKE<br />
Mobil Phone <strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
32 BEAUTIFUL SIMPLICITY<br />
Travel & Street <strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
38 MEHMET IZDES<br />
Passion to Pro<br />
50 THE JOURNEY<br />
What We’re Loving<br />
60 BOOKS<br />
62 SOFTWARE<br />
Publisher : Rob Jenkins (www.robjenkinsphoto.com)<br />
Design : John Montesi (https://johnmontesi.com)
WELCOME!<br />
PHOTO live ISSUE 3<br />
Welcome to issue 3!<br />
This issue takes us on adventure with Travis Burke, to the streets of Turkey with<br />
Mehmet Izdes. We load up our film cameras with Hashem from Pushing Film,<br />
get our Polaroid cameras out as we watch Instant Dreams, the brand new movie<br />
from director, Willem Baptist. Plus sit down with the amazing Renee Robyn and<br />
fall in love with her art. Plus we talk to a couple of “just starting out pros” who<br />
share the highs and lows of going pro...<br />
Being a not for profit magazine means we do this out of our love of<br />
photography and our desire to share with you photographers you may know<br />
and those you’ve never heard of. There is so much talent across this planet, so<br />
many great photographers and they all have stories to share.<br />
If you really like <strong>Photo</strong> <strong>Live</strong> and would like to support it, consider buying me a<br />
cup of coffee using the link on the button below. It doesn’t actually allow me<br />
to rush out for a lactose free soy latte but it goes to paying people like John<br />
Montesi for his amazing design work.<br />
Finally if you have a suggestion for someone we need to talk to for our next<br />
issue or your a brand wanting to be involved with sponsorship, email me and I’d<br />
love to talk to you and spend your money making <strong>Photo</strong> <strong>Live</strong> bigger and better.<br />
Thanks all<br />
Rob<br />
Rob Jenkins<br />
Editor/Publisher<br />
p.s one thing everyone can do and it’s free is share <strong>Photo</strong> <strong>Live</strong> on your social<br />
media, or website to give these photographers the exposure they deserve...<br />
click here to buy me a coffee - lactose free please
<strong>Photo</strong> by: Charlotte Nicholson (See page 50).<br />
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POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
INSTANT DREAMS<br />
a feature documentary by Willem Baptist<br />
Instant Dreams is a feature<br />
documentary by Willem Baptist<br />
(Wild boar, I’m Never Afraid! )<br />
about the fascination and love<br />
for Polaroids.<br />
When Polaroid announced the<br />
end of instant film in 2008, the<br />
last still working factory was<br />
bought by a small group of<br />
enthusiasts. Among them is the<br />
retired scientist ,Stephen Herchen<br />
who previously collaborated with<br />
the inventor of Polaroid and is still<br />
trying to unravel the secret of the<br />
lost chemical formula.<br />
In this overwhelming cinematic<br />
journey, Baptist introduces us to<br />
a number of quirky individuals<br />
who are connected to Polaroid in<br />
a special way: the German artist<br />
Stefanie Schneider, who does<br />
a photo shoot in the California<br />
desert with her last existing<br />
original Polaroid stock; New York<br />
Magazine editor Christopher<br />
Bonanos, who wrote a book<br />
about Polaroid’s history and tries<br />
to capture the relationship with<br />
his son with his instant camera;<br />
and a Japanese girl who first<br />
discovered the magic of Polaroid<br />
in Tokyo.<br />
Everyone tries to keep the instant<br />
dream alive in his or her way.<br />
Slowly we also begin to feel<br />
the magic of Polaroids. Like the<br />
instant photos, we are chemical<br />
creatures full of unpredictable<br />
reactions.<br />
Eventually, the Polaroids in Instant<br />
Dreams are a metaphor for our<br />
desire to capture our dreams.<br />
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Q: Mr Baptist, why is it important<br />
we keep Polaroid alive?<br />
The more connected we are, the<br />
smaller the world seems to get and<br />
the less we really experience. When<br />
is the last time you got lost, really<br />
lost? I can’t remember.<br />
I really enjoy the fast moving digital<br />
age but I’m also old school, in<br />
a sense that I really have strong<br />
memories of writing pen-pals and<br />
waiting for an actual letter to arrive<br />
weeks later, discovering weird<br />
records on your own in a record<br />
shop or winding up in alien places<br />
because you just walked miles in<br />
one direction because you felt like<br />
it. Embracing the unexpected and<br />
having the time to really take in<br />
experiences are things that I feel are<br />
lacking nowadays.<br />
Polaroid pictures are tangible, draw<br />
you in and compel you to think<br />
about the moment. At the same time<br />
the results are unexpected, blurring<br />
fantasy and memories over time.<br />
Q: People love to hold a printed<br />
photograph, how do you<br />
communicate that feeling in<br />
your film?<br />
Holding it and sharing the moment<br />
is very important, the social aspects<br />
of it. In Instant Dreams we see for<br />
instance one of the characters,<br />
Christopher Bonanos a writer at New<br />
York magazine, casually shooting<br />
pictures on his SX-70 camera at a<br />
party and handing them out to the<br />
guests. While the picture develops in<br />
their hands interesting unexpected<br />
conversations start to happen. One<br />
could say that the chemical reactions<br />
happening within those who partake<br />
in this ritual mirror those happening<br />
within the Polaroid pictures it self.<br />
Q: Tell us a bit about how the<br />
project got started? What was<br />
the driving force?<br />
It all started with coming to terms<br />
with my desire to keep on shooting<br />
my films on S16mm celluloid while<br />
moving to digital.<br />
Trying to keep that feel of cinematic<br />
mystery alive in a digital world<br />
using artificial means. Secondly the<br />
realization that many people do the<br />
same, putting filters on their digital<br />
photos to make them feel more<br />
‘analog’ or ‘real’.<br />
I saw an interesting way to use the<br />
story of Polaroid, it’s invention and<br />
the love people have for it, as a<br />
metaphor to tell a bigger story about<br />
our relationship with photographic<br />
images and our desire to capture our<br />
dreams.<br />
Why do imperfect images feel more<br />
real to us than accurate captured<br />
FIND OUT MORE<br />
ones from your latest device? Or<br />
what if I told you the concepts for<br />
the Iphone and Instagram where<br />
invented in the 70’s? These are some<br />
of the ingredients that triggered me<br />
to make this film.<br />
Q: What do you think of<br />
photography today and film<br />
making in general, are we<br />
relying too much on post<br />
processing and special effects?<br />
I think, the more digitally tinkered<br />
with films or photographs become<br />
the less the experience affects us.<br />
At the same time there is a growing<br />
longing for authenticity in our digital<br />
world. Thus we ironically try to<br />
artificially create it.<br />
Q: What’s your next project?<br />
I’m shooting a documentary for<br />
television about show-wrestling in<br />
The Netherlands and contemplating<br />
transitioning into feature films as a<br />
director and looking for a suitable<br />
project to direct.<br />
www: instantdreamsmovie.com<br />
Instagram: instantdreamsmovie<br />
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SELF DEVELOPING<br />
NOSTALGIA<br />
mike rollerson<br />
Mike Rollerson is a well<br />
established photographer who’s<br />
creative and experimental style<br />
has inspired us here at <strong>Photo</strong><br />
<strong>Live</strong> and has been featured<br />
regularly in magazines and<br />
online interviews. Mike is based<br />
in San Diego and is known for his<br />
cosplay and event photography<br />
as well as his brilliant horror<br />
themed photography.<br />
When we decided to feature the<br />
new Instant Dreams film interview<br />
we had to ask Mike about his<br />
instant photography he’s been<br />
featuring on his Instagram feed.<br />
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Q: Tell us about your Polaroid<br />
project, why Polaroid (instant<br />
prints)?<br />
My first step into photography was<br />
as a teenager, carrying a backpack<br />
loaded up with disposable film<br />
cameras and a couple packs of<br />
polaroid film to a comic convention<br />
and I remember having a blast with it.<br />
Times were much different than with<br />
digital where you can fine-tune your<br />
exposure, composition and focus<br />
to get the perfect shot. With the<br />
polaroid and disposable cameras you<br />
had no idea what you were getting..<br />
it was always a bit of a surprise. I<br />
moved onto digital and have been<br />
shooting that for nearly 15 years now<br />
and decided to pick up one of the<br />
Instax cameras a couple years ago<br />
to use as a fun behind-the-scenes<br />
camera at shoots. I quickly realized<br />
how addicting it was and loved the<br />
throwback to my starting days with<br />
film.. There was just something<br />
refreshing about it. As much as I still<br />
love Digital (and have no plans to<br />
move away from it) there’s something<br />
nice about a candid instant print and<br />
looking back at it years later.. It’s a<br />
completely different feeling than with<br />
looking at an album of JPEG files!<br />
Q: What do you want to<br />
accomplish with the project?<br />
My main goal in starting with it was<br />
to just have a good time with it - and<br />
I definitely have been! - it’s also been<br />
great seeing others so into it. With<br />
Instant Film making a big comeback<br />
in recent years a lot of people are<br />
getting it (either getting back into<br />
it or discovering it for the first time)<br />
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and seeing what it can do. There’s<br />
a totally different experience than<br />
shooting with Digital.<br />
Q: I’m guessing many of the<br />
people you photograph may<br />
not know much about Polaroid,<br />
do you get any interesting<br />
reactions from them?<br />
Surprisingly, I still find a lot of people<br />
who are new to the whole polaroid/<br />
instant film process! The cameras<br />
themselves are usually the first tipoff<br />
(especially the bulkier and almost<br />
brick-looking ones you’ll find from<br />
companies like Lomography) but<br />
seeing the print pop out and start<br />
developing is something that most<br />
people want to see. I’m always happy<br />
to shoot an extra shot for them to<br />
keep as a take-away!<br />
Q: Do you think instant prints have a<br />
sense of nostalgia that makes us<br />
love them?<br />
There’s definitely a sense of nostalgia.<br />
There’s also the fact that they’re far<br />
from perfect. Shots can be unerexposed,<br />
out of focus, off-center but<br />
they’re still special. While these are<br />
usually shots I’d delete on digital,<br />
having a one-of-a-kind print to look<br />
back at years down the road is really<br />
cool. There is no negative to make<br />
copies from, just the original photo<br />
itself which makes it a bit special.<br />
Q: There is a sense of simplicity<br />
about the prints, how do you<br />
go about taking the pictures?<br />
This is one of the things I really liked<br />
seeing.. every instant photographer<br />
tends to have their own process.<br />
Some get in very-close for more of a<br />
headshot, some stand further back<br />
to get a full-portrait. I usually bring a<br />
few different instant cameras with me<br />
since each one gives a very different<br />
feel (some give a more dreamy look,<br />
others give a sharper look.. some are<br />
wide-angle, others a fisheye-effect<br />
and some are more of a portrait<br />
lens), same for the films (color,<br />
monochrome, different borders)<br />
which help set the mood of different<br />
shots. It’s a lot of trial an error, but<br />
more importantly just having fun with<br />
it and trying new things. Sometimes<br />
it works and you get some really<br />
awesome shots, sometimes it<br />
doesn’t -- either way it’s always a new<br />
experience!<br />
FIND OUT MORE<br />
Q: You take hundreds - it must cost<br />
a fortune!<br />
I’ve taken probably 15,000 (if not<br />
more) over the last couple years. It<br />
definitely adds up (and I prefer not<br />
to think about it sometimes!). In the<br />
end though, it’s all about enjoying it<br />
and having fun which I definitely am.<br />
I look at it much like a hobby though.<br />
When you get some really neat shots,<br />
you don’t worry about the money. It’s<br />
when you’re not getting those shots<br />
that you start to feel the cost of them :)<br />
Q: So what’s next with the<br />
project..? Perhaps a gallery or<br />
display somewhere?<br />
I’ve recently started sharing more<br />
an more of these online. A gallery/<br />
display would be great but no<br />
plans for it quite yet. I’d love to<br />
put together a book of instant<br />
photos (either just my own work or<br />
even partnering with other instant<br />
photographers to share the different<br />
styles we shoot). There will definitely<br />
be lots more to come from the<br />
project in the future!<br />
Q: Mike - thanks for being our<br />
friend and letting us feature<br />
you, where can readers see<br />
more of the Polaroid Project??<br />
Always great to be featured with you<br />
guys! I’ve recently put together a<br />
portal to share these . . .<br />
www: instax.mikerollerson.com<br />
13
PUSHING<br />
FILMhashem<br />
mCADAM<br />
We came across the Pushing Film channel<br />
on Youtube and decided to ask Hashem<br />
why he loves film so much that he created a<br />
channel dedicated to it... We’re so inspired<br />
we’re looking for a film camera ourselves to<br />
experiment with!<br />
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Q: Why is film so popular now?<br />
I think it’s because it’s gone<br />
full circle. At one point digital<br />
photography was new and cool, and<br />
kept improving to a point where it<br />
reached a plateau, therefore people<br />
who previously shot film found<br />
inspiration in going back to it, and<br />
a younger audience who’d grown<br />
up by then found something that (to<br />
them) is “new” and different.<br />
Q: You do a variety of photo<br />
genres - I’ve seen landscapes<br />
and weddings, what gets you<br />
most excited?<br />
I think the most exciting<br />
photography for me is anything<br />
candid, especially street or<br />
documentary photography... which<br />
is funny because I initially hated and<br />
was terrified of invading people’s<br />
privacy. But I forced myself out of<br />
my comfort zone realised you don’t<br />
have to violate any social etiquette<br />
in order to document life through<br />
photography if you do it right.<br />
Q: As someone who loves film,<br />
do you try to make your digital<br />
shots emulate the look of film?<br />
(If you only shoot film please<br />
ignore this question)<br />
Yes, I sometimes do. The reason is<br />
that you generally get nicer colours<br />
and character out of film, especially<br />
with some flat/raw images. But<br />
that doesn’t mean overdoing it or<br />
adding a ton of grain which doesn’t<br />
belong, but merely being inspired<br />
by the colour pallete or tones of a<br />
particular film stock.<br />
Q: You’re weddings are beautiful,<br />
how long have you been doing<br />
them?<br />
Thank you! About a year; I still<br />
consider myself new to weddings,<br />
and have mainly been “second<br />
shooting” until this point to gain<br />
more confidence in delivering the<br />
standard of work that I strive to in<br />
a high pressure environment like<br />
weddings.<br />
Q: When you shoot a wedding<br />
using film, what gear are you<br />
using?<br />
I use a Pentax 645N medium format<br />
camera, and sometimes a Canon<br />
EOS 3 35mm camera.<br />
Q: Do you ever get nervous not<br />
being able to see the wedding<br />
shots until they are developed?<br />
Yes, this why it’s good to shoot<br />
“hybrid” by using digital alongside<br />
film!<br />
Q: Is photography your job as well<br />
as your passion?<br />
I would definitely say so!<br />
Q: Talk to us about the Youtube<br />
channel - how and why did you<br />
guys start it?<br />
We started it because we thought<br />
“why not!” and there were no<br />
Australian based Youtube channels<br />
on film photography at the time,<br />
and we would always be watching<br />
other channels put out great content<br />
overseas. It was a way to connect<br />
with the community that we already<br />
loved and saw potential in.<br />
Q: The channel features nice video<br />
quality as in the style … are you<br />
doing the edit?<br />
For the most part, yes. I’m fortunate<br />
enough to have gotten the help of<br />
others on a few videos however,<br />
such as our recent Perth vlog which<br />
was edited entirely by my partner<br />
Sarah.<br />
Q: your Japan Blog part 2 was<br />
really nicely made, are you<br />
planning on more travel<br />
themed video?<br />
Absolutely. I think travel and<br />
photography go hand in hand, and<br />
it would be a shame not to record at<br />
least a bit of footage to share with<br />
the world.<br />
Q: Some of those Fuji Velvia shots,<br />
the purple toned, how did they<br />
come out like that?<br />
The thing about Velvia is that it is<br />
known to have a purple/magenta<br />
cast. It can appear strongly<br />
sometimes more than others. It is<br />
a beautiful slide film in the right<br />
situation, and I’m especially a fan of<br />
the 50 ISO version.<br />
Q: Do you think photographers<br />
need to tell stories with their<br />
images? Can you share some<br />
tips on story telling with a<br />
camera?<br />
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I do think so, but there also is<br />
nothing wrong with taking photos<br />
merely for the enjoyment of a<br />
subject or the documentation of<br />
memories.<br />
Personally I’m still trying to grow in<br />
the way of being able to photograph<br />
with a sense of story and purpose. I<br />
think good photos should be made<br />
for others, and should have multiple<br />
elements that come together rather<br />
than just a single aesthetic aspect.<br />
The photos I enjoy the most illicit<br />
some kind of response in me for<br />
having seen them, and that is the<br />
kind of ability I’d like to achieve.<br />
I think a good tip is to simply ask<br />
yourself “what am I saying with this<br />
photo” or “what reading or response<br />
do I want the viewer to have”.<br />
Also to look at something in more<br />
than one way and dig deeper... “what<br />
underlying elements are present in a<br />
situation that someone may not see<br />
at first sight?”<br />
Q: What’s a film camera you really<br />
want but don’t yet have and<br />
why?<br />
I am actually quite satisfied with what<br />
I have at the moment. If I had to pick<br />
something I’d say a Contax 645,<br />
but they are really overpriced in the<br />
current market!<br />
Q: OK to wrap up - where can our<br />
readers go to find out more<br />
about you and your channels..?<br />
We can be found as “pushingfilm” on<br />
Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter. We<br />
also have an article on the website<br />
“Australian Film <strong>Photo</strong>graphers<br />
Scene” (afps.blog)<br />
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FIND OUT MORE<br />
Youtube: pushingfilm<br />
Instagram & Twitter: pushingfilm<br />
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FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
Renee Robyn<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER | ARTIST | TEACHER<br />
Q: How would you describe your<br />
photography?<br />
This is definitely a part of personal<br />
branding that I’ve often struggled<br />
with, I’ve never really been sure how<br />
to nail it down. It’s mostly the result<br />
of a lifetime reading fantasy novels<br />
and playing video games, expressed<br />
with photography and crushed<br />
through <strong>Photo</strong>shop.<br />
Q: How or where does the idea for<br />
an image start for you?<br />
Another question I wish was a simple<br />
answer. Images start anywhere from<br />
a dream, a book, a conversation with<br />
someone else. Sometimes I find a<br />
prop or I’ll watch a scene in a film<br />
and notice a little detail that starts<br />
this rabbit hole of a thought process.<br />
Other times I’ll be in the studio and<br />
shoot a frame and go “Oh wow, I<br />
have to build something with this<br />
one day”, or I’ll be out shooting back<br />
plates and suddenly everything just<br />
flashes into my mind and the entire<br />
concept is clear as day.<br />
The rest of the time it’s an<br />
endurance race, of just sitting down,<br />
and crushing through ideas, and<br />
it sometimes takes me a year or<br />
three to figure out what the hell to<br />
actually do. I have three images in<br />
my mind right now that have yet<br />
to be completed because what I<br />
thought was clear and simple in my<br />
mind, when I got down to it, was not<br />
any of those things at all. It can be<br />
frustrating, but I’m learning to accept<br />
that sometimes that’s just how this<br />
brain works.<br />
Q: Your post about “somebody<br />
hates you” really nailed it<br />
for me, what the heck is<br />
wrong with people? Why<br />
do even other pro’s feel<br />
the need to attack another<br />
photographer? (I’ll link to<br />
it cause I love it and think<br />
it’s important : LINK : www.<br />
reneerobynphotography.com/<br />
somebody-hates-you/<br />
I’m not a psychologist, so I can’t<br />
really give you anything there other<br />
than personal experience. I rarely<br />
find pro’s attacking other people’s<br />
work, they’re usually too busy<br />
working to troll, but I’m sure there’s<br />
examples. Reality is, this is our world<br />
right now, and while we can try to<br />
change it for the better, we still have<br />
to build coping mechanisms to<br />
survive what comes at us.<br />
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"Reality is, this is our<br />
world right now, and<br />
while we can try to<br />
change it for the<br />
better, we still have<br />
to build coping<br />
mechanisms to<br />
survive what comes<br />
at us.”<br />
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Q: Composites, why are they so<br />
hard (for me)... I mean why<br />
do you think getting a good<br />
composite is so hard. Perhaps<br />
share a bit about how you<br />
got into them, what they are<br />
and perhaps a few tips for<br />
beginners.<br />
For some people, they think with<br />
a composite mind naturally, and<br />
others do not. That being said, I<br />
think most people can learn it. I got<br />
into it because I was involved in a<br />
motorcycle crash and I couldn’t walk.<br />
I wanted to be anywhere other than<br />
where I was, so I would <strong>Photo</strong>shop<br />
myself into places that were not<br />
the bed I was stuck in. Composites<br />
are like entry level painting. You’ve<br />
got to understand perspective,<br />
composition, color balancing<br />
between images used, masking, lens<br />
distortion, depth of field, and so on<br />
- also just making something with an<br />
interesting story.<br />
There’s so much effort put into<br />
making compositing faster and more<br />
efficient, and I really think there<br />
are steps being skipped by taking<br />
the easy way out early on. My best<br />
composites don’t come from using<br />
quick mask... They come from being<br />
accountable for every single pixel in<br />
the image, and taking my time with<br />
each one.<br />
Q: Finally where can we find out more<br />
about you and tell us about your<br />
training...<br />
My website has a blog which is a<br />
lot of my brain thrown into words.<br />
You can also search on Creative<br />
<strong>Live</strong>, RGG EDU, and SmugMug<br />
Films for more education and some<br />
longer versions of how I got started,<br />
although I don’t recommend my<br />
method. :)<br />
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FIND OUT MORE<br />
www: reneerobynphotography.com<br />
Prints: reneerobynphotography.com<br />
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adventure photographY<br />
TRAVIS BURKE<br />
live passionately<br />
Travis Burke’s diverse and<br />
creative approach to outdoor<br />
adventure photography stems<br />
from his own perspective on life.<br />
His dedication to conquering<br />
anything thrown at him and<br />
living life with no regrets shines<br />
through in his photographs.<br />
Whether it’s walking a slackline<br />
over canyons, freediving<br />
through caves in the ocean or<br />
capturing the Milky Way Galaxy<br />
in remote locations, Travis is<br />
constantly pushing himself and<br />
the boundaries of his craft.<br />
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Q: Travis you’re a dream chaser,<br />
what dreams have you<br />
achieved that you are most<br />
happy with?<br />
My dream of becoming a full-time<br />
adventure photographer and athlete<br />
is definitely my biggest achievement<br />
so far. It wasn’t all that long ago<br />
that I was scraping grease out of<br />
restaurant vents to make ends meet,<br />
dreaming about one day being able<br />
to support myself doing what I love.<br />
determined by last-minute factors<br />
like the weather and the needs of<br />
my clients and brand partners. This<br />
keeps things interesting and it’s a<br />
lifestyle that keeps me energized and<br />
inspired, but it can be hard to predict<br />
exactly where I might be traveling<br />
next month or even next week. With<br />
night photography though, it’s a<br />
little easier to plan ahead since I’m<br />
typically working with phases of the<br />
moon. A lot of my adventures are<br />
structured around that.<br />
Q: How do you choose your next<br />
adventure?<br />
Almost all of my adventures take<br />
hours of planning, especially when<br />
I’m executing specific shots or<br />
scenes, but my day-to-day is often<br />
Q: You’ve created images for<br />
a range of clients including<br />
National Geographic, Red Bull<br />
and Google, tell us about some<br />
of your first paid projects, how<br />
did they happen?<br />
My breakthrough project was with<br />
GrindTV. I happened to meet one<br />
of their editors who was teaching<br />
a workshop I was attending, and<br />
showed him my portfolio. They<br />
ultimately paid me to take a 100-<br />
day road trip across the Western<br />
U.S., and social media began to<br />
really take off for me from there.<br />
That, along with a lot of persistence,<br />
allowed me to continue to travel and<br />
work on assignment for a number of<br />
larger clients.<br />
Q: How many people are in your<br />
team that you work with?<br />
Right now I’m working with a team<br />
of four who help me with everything<br />
from social media to business<br />
development. But up until the<br />
middle of last year, it was just me.<br />
Q: Apart from Betty (your van)<br />
what 3 things must go with you<br />
on any adventure?<br />
My camera, my headlamp, and a<br />
slackline.<br />
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FIND OUT MORE<br />
Facebook: /TravisBurke<strong>Photo</strong>graphy<br />
Instagram: travisburkephotography<br />
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MOBILE Phone PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
beautiful<br />
simplicity<br />
mark cushway<br />
About Mark...<br />
Sydney based. Married.<br />
Father. <strong>Photo</strong>grapher.<br />
Business owner<br />
One of the longest surviving<br />
people still living with Cystic<br />
Fibrosis<br />
Double lung transplant 20<br />
December 16<br />
Exhibitions:<br />
Head On Finalist 2015 with<br />
‘Yellow’,<br />
2 Dank St Gallery, Waterloo.<br />
2015<br />
Space’, Bellevue Street<br />
Gallery, Bellevue Hill. 2015<br />
‘13’. Group exhibition. Town<br />
Hall. 2016.<br />
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“When I first saw Mark’s work, or vision if<br />
you like, I was spellbound. He has such a<br />
unique way of stripping away distraction<br />
in a frame. Such a clean image. Little<br />
people in a big beautiful world...”<br />
Georgie Parker @georgieparker, Actress, Mobile photographer<br />
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Q: Take us back to your first<br />
camera, what was it, what did<br />
you photograph and how did<br />
that lead you to where you are<br />
now?<br />
Think it was a Kodak Instamatic.<br />
People shots, festival crowds,<br />
sporting events, whatever was<br />
going on. I can trace my minimal<br />
style back to a shot I took in the<br />
1980s of a solitary aqua blue seat. It<br />
still resonates with me today. I was<br />
crouching low looking through the<br />
viewfinder when I heard a girl say to<br />
her friend, “he’s taking a photo of the<br />
bench” then laugh as they walked<br />
away. I took that one shot and left.<br />
Q: One image - Don’t sweat the<br />
big stuff, is so peaceful and<br />
sparse, tell us about that shot.<br />
It’s a blend of two shots: a guy<br />
relaxing on a seat looking towards<br />
the horizon and beach grass. I<br />
blended them using Superimpose<br />
and the Blender apps and edited it<br />
in Snapshot.<br />
Q: How often are you shooting?<br />
I look at the world around me like<br />
I’m looking through a camera lens.<br />
I used to shoot all the time, now I’m<br />
more deliberate. It’s more like once a<br />
week now, at dusk.<br />
Q: Your images generate a mix<br />
of emotions when looking at<br />
them - peace, loneliness, even<br />
longing, what are you thinking<br />
when you’re creating them,<br />
are you creating based on your<br />
mood at the time?<br />
Thanks.<br />
I like to find simplicity in my world<br />
around me.<br />
I like to tell a story by removing the<br />
clutter and reducing a shot to its core<br />
using a solitary person, a tree, bold<br />
contrasting colours, a long shadow,<br />
the horizon or just simple lines.<br />
I like to capture people lost in a<br />
moment. That innocuous glance or<br />
movement. The way people wait.<br />
How they sit, stand or slouch as<br />
they’re zoning out. I try to capture<br />
that moment and set it apart from its<br />
surroundings. Minimalism has a way<br />
of telling more with less.<br />
Q: Is shooting therapeutic in some<br />
way?<br />
Yep. I like the solitude of shooting<br />
and the peace that it brings.<br />
Q: gear also minimal?<br />
An iPhone. It’s about as minimal as it<br />
can get. I have a few SLRs but they’re<br />
too obtrusive for street photography.<br />
Q: What’s next for you … are<br />
you planning on teaching or<br />
travelling?<br />
Planning a trip to New Zealand.<br />
Always been keen to shoot the<br />
countryside there.<br />
Q: Finally where can readers see<br />
more of your photography?<br />
Follow me on Instagram @mark_pc<br />
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Find out more: Instagram @mark_pc
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“Mark Cushway<br />
has the kind of<br />
Instagram feed<br />
that the platform<br />
was built for; sexy,<br />
minimalist and<br />
consistent.<br />
I enjoy following<br />
Mark’s work<br />
because his<br />
squares are always<br />
a breath of fresh air<br />
on my Instagram<br />
feed.”<br />
Lauren Bath @laurenepbath. <strong>Photo</strong>grapher,<br />
Australia’s First Professional Instagrammer<br />
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“Mark Cushway’s imagery, as zen in his taste for minimalism<br />
as it is precious in his aesthetic, is living proof that sometimes<br />
going small is a choice to go actually for big and bold.”<br />
Sion Fullana @sionfullana, Mobile <strong>Photo</strong>graphy Pioneer<br />
FIND OUT MORE<br />
Instagram: mark_pc<br />
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TRAVEL & STREET PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
MEHMET IZDES<br />
FROM TURKEY WITH LOVE<br />
Mehmet has the gift of<br />
capturing emotion on the<br />
street. People going about<br />
their day, children playing and<br />
moments of life from Ankara<br />
Turkey.<br />
Q: Can you tell us how you got<br />
into photography? When and<br />
what was your first camera, and<br />
also why…<br />
I got into photography in 1973.<br />
I was a 7th grade student at a<br />
boarding school. My four friends<br />
and I established a dark room<br />
in the school and started taking<br />
pictures and processing them in our<br />
darkroom. Taking pictures during the<br />
week and developing them over the<br />
weekend was just fun for us.<br />
My first camera was a Zenit E as it<br />
was a really good and affordable<br />
one. Everything to do with taking<br />
and developing the pictures was<br />
fine but we were having difficulties<br />
accessing the knowledge as there<br />
were no photography books in those<br />
days.<br />
Q: What’s the photography scene<br />
like in Turkey?<br />
The photography scene in Turkey is<br />
really interesting. Historical places,<br />
landscapes (such as Cappadocia,<br />
Istanbul, Lake Van, Mount Ararat,<br />
the North Anatolian Mountains,<br />
the Mediterranean Coastline), and<br />
people with different cultures are<br />
always of interest to photographers.<br />
Q: Are there any photography<br />
clubs in Turkey you’re involved<br />
with?<br />
Yes there are several photography<br />
clubs in Turkey. I am a proud<br />
member of AFSAD (the Association<br />
of Art <strong>Photo</strong>graphers of Ankara)<br />
which has been an active club for 41<br />
years.<br />
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Q: You have an amazing mix of<br />
street photography, portraits<br />
and landscapes. Are all your<br />
images from where you live?<br />
Although most of my portfolio is<br />
from Turkey, I also like travelling a lot.<br />
I have visited more than 30 countries<br />
and wish to travel more.<br />
Q: How often are you out<br />
shooting?<br />
I mostly go shooting twice a week,<br />
but my camera is always with me.<br />
Q: And what is you’re preferred<br />
genre to shoot - portraits?<br />
Street?<br />
I like taking portraits of people and<br />
also street portraits.
Cuba<br />
Q: Are people in Turkey accepting<br />
of photographers taking their<br />
picture in the street?<br />
Generally the people do not object<br />
to photographers taking their<br />
pictures in the street. I think it is<br />
just about establishing the right<br />
dialogue with people.<br />
Q: Do you have any tips you can<br />
share with our readers on<br />
taking street portraits and<br />
street shots?<br />
I use two types of cameras, a<br />
FF DSLR and a mirrorless one.<br />
Mirrorless ones, especially with<br />
the tilted screen, are an advantage<br />
to photographers taking street<br />
portraits and shots, as you do not<br />
draw much attention from people<br />
while taking pictures.<br />
Q: What plans do you have for<br />
2018?<br />
I have lately been focused on “stage<br />
photography” and primarily “theatre<br />
photography”. I am planning to<br />
develop portrait shot projects with<br />
actors and actresses. I will also<br />
continue taking landscape and<br />
street shots.<br />
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Turkey<br />
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Iran<br />
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Jamaica<br />
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FIND OUT MORE<br />
www: izdes.500px.com<br />
Instagram: izdes<br />
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The Journey<br />
<strong>Photo</strong>graphers share their stories of taking<br />
their passion to profession. This issue we<br />
speak to two travellers...<br />
Passion to Pro<br />
Charlotte Nicholson<br />
Q: Charlotte, why did you decide<br />
to make an income from your<br />
photography? When did you<br />
get serious about it?<br />
I emigrated to South Australia 8<br />
years ago and after many years<br />
without creativity I got back into<br />
photography mainly to capture my<br />
own family.<br />
My love and passion for<br />
photography grew with every<br />
image I took and it very quickly<br />
became a serious hobby. I joined a<br />
photography club and thus began<br />
my learning curve.<br />
I soon went on to shoot with a team<br />
of professional photographers<br />
capturing cosplay and creative<br />
portraits. This built my confidence<br />
and skill set and I was being<br />
approached for private sets and<br />
paid consignments.<br />
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Initially I did not expect to make<br />
income from my photography but<br />
it became clear to me that it was<br />
something I could move forwards in<br />
and make an income from.<br />
Q: How did you deal with doubt?<br />
For the first couple of years I strived<br />
to learn and improve my skill set<br />
but I was riddled with doubts and<br />
criticised every image I took, picking<br />
out every imperfection and letting<br />
fear crush my progress.<br />
Eventually I realised that I would<br />
have to climb the mountain of self<br />
doubt that weighed heavily on my<br />
creativity. I took the first steps in<br />
putting myself out there and opened<br />
a facebook page and Instagram<br />
account.<br />
The years of networking and<br />
building relationships with other<br />
creatives and people from my local<br />
community paid off and I found<br />
myself well supported by the<br />
aforementioned.<br />
I then went on to complete a<br />
business course to educate myself<br />
on running my own small business.<br />
I got started on writing my own<br />
business plan and the dream of<br />
Charlotte Nicholson ~ <strong>Photo</strong>grapher<br />
was born.<br />
Q: Do you still struggle with<br />
doubt?<br />
Every so often I find myself<br />
dwelling on the imperfections in my<br />
portfolio. Perusing others work and<br />
questioning “Am I good enough?”<br />
I have come to recognise that I can<br />
use these feelings to push myself<br />
forwards and to keep trying, learning<br />
and succeeding.<br />
Instead of comparing my work to<br />
others I now take every moment<br />
to enjoy what I am photographing,<br />
seeing the beauty in my subjects,<br />
encouraging them to see it too,<br />
building up relationship and<br />
creating images that invoke positive<br />
feelings for the people in them.<br />
~ Failure is the key to success. Each<br />
mistake teaches us something.<br />
Q: What was your first paid or pro<br />
job you got hired for?
Paid work became a natural<br />
progression forwards in<br />
photography. I started taking on<br />
shoots at request and charged for<br />
my time. As my confidence grew my<br />
work continued to improve enquires<br />
for shoots started to trickle in at a<br />
steady pace.<br />
My first handful of paid gigs<br />
where family sets and a couple of<br />
weddings that have since gone on to<br />
be a large portion of my income.<br />
Q: You often hear from people that<br />
they need to “hustle” to work<br />
on the marketing, to network,<br />
get clients - how hard is that for<br />
you?<br />
I dont feel it a necessity to chase<br />
work. I expect seasonal peaks and<br />
troughs to effect my bookings as I<br />
shoot available light out on location.<br />
All my work comes to me via word<br />
of mouth recommendation. I have<br />
spent immeasurable hours net<br />
working in my local community, with<br />
other photographers and creatives.<br />
Q: Where do you feel you’re at<br />
today with your photography -<br />
both in artistic growth and as a<br />
business?<br />
<strong>Photo</strong>graphy is my language of love.<br />
Meeting people, listening to their<br />
stories and connecting with them on<br />
their level has become a skill that I<br />
both cherish and it is paramount to<br />
my business.<br />
ONLINE:<br />
My camera freezes moments in time,<br />
taking a fragment of emotion or<br />
memory and digitalises it in pixels<br />
for my clients.<br />
I can recall every session I have ever<br />
photographed, how the person I<br />
was working with was feeling, the<br />
conversations I have had with them<br />
and nearly every reason for taking a<br />
shot.<br />
My camera has been instrumental<br />
in my life, to making friends with<br />
people from different walks of life,<br />
building confidence in myself and<br />
helping me grow both individually<br />
and creatively.<br />
Q: What’s your plans for 2018?<br />
2018 will be another year of steady<br />
progression. Following my business<br />
plan and adjusting it to fit well with<br />
my growth as small business.<br />
I want to continue pushing myself to<br />
try new ideas,<br />
challenge myself technically and<br />
continue to learn and improve.<br />
The life of a photographer can be<br />
one of the most rewarding, fun and<br />
adventurous careers available if<br />
handled properly.<br />
But, it can also be one of the most<br />
frustrating as well.<br />
Good luck to anyone wanting to<br />
start they’re own business, There is<br />
never and good time and tomorrow<br />
never comes. My biggest piece of<br />
advice is to just do it! Don’t let fear<br />
crush your dreams and don’t forget<br />
to remove your lens cap!<br />
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Charlotte Nicholson<br />
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Charlotte Nicholson<br />
FIND OUT MORE<br />
Facebook: /CharlotteNicholeson<strong>Photo</strong>grapher<br />
Instagram: charliegirlnic<br />
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JOHN MONTESI<br />
Q: Why did you decide to<br />
make an income from your<br />
photography? When did you<br />
get serious about it?<br />
I was unemployed. So I went back<br />
to my old trade — graphic design,<br />
as a freelancer. Through that I did<br />
some product photography. I’d<br />
shot a few wedding previously but<br />
once some old work contacts knew<br />
I was now doing a bit of corporate<br />
photograph I received more work.<br />
The photography increased to the<br />
point that I pretty much stopped all<br />
the graphic design.<br />
Q: How did you deal with doubt?<br />
I found myself going through this<br />
cycle of “nup this isn’t for me” so<br />
let’s see what employment is out<br />
there . . . Then I go “nup!” and end<br />
up back doing what I’m doing. Also, I<br />
remember hearing someone say “to<br />
succeed you’ve got to forget about<br />
what other people might think of<br />
you”. I kind of found that liberating.<br />
Q: Do you still struggle with<br />
doubt?<br />
I think I’ve got a pretty good idea<br />
of what good photography is but I<br />
56<br />
often I feel I’m so far from it. Not that<br />
my work is necessary bad but I’ve<br />
got a long way to go.<br />
Q: What was your first paid or pro<br />
job you got hired for?<br />
Apart from a few weddings, my first<br />
commercial job was photographing<br />
product for a handmade chocolate<br />
manufacturer.<br />
Q: You often hear from people<br />
that they need to “hustle” to<br />
work on the marketing, to<br />
network, get clients - how hard<br />
is that for you?<br />
Like a lot of creatives, I’d much<br />
sooner be left alone to do the work<br />
rather than chase it. Fortunately for<br />
me, practically all of my work has<br />
been through word-of-mouth so<br />
the “husltle” hasn’t been necessary.<br />
In saying that, I have done some<br />
marketing and attended networking<br />
groups etc. But to be honest, not<br />
much eventuated from it.<br />
Q: Where do you feel you’re at<br />
today with your photography -<br />
both in artistic growth and as a<br />
business?<br />
When you’re being paid by a client<br />
to photograph their product or<br />
service art isn’t always the objective<br />
— sure things need to look good and<br />
communicate a message but as far<br />
as being free to express yourself<br />
creatively — that’s not what you’re<br />
there for. What does this mean for my<br />
artistic growth and where I’m at today?<br />
. . . Ideally I need do some of that on<br />
the side otherwise the artistic side will<br />
slump. And as a business . . . Being a<br />
freelance photographer has caused<br />
me to grow so much as a business<br />
person and as a result in myself<br />
personally – You’ve no choice really!<br />
Q: What’s your plans for 2018?<br />
No real plans. I’d be happy for things<br />
to continue as they are. Maybe earn<br />
a bit more; work a bit less. Perhaps<br />
one or two new clients . . . And<br />
the opportunity to do some more<br />
involved shoots using specialist<br />
lighting and composite images. I’d<br />
like to do one or two personal shoots<br />
to experience a few new things for<br />
myself.
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FIND OUT MORE<br />
www: johnmontes.com<br />
Instagram: john_montesi_photography<br />
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WHAT WE’RE LOVING<br />
BOOKS<br />
<strong>Photo</strong>graphy books are often collected for<br />
their amazing images but as an opportunity to<br />
discover more about those artists we love.<br />
They allow us to dig deeper into<br />
the process our “heroes” go<br />
through when creating images.<br />
Some people collect them and<br />
leave them on the shelves like<br />
trophies, while others devour<br />
the knowledge inside. We’re a<br />
bit of both. We love having the<br />
books, but we also love sitting<br />
in our comfy chair with drink<br />
and just spending time with the<br />
artist who made the images we<br />
love.<br />
This month we feature three<br />
books we love and recommend.<br />
Brandon Stanton :<br />
Humans of New York<br />
The book that started life as a blog<br />
gathering millions of followers is a<br />
beautiful book with inspiring photos<br />
and stories about everyday New<br />
Yorkers. The book is a stunning<br />
coffee table book filled with photos<br />
and captions, often from the subject,<br />
about their lives, the moment or<br />
something important to them. As<br />
Stanton says on his website:<br />
“Humans of New York began as a<br />
photography project in 2010. The<br />
initial goal was to photograph<br />
10,000 New Yorkers on the street,<br />
and create an exhaustive catalogue<br />
of the city’s inhabitants.”<br />
The author has gone on to create a<br />
sister title, Little Humans in the same<br />
vein.<br />
This book is not a “how to” but more<br />
about the heart of photography,<br />
telling stories that capture the heart<br />
and mind. Highly recommended!<br />
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Mihaela Noroc:<br />
The Atlas of Beauty<br />
Jay Maisel :<br />
Light, Gesture & Color<br />
Another book that started out as an<br />
online project, The Atlas of Beauty is<br />
a collection of portraits from aroud<br />
the globe by photographer, Mihaela<br />
Noroc, who has been travelling since<br />
2013. She’s visited over 50 countries,<br />
photographing women in a way that<br />
celebrates the diversity of beauty<br />
in different cultures. I discovered<br />
Mihaela a few years back when she<br />
was raising funds for the next stage<br />
of her journey. Seeing her amazing<br />
photography, I bought the book<br />
as soon as it was available. Like the<br />
other books featured, it’s not a guide<br />
on technical specs, it’s the emotion<br />
and the story that is captured inside<br />
the pages that keeps you turning<br />
each page, absorbing each image<br />
and wondering about the lives of the<br />
subjects. It’s a wonderful book and<br />
an example of how a photography<br />
project can lead you to places many<br />
of us dream of.<br />
Jay Maisel is an American<br />
photographer who has won<br />
many awards for his outstanding<br />
photography. I first discovered<br />
Jay watching Kelby Training where<br />
Scott Kelby took a walk with Jay and<br />
asked questions on shooting as they<br />
walked the streets of New York and<br />
later on Paris. His ability to see the<br />
key elements he talks about in his<br />
book – Light, Gesture and Color,<br />
are what makes his photography so<br />
mesmerising. In this book he teaches<br />
about three aspects of his street<br />
photography as the title says.<br />
This is not a technical book, this is<br />
purely inspirational. No F-Stops or<br />
Shutter Speeds, it’s about the story,<br />
the moment. Seeing those moments<br />
that are there for just a second or<br />
two. Light, Gesture & Color is over<br />
260 pages of inspiration and highly<br />
recommended.<br />
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SOFTWARE<br />
This issue we decided to look at some great tools available for<br />
photographers. Things we'd use in our photography. Skylum<br />
have been producing great software including Luminar and so<br />
we talked to the CEO of Skylum, Alex Tsepko<br />
Q: Firstly can you tell us how it all<br />
began.<br />
We started in late 2009 as Macphun<br />
- a company who built iPhone and<br />
Mac apps. We had 5 people and did<br />
everything ourselves. Our strategy<br />
was to launch as many apps as<br />
possible and get organic sales. Back<br />
then we didn’t think about anything<br />
big - we were simply experimenting<br />
with what we can achieve doing<br />
what we like. We grew and became<br />
smarter.<br />
Back in 2012 we have decided to<br />
focus on photography software and<br />
launched a number of products that<br />
became Apple’s Best of the Mac<br />
App Store for 5 straight years in a<br />
row. These products are: Snapheal,<br />
Intensify, Tonality and others. We<br />
have been getting a lot of positive<br />
feedback from the Mac users, and<br />
that motivated us to try even harder<br />
and to challenge ourselves to come<br />
with something bigger and better<br />
every year.<br />
So in 2015 we partnered with Trey<br />
Ratcliff to launch Aurora HDR that is<br />
currently the best-selling HDR photo<br />
editor for Mac and PC. It has topped<br />
over 2 000 000 downloads since that<br />
time. Aurora HDR success moved<br />
us to focus more on proprietary<br />
technologies, AI and so we started<br />
to invest more into research and<br />
development.<br />
We also decided that we want to<br />
challenge ourselves even more<br />
and bring the world the first real<br />
alternative to Adobe. Not just<br />
a cheaper clone of <strong>Photo</strong>shop<br />
or Lightroom, but a more<br />
innovative solution that will make<br />
photographers’ lives easier. That’s<br />
how the idea of Luminar was born.<br />
After 6 months of Luminar being<br />
on the market we decided to take it<br />
even further and hired more teams<br />
in US, Germany and Asia to help us<br />
achieve what we want. Right now<br />
Luminar is live with version 2. It’s only<br />
1.5 years old, and we are just getting<br />
started.<br />
Q: It must be tough to compete<br />
with some of the big names, yet<br />
you’ve been very successful,<br />
what’s your secret?<br />
The only photography software<br />
company that we are inspired with<br />
and that we compete with is Adobe.<br />
It is a real market leader, the most<br />
innovative company in the industry<br />
with great products. We have been<br />
quite successful among the early<br />
adopters, but we have a long way to<br />
go to really compete with Adobe.<br />
We are now focused on building<br />
the world’s best product packed<br />
with innovative features and a<br />
unique user experience. As I have<br />
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mentioned, right from the start<br />
we didn’t want to follow the path<br />
of many other photo software<br />
companies who just create to clone<br />
the key features of <strong>Photo</strong>shop or<br />
Lightroom, and offer that for less.<br />
We are really looking to create a<br />
powerful alternative tool to make<br />
great photos, and this is why people<br />
switch to Luminar.<br />
As a CEO, I am building a company<br />
that tries harder and harder every<br />
day. And this is literally so. Everyone<br />
- from a software engineer to a<br />
marketing manager is obsessed with<br />
achieving the big goal. We want<br />
to build a great product, but also<br />
show that we take care about the<br />
community. We invest in relations<br />
and don’t rush, chasing short terms<br />
revenues. I like that Skylum has a<br />
human face and customer can always<br />
speak to me and other leadership.<br />
And I also love the fact that Luminar<br />
is purely built on the customer<br />
feedback.<br />
We spend most of the time on the<br />
road these days with the company<br />
CTO and talk to photographers<br />
in US, Japan, Germany, France<br />
and many other countries. We<br />
ask questions and get to know<br />
their problems. Then we fix these<br />
problems with Luminar.<br />
Q: Luminar is your photo<br />
management software, tell us<br />
about it and when it will be out.<br />
We will launch the closed beta within<br />
a month or so. Skylum philosophy<br />
is that an image is much more than<br />
a collection of pixels. People collect<br />
memories and their stories through<br />
taking photos. That’s why we should<br />
approach these images with respect<br />
and care.<br />
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We want to build an innovative<br />
photo management platform that<br />
will allow people to quickly access<br />
their images, pick what they like and<br />
make them better. We want these<br />
images to be secured and safe. We<br />
also want to make sure people don’t<br />
waste time figuring out how the<br />
software works, or waiting for the<br />
image to get imported.<br />
As I said, we want to build<br />
something that others could not<br />
create, and that takes a lot of time.<br />
But we will definitely launch the<br />
photo management module to<br />
Luminar for Mac and PC by autumn<br />
this year.<br />
Q: I like the look of many of the<br />
offered filters like Accent AI<br />
and Cross Processing, will there<br />
be more filters in the future<br />
after release?<br />
Accent AI is a unique filter. It is the<br />
first product that came from our<br />
research lab, and it’s the one of a<br />
kind filter. It’s not something you can<br />
create in bulks. There will be more<br />
AI powered filters in Luminar for<br />
portraits and landscapes, but they<br />
will come later this year.<br />
There will also be more filters that<br />
give photos a certain signature look<br />
that doesn’t exist in other software.<br />
We will also introduce more smart<br />
filters that will not require extra<br />
efforts but will effectively fix the<br />
photo.<br />
Layers too! One thing I’ve been a<br />
bit frustrated with is finding a great<br />
preset with Lightroom but not being<br />
able to simply tone it down a bit.<br />
Lightroom is a software that’s almost<br />
10 years old. Luminar is a new<br />
software written from scratch.<br />
There are a lot of things in Lr that<br />
were impressive back in the days, but<br />
we feel that now it misses so many<br />
things that modern photographers<br />
would enjoy.<br />
Layers is an obvious thing, and there<br />
are many more. We speak to many<br />
photographers around the world,<br />
and hear their frustration about many<br />
things.<br />
I don’t say that Luminar fully<br />
addresses all their needs, but we<br />
are definitely getting there. It’s an<br />
evolving process and we are still very<br />
young. You’ll be impressed with what<br />
Luminar will become soon.<br />
Q: Switching direction a bit<br />
— are many of your team<br />
photographers?<br />
Everyone is a photographer these<br />
days, shooting with a smartphone<br />
or a digital camera. About half of<br />
the team take photos on regular<br />
basis with mirrorless cameras or<br />
DSLRs. We also have a number of<br />
professional photographers on the<br />
team, including Scott Bourne, who<br />
is the worlds top bird photographer<br />
and Olympus visionary; also Evgeny<br />
Tchebotarev - founder of 500px.com,<br />
Richard Harrington - professional<br />
photographer, <strong>Photo</strong>focus publisher<br />
and probably the world’s best<br />
photography educators. There are<br />
more world-class photographers<br />
who join our team, and we will<br />
announce this soon.<br />
Q: Are you working with<br />
photographers on new ideas,<br />
new updates?<br />
We work ONLY with photographers<br />
to come up with new ideas and<br />
solutions. We are constantly<br />
searching for innovation. That’s why<br />
we asked Matthew Jordan Smith,<br />
Joel Grimes, Dixie Dixon, Trey<br />
Ratcliff, Jerry Ghionis to help us<br />
make Luminar a true game changer.<br />
I don’t think any other photography<br />
64
software company in the world can<br />
boast having so much photography<br />
talent on board.<br />
Q: Finally where can readers go to<br />
find out more?<br />
Please visit skylum.com to learn<br />
more about Luminar. Check out our<br />
videos and try the software for free.<br />
If you have questions, don’t hesitate<br />
to email me directly at alex@skylum.<br />
com. I love talking to people and<br />
getting a feedback. Also, you’re<br />
welcome to join our Facebook<br />
<strong>Photo</strong>graphy Group - we organize<br />
a lot of photo walks and workshops<br />
and invite people to join, and take<br />
photos together.<br />
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Get a saving of $10 when you buy Luminar 2018 or Aurora HDR 2018 using coupon code - <strong>Photo</strong><strong>Live</strong><br />
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www: skylum.com<br />
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