Photo Live Magazine First Issue

PHOTO
[ FOR THE LOVE OF PHOTOGRAPHY ]
live
INTERVIEWS:
Scott Bourne
Nick Ghionis
Alfredo Benincasa
Chris Marquardt
Jim Harmer
Mike Rollerson
+ more!
PORTRAITURE
STREET
TRAVEL
BIRD
PHOTOGRAPHY
Lightroom
PODCASTS
[ ISSUE ONE 2017 ]
Cover shot by Sarah Fairbanks
EVERYBODY STREET
CLASSIC CAMERAS
... MORE

INSIDE
Featuring:
Scott Bourne
Nick Ghionis
Jim Harmer
Mike Rollerson
Alfredo Benincasa
Sarah Fairbanks
Ayhan Ton
Dean Preston
Tony Buckingham
Chris Marquardt
Nathan Dalton
Victoria Bampton
Podcasts and more...

The Polaroid EE100 was a second gen packfilm
camera. It came out around 1989 according to
Camera Wiki. It had a fixed non-focusing viewfinder
You can pick one up on Amazone for around $70...
Polaroid was an America company founded in 1937. In
2001 Polaroid declared bunkruptcy. The brand lived
on, being sold off, but again declared bankruptcy in
2008. Today, Polaroid is owned by Impossible Project.
Photo : Max Jenkins

welcome to PHOTO live
Over to your left, you’ll see a picture of a Polaroid camera.
Polaroid was founded in 1937. Coincidently that is the
same year Popular Photography launched.
Today both brands no longer exist, not in their original form.
So too with many other great photographic iconic brands.
Too many to list hear, but sad that these once great brands
no longer exist.
So too with photographers. So many great artists have
come and gone and I think that’s one of the reasons I
wanted to create Photo Live. I wanted to share the art of
people that inspire me to be a photographer. I wanted to
share the stories of people both seasoned and some that
are new to their art. But with social media being flooded
with so much “noise” I decided that simply sharing a post is
no longer enough.
Welcome to Photo Live, an online magazine for
photographers about photography. A big thank you to
Giselle Capabianco and Catrian Macri our designers.
Thanks to the amazing people who jumped at the invite to
be in our first issue. We hope you like our very first issue of
Photo Live.
Rob Jenkins
Publisher and Editor
5

SCOTT
bourne
6
Eurasian Eagle Owl : Scott Bourne

io
Center,
When planning out our first issue, we wrote
down the names of people we really wanted
in our first issue. Scott Bourne was someone
we really wanted, his amazing photography,
particularly his bird photography is breathtaking.
Plus being avid podcast listeners, we regularly
tuned in to Scott from those early days
on TWIP which he co-founded with Alex Lindsey
and Ron Brinkman to more recently with
Marco Larousse at photopodcasts.com. Before
we interview Scott we wanted to share
his bio...
Scott Bourne is an Olympus Visionary (for
North America,) a professional photographer,
author and lecturer. He’s been involved with
photography for more than four decades and
is an internationally-recognized thought leader
and artist. His work has appeared in more
than 200 publications and he’s received hundreds
of industry awards for his photography.
Scott’s led workshops and seminars, taught
for or spoken at conferences or events sponsored
by Palm Beach Photographic Center,
Cooperative Communicators of America,
The National Association of Photoshop Professionals,
CreativeLive.com, Lynda.com,
the National Association of Broadcasters,
North American Music Merchants, MacWorld,
Washington Professional Photographers Association,
WPPI, PartnerCon, PPA, Seattle Art
Marketing Essentials International,
The Consumer Electronics Show and Olympic
Mountain School of Photography.
Scott was one of the first photographers ever
to receive the designation Apple Certified
Professional Trainer (T3) for Apple’s Aperture.
He’s also previously held the designation
Certified Adobe Photoshop Instructor. He was
one of the first photographers in the country
to receive the Professional Photographers of
America’s Certified Professional Photographer
designation and also holds the Master
Photographer designation awarded by the
Washington Professional Photographers Association.
Huffington Post recently named
Scott to the top 30 most socially influential
photographers on the web. Website Magazine
named Scott one of the 100 most influential
people in the history of the World Wide
Web.
Scott’s business acumen and marketing skills
have landed him on the boards of directors or
advisors for dozens of media companies and
Internet startups, as well as several large photographic-related
businesses. Scott is also a
past Dean of Marketing at Skip Cohen University.
He is the co-founder of TWIP and founder of
Photofocus, two of the longest-running photography
related sites on the Web. His newest
venture is the Photo Podcast Network (www.
photopodcasts.com) which hosts free monthly
podcasts.
Scott was named one of the most influential
photographers on the Web by Huffington
Post. Scott is the author of nine photography
books and has spoken or taught at every major
photography related trade show or conference
in the United States.
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Happy Fisherman : Scott Bourne

Scott let’s start with the big news for
you and that is you’ve been made an
Olympus Visionary, what is an Olympus
Visionary – is it similar to Canon
Explorer of Light or Nikon Ambassador?
Olympus Visionary is similar (but not
necessarily identical) to other camera
brand ambassador programs.
The Olympus Visionary Program’s
mission is to define the state of digital
imaging for the professional and
advanced consumer audiences, and
to grow support of digital photography,
video and multimedia creation.
When someone talks about Scott
Bourne, the first thing you notice is
you’re an amazing bird photographer.
How did you get started as a
photographer, and what led you into
birds?
My time in photography actually
started in motor sports. I grew up in
Indianapolis and was given a chance
to photograph the Indy 500. I did
motor sports until I realized it didn’t
pay well and switched to weddings
and portraits. When my knees gave
out I switched to nature and wildlife
and eventually settled on birds because
frankly I wanted a challenge
- I decided there could be nothing
more difficult than photographing
small creatures who want to avoid
you and who can fly. I’ve also been
fascinated with anything that can fly
(especially birds) since I was a little
kid. The only possession I have from
my childhood is a wooden bird call
my grandfather left me.
You write in your Artistic Statement
about the vision that drives you to
create or perhaps capture an image,
tell us about that process.
My approach to photography is to
see the photo in my mind’s eye before
I snap the shutter. Occasionally
this leads to long quests such as was
the case with my photo “Cranes in
the Fire Mist.” I spent 13 years looking
for that image and finally found it.
My entire process is backwards for
some people. For instance, when I
am photographing birds I first search
for a background and then I patiently
wait for a bird to come to me. I now
consider myself an ornithologist first
and a photographer second, so I
know to always start in an environment
that is bird friendly but it takes
an amazing amount of patience to
wait on the birds – unfortunately,
patience is something most people
simply can’t find. All of my photos
come this way unless I just get lucky
and when it comes to things like
photographing eagles, luck rarely
enters into it.
Which photos have you taken as a
result of that vision?
Almost all of them. Each shoot takes
a lot of research, planning, preparation,
travel, and of course MORE patience.
Then I find the best situation I
can and wait. I see the canvas as my
background, imagine the bird there,
and wait. I know it’s counter-intuitive
to most people, but it’s the best way
for me personally to get predictably
good results.
I don’t know of many photographers
with a vision statement, why did you
feel the need to include that?
Most photographers write an ABOUT
ME page and I’ve personally decided
that it isn’t ABOUT ME - it’s about the
birds. It takes real passion to want
to do this work. You really have to
love birds. You can’t fake that. Since
I am telling THEIR stories (the birds’
that is) I decided to write an Artists’s
Statement that expressed that idea
and what it’s like to go down the
path. I thought this might be more
helpful than rattling on about myself.
What are the most challenging birds
to photograph and tell us why.
For me, hummingbirds are the hardest
because they are small, fast,
flighty and they are very territorial.
There is also a lot of gear required
to photograph them. You need to set
up perches, flashes (usually four to
eight) and a background. Then you
need to wait for them to come to a
feeder and once they do they begin
to defend it against other hummingbirds
which leaves you with lots and
lots of images of the same bird. That
requires you to move a mile or so
and start all over. It’s time consuming,
takes a lot of money and again a
lot of patience.
Looking through your portfolio, your
eagle shots are quite different to
hummingbirds, for those of us who
don’t know much about bird photography
can you explain how you
approach two very different types
of birds?
Eagles are actually much easier to
photograph as long as you know
where to go and when to go there.
For one thing they are larger and of
course they don’t fly backwards. (In
case you didn’t know, humminbirds
are the only birds in the world that
can fly backwards – which makes
them that much harder.) In fact, most
of my successful bird photography
(including eagle photography) can
be narrowed down to five things -
know where to go - when to go - patience
and finding the right light and
background.
Back to being made an Olympus Visionary,
do you have Olympus specific
projects or workshops you’ll be
pursuing?
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Since today is my first day on the job
as a Visionary for Olympus (North
America) I am not sure of everything
that they have planned for me, but
I will be speaking at several large
photo conferences here in the USA
on their behalf and we are discussing
other possibilities.
Will you use Olympus equipment for
bird photography and perhaps tell us
the difference between your DSLR
setup as against a mirrorless set up.
Absolutely yes and to best understand
my migration to Olympus,
please read this post. I actually
wrote it before being named to the
North American Visionary team...
http://www.photopodcasts.com/
more-gear/what-ive-learned-aftersix-months-of-shooting-almost-exclusively-with-olympus-micro-fourthirds-cameras
Tell us about your famous photo
“Cranes in the Fire Mist”
Thank you for mentioning it. But as
far as Cranes in the Fire Mist goes
- I can’t say anymore about it than
I have in this post I link to below - if
you really want background on that
image read the post and I am sure
you’ll have more than you need.
photofocus.com/2010/11/10/
cranes-in-the-fire-mist-revisited/
And you put up a post on Photofocus
on how photographers can try to get
their own shot similar to yours... you
generously share tips and advice, do
you think that more and more pros
are open to sharing to perhaps 20
years ago or am I wrong and pro
photographers have always been
open to sharing?
When it comes to pros sharing secrets
I can’t speak for anyone but me
and I don’t mind sharing everything.
I have always been that way and tend
to associate with other pros who are
like-minded in that regard. My entire approach
to photography is that it is something
that has no scarcity. Someone
else shooting birds for a living doesn’t
diminish me. If they get a great shot that
moves people and makes them money
- that’s good for the birds and for the industry.
Talk to us about your podcasting projects,
you were one of the pioneers behind
This Week in Photo and Photofocus,
do you have new podcast plans?
I did co-found TWIP with Alex Lindsey
and Ron Brinkmann - then I started Photofocus.
I sold that a few years ago to my
business partner Rich Harrington. I still
make guest appearances on both networks
which hopefully shows that all my
old podcasting pals and I still get along
just fine. I also regularly appeared on
hundreds of episodes on the This Week
In Tech TWIT network owned by my
friend Leo Laporte - I used to do shows
there related to Mac computers with a
slight emphasis on how they fit into a
photographer’s workflow.
My new shows all reside at
www.photopodcasts.com. I have been
working with Marco Larousse on podcasts
for more than two years and he’s
a great podcaster and photographer.
We have three shows now (4th coming
soon) on the network every month. One
show deals with gear only, one show
deals with mirrorless cameras and the
other deals with inspiration - the new
show will be Q&A.
Finally Scott, where can our readers go
to discover more about your amazing
photography?
Thanks for the kind words. My basic portfolio
is at www.scottbourne.com - I post
on Instagram at bourne.scott - my Twitter
account is @scottbourne - my Facebook
is www.facebook.com/scottbourne
and my LinkedIn page is
www.linkedin.com/in/scottbourne

Acorn Woodpecker : Scott Bourne
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Cranes In The Fire Mist : Scott Bourne
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Diving Duo Of Eagle : Scott Bourne
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“In fact, most of my
successful
bird
photography
(including eagle photography)
can be narrowed down to
five things:
- know where to go
- when to go
- patience and finding the right
light and background.”
16

Mexican Jay : Scott Bourne
17

Peregrine Foot: Scott Bourne
Golden Eagle : Scott Bourne
18

Milk Eagle Owl : Scott Bourne
ONLINE:
www.scottbourne.com
www.facebook.com/scottbourne
www.linkedin.com/in/scottbourne
19

Mike, you’ve been a long time favourite
of us here at Live Magazine
and Cosplay Live, but cosplay is not
your only photography passion, what
else are you doing?
It’s always great to be a part of Live
Magazine and Cosplay Live so I’m
really excited to be involved with this
new venture!
Cosplay is what originally got me
into photography but I’ve been
starting to mix it up a bit lately and
trying out new areas. I’ve been doing
a lot more with effects makeup
(everything from horror to blacklight/
neon to bright colors, paint and glitters),
experimenting a lot with new
lighting effects and incorporating a
lot of the tricks I’ve learned over the
years. It’s been really refreshing and
a nice change from shooting almost
exclusively cosplay photography!
I’ve already gotten quite a few styles
that I loved and trying new things
makes it a constant learning experience
which is incredibly rewarding.
Is photography your full time job?
MIKE
ROLLERSON
Not at all. My full-time job is in Quality
Assurance and quite a difference
from photography. This works
out as it makes photography much
more enjoyable and more of a hobby.
A lot of the photography-related
jobs are focused towards areas that
don’t interest me as much (wedding
photography, for instance). While I’ve
shot weddings, live events and portraits
in the past, I’ve always felt that
when it’s a job you’re being hired for
that it’s much more difficult to deliver
the same quality results that you create
when it’s something you’re truly
passionate about. While I do take on
different photography related jobs
throughout the year, I make sure to
limit it to those that actually interest
me rather than taking on all of them.
It keeps it enjoyable and keeps me
shooting any free chance I get!
You’ve been working on a Polaroid
project for a while, tell us about that.
Next month will be the 1-year anniversary
since starting my Instax (instant
film) project. It originally began
as a way to get a few fun behindthe-scenes
shots while at shoots.
I’ve always been a big fan of printed
photos and this seemed like a great
way to get an instant take-away from
every shoot. A one-of-a-kind shot
to keep alongside the digital files. I
quickly grew to love the format and
over the last year picked up close to
a dozen different Instax Cameras,
each with a different look and feel to
it. I’ve shot a bit over 3,000 frames in
the last year at live events, conventions
and photoshoots. It’s definitely
become a regular addition to all of
my shoots and gives a fun little takeaway.
I post many of the photos online
after each shoot and have just
started creating large-scale albums
to keep around the studio.
How do you find using the Instax?
Instax was definitely a learning experience
for me. I grew up shooting
mostly digital, so moving to a filmbased
format with limited control
over the shot was difficult. You begin
to think like the camera, determining
how it sees lighting around
you since anything from a small light
source to an overcast day will have
a much different impact on the photo
than you would get with a digital
camera. Many of the higher-end Instax
cameras offer multiple exposure,
bulb mode and macro modes
which are all fun to experiment with
but incredibly difficult to master. A
handful of the larger cameras allow
for a flash-connection, letting you
trigger the same studio strobes you
use with your digital camera but having
it transferred to an Instax photo.
Watching the film develop over the
course of a few minutes and getting
a really cool one-off shot is very re-
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warding and keeps me going with it
and everyone loves to see the shots
at the end of shoot since they give
a unique look that you just don’t get
with digital. With that said, I won’t
be abandoning my DSLR’s anytime
soon!
A lot of your photography is horror
based, why and how did that happen?
I’ve always been a big fan of the
horror genre and loved the unique
designs you see showcased in movies
and games but I never had much
exposure to it outside of the movies.
It’s not often you come across a horror-movie
set or group of zombies in
real life! My first experience was at
a “Zombie Walk” during comic con.
I loved that everyone did their own
take on the horror genre with their
makeup and acting. There were no
rules on how it had to be done, so
everyone did their own thing and just
had a great time. I loved the shots I
got out of it, and one group I worked
with turned out to be the managers
at a local Haunted House. They invited
me back out during Halloween
to take some photos inside and
I fell in love with it. Since then, I’ve
been shooting for several haunted
houses each Halloween season
but also working with many of the
actors off-season to create unique
horror-inspired looks. It was all by
chance that I ran across that group
but it’s made a huge impact on what
I shoot!
Talk to us about cosplay photography...
is it a passion, does it work out
that you can have an income from
this genre or is it something you simply
love doing?
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It’s a mix of all of the above for me.
It started out as a passion. Similar to
horror, there weren’t any real rules.
With weddings you needed to shoot
specific shots of people composed
in a specific way, lit a specific way
and edited in a specific way. With
cosplay, that all goes out the door
as you get to put your own creative
touch on it by incorporating interesting
lighting techniques (gelled lights,
smoke machines, projection or neon
lights), lenses (fisheye, macro, ultra-wide)
and editing (composites,
over-the-top edits or something true
to the videogame or cartoon it originated
from). I loved the freedom it
provided and that it was so much different
from a typical portrait session
or live-event.
Over the years it has turned into
somewhat of an income, shooting
different cosplay work for promotions/advertisement,
but it’s something
that I love to do to this day.
Some of the effects are brilliant.
Those Silent Hill inspired photos are
plain creepy. How did you go about
creating them?
Thank you! I try to incorporate practical
effects and real-locations any
chance I get. I made all of the costumes
myself by putting my own
twist on the look of them, most of the
effects are actual practical makeup
application and the photos are shot
on-location with smoke machines
and rain effects wherever possible.
I’ll add any non-practical effects in
post processing as well as do final
color styling and adjustments, but
generally the before and after shots
don’t vary as much as many of the
other cosplay work that I shoot.
We took a look at your special effects
room on Instagram... it’s part
brilliant part nightmare as in, I’d hate
to walk in there at night... do you apply
the effects and make up yourself
or work with an artist on this?
When I first started doing horror-photography,
I hired makeup artists. I
quickly realized it was an expensive
addition to the hobby and began to
work with several artists over the
course of a couple years in order to
pick up new techniques. I couldn’t
tell you the difference between any
beauty makeup effects but I can list
off the differences from a dozen
types of fake bloods and dirts!
One of the things that really got me
interested were that I found many of
the widely available products weren’t
the greatest quality and really
limited the impact of the photos.
Once you get past the widely available
products, you start seeing the
studio-grade (and studio-priced!)
products which provide a much
more realistic effect and greatly add
to the overall photo.
I’m always up for bringing other artists
in for shoots but tend to do most
of the effects makeups myself nowadays.
Ok, let’s talk a bit about your models,
your cosplayers... how do you find
each other and collaborate?
A lot of the people I work with are
friends I’ve met at conventions, live
events or the haunted houses. We
all share similar interests and putting
together shoots outside of these
events gives a lot more creative control
to bring some fun ideas to life.
I’ve met some amazing people over
the years and it’s much easier to get
quality results from someone who
shares a similar passion towards a
genre/style than a fresh model with
no interest in horror or cosplay. I’ve
met several models online (who either
reached out to me or I reached
out to them after showing similar
interests) but most of the people I
work with are those I’ve previously
worked with over the years.
How long does a project take from
start to finish? What steps do you
take when planning a shoot?
This one can vary quite a bit.
Sometimes projects can be very
time-consuming (planning a look/
shot list/location and model, creating
set-pieces, costumes and makeup
applications, shooting and editing)
while others have been a spur of
the moment idea that you can pull
off hours after the initial thought. A
lot of it comes from previous experience
but I also like to try new things
out. Add some extra lights, try new
lighting modifiers, use an odd lens
or shutter settings and you’ll get
some wildly different looks. Lighting
a subject from the front versus
a side-light, backlight or overhead
light will give a much different effect
and create some truly unique shots.
Sometimes I’ll shoot the same look
2 or 3 different times, using different
styles, and end up with some very
different shots each time.
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Are the horror themed shots studio
or location or both and what gear
would you take to shoot with?
The horror themed shots are a mix
of studio and location. I love both
for different reasons (locations are
always great as the models can interact
with the surroundings and you
give you a lot of variety in a short
amount of time. Studio is great for
setting up a consistent look, fine-tuning
it and shooting at all times of the
day without having to worry about
ambient lighting and traveling with
gear to locations
My go-to gear would definitely be
a beauty dish with honeycomb grid
and a pair of stripboxes with eggcrate
grids. These give a really narrow
beam of light that lets you focus
on your subject without spilling light
onto your surrounds. Many of my
horror shots are done with these and
I just haven’t found any other modifiers
comparable to them!
Mike I think readers need to see
more - where can they go online?
I’m most active on Instagram: Instagram.com/MikeRollerson
- This is
where I post many of my finished
shots, behind-the-scenes photos &
videos and Instax shots.
I also post the finished shots in higher-res
at www.MikeRollerson.com
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ONLINE:
www.instagram.com/MikeRollerson
www.MikeRollerson.com
35

NICK
T he Wedding Master...
Ghionis
Q - Tell us about that fateful day in Fiji
where it all started.
Like many who travel overseas, Duty
Free is an attractive proposition to
buy and save.
Possibly not so much these days
with the internet, but back in 1985
the savings were considerable. So
I decided to buy my first camera,
which was a Pentax MG.
I never really photographed before
then, and I never owned a camera.
It was when I processed the images,
that I fell in love with Photography.
I saw these sunsets that I had photographed
and crystal blue waters
with palm trees that looked like postcards.
I thought to myself WOW, I did these
great photos, and I didn’t even know
what an aperture or ISO was.
Imagine if I knew how to use a camera,
what the possibilities would be.
I was never a good student at school
and I didn’t really know what I wanted
to do.
So began the journey, where at 21
years of age I absolutely devoured
every photography magazine and
books I can get my hands on.
The Pentax didn’t have the ability
to shoot manual and I had realized
shortly thereafter that if I needed
to be serious about photography, I
needed to buy a new camera.
Buying an Olympus OM1, and after
working 5 jobs to save money, I eventually
bought my first medium format
camera Hasselblad 500CM.
Assisting and working for free, just so
that I can learn and get some experience,
I did this for just over 2 years.
By 1989, I had accumulated some
more equipment by way of flashes
and lenses and built my third Darkroom
along the way.
Q - Why weddings, what got you inspired
to shoot what some consider
is the biggest day of someone’s life?
I didn’t actually set out to be a wedding
and portrait photographer. When
I first started photographing, I would
go on trips and shoot landscapes
and street photography.
I even secured a job as a security
guard at a Melbourne newspaper in
the hope that I can get an in with the
photography department.
I realized that a cadetship with the
newspaper meant that I would be on
minimum wage, and at that time I had
a mortgage and wasn’t in a position
to take a drop in salary.
I had a friend who’s father was a wedding
photographer and who needed
photographers, my uncle too, was a
wedding photographer.
It was an avenue that enabled me to
make money from a hobby that depleted
ALL my savings.
I mentioned earlier that I would have
5 jobs at any given time, and most
of them was in the hospitality business.
My family are also in hospitality,
which meant that my people skills
was pretty good.
An asset when photographing people
of all walks of life. To this day, I
would only hire photographers who
have an outstanding record with
people. You can train someone to
take a photograph, but you can’t
train a personality.
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T he Wedding Master...

43

Q - What was the very first wedding
you photographed like?
My first wedding was in 1989, and I
can remember it like it was yesterday.
By this time, I had a couple of grooms
coverages and reception coverages
under my belt as a freelance photographer.
I had a friend who was getting married
that insisted I do her wedding. I
refused, as I didn’t want to ruin her
wedding.
Nothing was said until 3 weeks out
from her wedding day, when she
asked me, where will we be going for
photos.
I freaked, as I thought I had made
myself clear that I wasn’t going to
photograph her wedding.
It was too late to find another photographer.
I had asked my uncle to
shadow me and shoot on 35mm film
while I photograph on my Hasselblad.
I was a smoker back then, and I think
I had smoked at least two packets
that day, and remember coming
home, exhausted and vomiting from
stress.
Back in those days, labs would
charge you extra for a quick turnaround
for your proofs, which was still
a week. It was one of the longest
weeks I could remember.
I picked up the bag from the lab drove
to my uncles place, as I didn’t want
to open the proofs on my own. We
took everything off the kitchen table,
made sure that it was clean and then
ceremoniously began to unravel the
proofs.
They were 5in x 5in proofs in sheets
of 12, one by one we would look at
them and the relief was euphoric.
Pictures were great and my uncle
would be punching my shoulder out
of sheer delight.
Needless to say the Bride and
Groom were very happy and I made
a display album out of it, which I had
for many years.
Q - You’re wedding photos are a mix
of capturing moments that are timeless
and also high fashion art… and
yet your albums flow cohesively. I
guess what I’m saying is that some
photographers either do “moments”
and some try for the fashion look,
you do both and it works. How do you
make that mix work so well? How do
you choose the “signature” photo?
I love this question. Too many photographers
choose one over the other,
and invariably market themselves
accordingly. When someone says to
me that I am a photographer who
just shoots moments and dare I say
natural photographs, to me it usually
implies that I lack the skill to pose or
direct effectively, or just don’t care.
There are many elements to a wedding
day or even a portrait. After
a while you get to know the pivotal
moments and you position yourself
to capture them. A good photojournalist
seems to be consistent in capturing
moments, and often people
would say, how lucky was that. You
make your own luck when it comes
to capturing moments and the more
experience you have the more moments
you capture. Getting to know
your client before is also an important
part of not only capturing moments,
but also understanding what
type of photos that would most resonate
with them. Then of course there
is the high fashion art that you described,
where skills of lighting, posing
and direction come to play. Couples
usually have locations in mind
when it comes to their wedding day,
and as a collaboration between the
couple and I , we narrow it down to
a few.
So for example we might turn up to
Parliament House as one of the locations,
if I said I was a moment ( natural
photographer ) only, do I say to
them just walk around naturally and
be yourself ? What does that look
like? Couples 99.9% of the time
turn to me and ask direction, what do
you want me to do? This is when I
would try and bring all the elements
at hand, my tools of lighting, posing,
technique and expression to create
an art piece, that the couple would
frame or put in their album. Choosing
the “signature” shot has more to do
with the couple, than with the photographer.
Earlier on in my career, I
would execute a photograph that
would reap praise among my photographer
friends, and accolades
of how wonderful a photograph is.
When I would show the same photograph
to the couple, occasionally
they didn’t have the same response.
To them, it wasn’t a true reflection of
either their personality or just wasn’t
their cup of tea. I learned earlier on
that a great signature shot is one
that the client loves, not what I think
is great.
Q- You’re a Master Photographer,
can you tell us what that means…
I am a member of the AIPP ( Australian
Institute of Professional Photography
) and WPPI ( Wedding Portrait
Photographers International )
And they both have milestones by
way of competitions that you can
achieve points towards being a Master.
In both associations I have achieved
the milestone of Master Photographer
twice with AIPP and three times
with WPPI.
Q - And you’ve won a bunch of
awards, what’s been an important
moment in your photography life that
you can share?
From the moment you pick up a
camera, there are many firsts, that
come to mind. Whether it’s the first
award you receive or the first image
that is published.
It’s easy to pin point one of these
moments as being an important moment
in one’s photography life.
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I think if you had asked me this question 5, 10
or even 20 years ago, you would get a different
answer every time.
Today however, an important moment for me
came at a wedding I was photographing.
I had taken a photograph of a father of the bride
who had Motor Neuron Disease, and had only
weeks to live. ( I have included the image- see
page 48 )
The daughter organized a slideshow of photos
of her and her dad and various family photos that
had been taken throughout the years.
Instead of the usual father daughter dance, she
organized the whole reception to come to the
dance floor and watch it.
There were laughs and there were tears.
This moment has been engraved in my psyche,
it took me many months to be able to recall this
without being visibly moved.
It gave me the realization that what we do as
photographers in capturing and photographing
families and portraits, we are privy to someone
most precious moments.
A responsibility that has been taken for granted by
so many.
It was this AHA moment that made me feel proud
of all the photos I have taken over the years, and
how I have made a difference to people’s lives,
even if they themselves don’t know it yet.
My biggest awards are my clients.
Q - Many people know of your wedding photography,
tell us a bit about portrait work… are you doing
many of them and what does a client experience?
Weddings are, in essence a series of portraits put
together to tell the story of ones most memorable
day, their wedding.
I love portraits, and I usually tackle them in the
same way I would a wedding. Getting to know your
subject and delivering a fine quality product is just
the beginning.
I am not particularly good at taking newborns, but
anything from 3months and above I love.
When it comes to children, I become a child and
literally on my hands and knees trying to get expressions.
My skills as a wedding photographer certainly help

I think all these artists are just as relevant today as they are when
I first started.
Has it changed today? We are blessed these days to be saturated
with imagery from around the world with Instagram, Pinterest etc.
Whilst over the years I have many of my colleagues that have inspired
me at different intervals throughout my career ( too many to
mention without offending someone I might have forgotten )
Today I look for inspiration everywhere.
It might be something that I saw in a dance routine or a scene in a
movie. Maybe some ones story. Or the passion in a student who I
am mentoring.
Seeing the joy in someone face, when they see an image for the
first time.
What I am trying to say is that, if you open your eyes and your
heart, inspiration is everywhere.
when it comes to photographing portraits of all
walks of life, gender and age.
I also love it when my couples come back for the
next chapter in their lives. From maternity to new
born to the family portrait.
My approach is that of their family photographer.
I recently photographed a bride whose portrait I
had taken when she was 2 years old, and now I
have photographed her 2 year old daughter.
Besides making feel old, its this that truly makes
me happy.
Q - Who inspired you when you started out and
has that changed today?
When I first started,
I followed all the masters Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier
Bresson , Brandt, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon
etc.
I also love Cindy Shermon, Robert Mapplethorp,
Annie Liebovitz, Herb Ritts
inspiration is everywhere
ONLINE:
http://www.nickghionis.com
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NICK
Ghionis
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Alfredo
BENINCASA
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Jewellery designer: Tin Carena -- Torino - New York Model : Alice Veglio ( Location my studio )

Alfredo is another photographer
we’ve been following for some time
on social media. His mix of fashion
photography, black and white style
and video always jumps off our news
feed. He’s based in Turin Italy and
also works in New York...
Alfredo tell us about your model photography,
are you primarily shooting
models for an agency, personal work
or for editorials?
It’s me to thank you for your kind request
of being part of your first issue.
I’m a professional photographer
and I’m a fashion, glamour, portrait,
commercial, event photographer
and I’m freelance. I collaborate with
models / actors and all my works in
the last years are paid fashion works
or free test to promote the people
I collaborate with to find new works
via the images of the portfolio we
build ( No personal works as far as
now but I hope to have time in the
future for more photo experiments ) .
You also create a lot of excellent
videos for models, are these for their
portfolios?
The videos are paid works or they
are tests business oriented to get
new paid gigs and increase value
and visibility of models.
You also cover fashion events, is this
for magazine or online sites?
I also cover fashion events only if
it’s a paid work . It can happen to
be published in magazines or online
sites.
You shoot quite a bit of black and
white video, are these wanted by
models/agencies?
Black and white videos help in my
opinion to focus more on the subject
and is welcome by model agencies
and brands .
Have you “discovered” any model
talent? What I mean is you hear of
photographers or magazine publishers
often bumping into someone
during a regular day, handing over
a business card and next thing he
or she is getting regular modelling
work..
I’ve discovered many model talent
and now some of them are important
actor / actresses ( TV and
movies more than just modelling for
important brands ) both in Italy and
USA .I’m a photographer, filmmaker
and a model scout so it’s part of my
role and work .
Describe a typical shoot for us, like
the one you did with the model, Alice
Veglio, what goes into a shoot
like that? Do you collaborate with a
make up artist, stylist etc or is it just
you two working on an idea?
I try to find online new talents and
we collaborate . I guide the model
to express herself better and in my
opinion a good photographer is the
one who interacts with the subject
and try to make him / her act in front
of the camera and feel comfortable
and self confident and “ tell a story “
rather than using a lot of post production
( I’m a model trainer too ) .
Make up artist are welcome and important
as well as stylists etc.. . The
goal is to create a portfolio to find
new works together.
The Tin Carena Jewellery shoot featuring
Elena Rotari is like a short story,
same with the Angelique - Fashion
short film, tell us about these short
films and do you combine stills with
these projects or are they separate?
Tin Carena, Maevanika , Stefania P.
etc.. are new brands, great brands
to be promoted both with stills and
videos and some of the short films
are selected by Berlin Fashion Film
Festival too.
What’s your favourite place to
shoot? What location?
Outdoor and indoor locations are
good . There is Beauty everywhere.
I love my city Torino ( close to Milan
) as well as New York where I’ve important
collaborations with producers
and photographers and filmmakers
also involved in New York fashion
week
Do you have 3 tips you can share for
those photographers who’d like to
do get into fashion?
Try to experiment but ask to be paid .
Don’t believe to people that say that
they can live just with fashion photography
( Just a few worldwide can
be just fashion photographers and
make enough money ) . Combine
fashion photography with glamour
photography, street, events, commercial
, senior / corporate portrait
photography etc.. and you can have
a good result to live just with photography
works .
Finally where can readers go to find
out more about your photography?
In a few months www.benincasaproductions.com
will be my official
website as far as now “Alfredo Benincasa
photography” and “benincasa
productions” Facebook pages.
thank You!
ONLINE:
www.benincasaproductions.com
www.facebook.com/alfredobenincasaphotography
www.facebook.com/benincasaproductions
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Fashion Designer : Stefania P. High fashion Torino Milan - Florence - Jewellery Designer : Tin Carena - Torino New
York Model : Elma Bayliss Makeup artist : Bobby Miller
Hair Stylist : Angie Aragon in collaboration with the fashion social network NYC - Project Italian fashion in New York
by Benincasa productions Torino - New York
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Fashion Designer : Maevanika Torino - Amsterdam . Model : Daria - Make up : Rose Vrionides Boubaris
Hair : Revital Simmons ( fantastic photographer too ) Stylist : Siobhan Fenton
Thanks to Tyler Simmons as light assistant in collaboration with the fashion social network NYC
- CEO David Berman and Kennette productions NY & NJ - Project Italian fashion in New York by Benincasa
productions Torino - New York

Jewellery designer : Tin Carena -- Torino - New York Model : Alice Veglio ( Location my studio )
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Sarah
FAIRBANKS
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One of the positives of social media
is that sometimes you happen upon
people, who’s creativity grabs you.
You follow them and start to really
appreciate their art. Sarah Fairbanks
is someone we found on Instagram,
her street photography, use of light
and shapes got us wanting to find
out more... Sarah, welcome to the
first issue of Photo Live...
First up maybe tell readers about
you. Where are you based what you
do and how you got into photography.
I live in Adelaide, a beautiful city by
the beach where I find my photography
is very much influenced by the
seasons, the leaves on the trees
and the way each month changes
the light and feel of my environment.
Next tell us about your early photography,
what sort of photography
were you doing and did you have any
goals for the future? What I mean is
did you think that you would evolve
so much?
I first got a camera when I was about
18, and had just started medical
school. I was enchanted that suddenly
memories could be turned into
something concrete, printed onto a
beautiful piece of paper. My childhood
was heavily influenced by numerous
moves all around the country
and 14 schools, so I felt that all my
memories in a way, of places were
fragmented. Photography changed
that for me. Suddenly I was spending
hours in the darkroom, often until
midnight, feverishly printing, but on
quest for something, that I am still
on. I also took my first street photographs
when I was 21, but I was far
too shy to risk anyone seeing me,
so they tended to be of figures in a
distance. My favourite from this time
was of an old lady walking with her
son. The bow of her legs and the
strong supporting arm of her son
gave meaning to the photo for me.
Did you study photography?
I did not study when I was younger,
but in the last two years have studied
single subjects at CCP (Centre
for Creative Photography) which is a
wonderful place.
Are you shooting film? Digital or
both?
I stayed with film from 1988-2004
then finally switched to digital. I love
digital, but I still love film, especially
medium format film. I also love my
iPhone, and my tiny mirror less camera,
all devices have their beauty
and strength
Tell us about film. The camera. Why
and how you found it compared to
digital.
Film has a colour rendition and at
times softness which changes the
feel of a photo. If you look at medium
format film with photos taken with
shallow depth of field they really are
very beautiful. I would like to explore
that in the future.
I also love trying different techniques
and possibilities with my iPhone. I
use “Snapseed” to edit, and it really
is wonderful especially for sophisticated
black and white edits—a good
start point to lead on to Lightroom on
your computer (which I use for all my
DSLR shots). I also have tried other
apps like textures and slow shutter
speed apps that allow you to completely
change the feel and mood of
a photo on your phone.
Do you think travelling overseas
changed your photography? Tell us
about that.
I suppose I spent my whole childhood
travelling—but at that time I
hated it, and longed to set down
roots and keep the wonderful friends
I kept losing.
Then after 4 years in the one city I
travelled overseas as a young adult,
and my eyes were truly opened. I
was fascinated by language, culture,
old buildings and old people, by their
differences and similarities. I was
relatively shy at the time, I longed to
take photos like Henri Cartier Bresson
and those of his era, photos
that seemed to be spontaneous and
deeply human. The main thing travelling
changed was that it allowed me
to feel anonymous, and also times
travelling by myself meant that I
could quietly observe.
When I returned I tried to view my
own city and it’s people with a traveller’s
eyes.
The other great source of inspiration
are various galleries on instagram.
There are some wonderful street
photographers sharing on this medium,
from all around the world, particularly
talented are some Turkish
and Iranian photographers but every
city has it’s street photographers
capturing some of the essence of
their people or their vision. There are
some wonderful instagram galleries
(hubs) of street photography including
@fromstreetswithlove, @lensonstreets,
@hartcollective @myspc
and @mobiography ( mobile phone
images)
You did a nice series of street photos
in Taipei, lots of colour and I really
love the umbrella series... were
you aware of changes in how you
approached shooting?
In Taipei I continued my exploration
of street photography which I started
in Hong Kong in 2014 then Tokyo
in 2015. As always I found myself
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drawn to people, especially elderly
people. Again I felt anonymous there,
which gave me the mental freedom
to quietly point my small mirror-less
camera at people in the street, all
the while hoping they would not see
me, but smiling if they did. I love both
colour and texture, as well as people
and emotion.
Tell us about photography in Istanbul...
any challenges or restrictions?
Oh Istanbul. Istanbul is a captivating
city, full of so many layers: from shiny
metal super modern skyscrapers, to
crumbling stones and walls of velvet
colours and textures. It arcs around
the Bosphorus, the beautiful harbour
there, with boats and seagulls, fisherman
and the people of every imaginable
background from ultra religious
to on-the -edge in both dress
and outlook—everything and more
is there. Once you go there you can
see why it is a city that inspired poets,
painters, writers and photographers
over the centuries.
I am very lucky to know another photographer
there, which meant I could
feel part of the city. It is possible to
walk for endless hours through backstreets
and suburbs, always a new
discovery around each corner.
We are hoping to have a collaborative
exhibition of street photos
sometime in 2018 or 2019. Both
of us have had quite a profound influence
on each other’s photography.
He opened my eyes to looking
up, noticing birds and buildings and
modern contrasts, and also to being
meticulous in editing any particular
photo with both it’s framing and texture/tones.
No real challenges there except
the same challenges you have with
street photography anywhere really.
Lots of people have a camera in
Istanbul. and like everywhere in the
world, even old ladies in long headscarves
are taking selfies every-
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where, we live in a world where
everybody takes images. I love it.
Let’s look at your current photography,
there’s a whole very unique feel
and look plus you are almost poetic
in your descriptions. Talk about what
you’re doing now.
My latest experimental series was
using slow shutter in the metro in
Moscow. I used my iphone, surprisingly,
because I found I could get a
dreamy soft feel almost like a Monet
painting, but with muted colours,
which added to the mood I had there
of transience and motion, of people
almost lost in a sea of humanity.
Sometimes a photo needs no words,
and other times a small description
adds to the feeling of what I am trying
to convey.
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Sarah
FAIRBANKS
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ONLINE:
www.instagram.com/saritafair
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AYHAN
TON
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Hi Ayhan, it’s nice to meet you.
You’re living in Turkey, tell us about
life in Turkey, what do you do for a
job or are you studying?
I live in Istanbul. I have a Business
Administration degree, after finishing
my masters degree in Australia,
I completed my PhD on Organizational
Behavior. I work as a trainer,
professional coach and university instructor.
My work is basically about
listening, understanding and communicating
with people.
How did you get started as a photographer?
I was always interested in photography
and cinema, but did not actively
take pictures. The only exception is
a short period in my late teens when I
had a SLR camera and was interested
in taking portrait shots, but that
lasted only a few years. So, basically
my creativity had a long winter period
until 2 years ago, when both of
my parents died in the same year. It
made me realize that nothing is repeated
in life, that moments have
a special soul which can only be
experienced as they happen. This
event had a profound impact on my
photography.
And how would you describe your
photography?
I try to see the stories that are hidden
in fleeting moments. I try to spot
and highlight the poetry in what feels
to be mundane at first sight. I’m interested
in contrasts, unusual behaviors,
hidden links, near misses,
accidental encounters because they
add to my story telling.
My subjects are usually people who
are on the move, who are experiencing
a moment that will disappear in a
few seconds.
I especially care about their emotions,
whatever they are at that moment.
But my favourite theme is the
feeling of freedom, where you feel
constantly moving and evolving,
knowing no borders or attachments.
(or sometimes people who lack that
kind of freedom) I quite often use
symbols like birds, sea, sky, floating
hair, wind etc because they remind
me of that sense of freedom.
I have to ask, tell us about the birds
that often play a role in your photos...
Istanbul has a huge bird population.
They are literally everywhere, hovering
above your head in every street.
Birds were a forced choice at first,
because they usually photobomb
your pictures. But soon I picked up
on the qualities that they add to
anything they fly past. I love birds
because they symbolize almost
everything about my photography:
freedom, wisdom, motion, emotions,
grace. I can’t imagine living in a city
without many birds.
What areas in Istanbul do you like to
photograph in? Why..?
I love spending time in Karaköy, Eminönü,
Galata, Beyoğlu. Because almost
nobody actually lives in those
neighborhoods, the people there
come from all walks of life for a temporary
purpose with the intention to
go back home at night, so you see
lots of contrast and drama; since its
near the sea, there’s excitement or
sometimes total indifference in people’s
faces, people’s faces talk; the
walls are talking too, with many layers
of texture and graffiti; it all adds
to my themes.
A lot of your photos also feature the
ocean, is this something that draws
you?
We call it Bosphorus, basically it’s a
strait, like a giant salt water river going
through the heart of the city. It
is constantly flowing, moving the waters
from one side of the earth to the
other. There’s also an undercurrent
which pushes the waters back in the
opposite direction. The Bosphorus
also attracts northerly and southerly
winds. When I take a boat ride along
the Bosphorus and breathe in the
fresh breeze, I imagine the air that
fills my lungs came all the way from
Scandinavia, it touched he hair of
a kid playing on the beach, or went
through dark enchanted forests, it
helped a seagull soar and now it’s in
my lungs. It gives a sense of “borderlessness”,
a sense of constant motion
and collision. I believe it shapes
the character of my people, and it
also shaped the character of my
photographs.
Browsing your Instagram feed, you
have a gift for capturing moments.
People relating to each other, living
life, and your post processing style
is very different. Talk us through how
you go about taking photos and then
what happens at the end of the day
when you are finished shooting.
I’m interested in people. I can look
at a crowded street and immediately
spot a person that has potential
for a story. Then I get my camera or
phone ready and wait for them to do
something interesting. And they usually
do.
When shooting, I set aside all my
worries about composition, framing,
timing etc. These are all worries of
the mind and they can all be fixed
later. I only concentrate on seizing
the spirit of that moment, which can
only be done by seeing from the
heart. I trust my gut feelings and
give the controls to my fingers rather
than my mind. My fingers autono-
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mously decide what to shoot, when
to shoot. They usually make the best
decisions in split seconds.
I love editing. I believe it’s where the
act of creation starts, because I can
reshape the reality according to my
idiosyncratic perception of what
was happening there. I try to avoid
having a specific editing style. Most
of my edits are actually unique, I try
to improvise rather than follow formulas.
When I pick up a picture I first
ask, “what is the story here”, “what
feelings does it convey”, “how can I
make it stand out”? Then I do whatever
seems necessary to serve that
purpose.
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You’re a busy street photographer.
How did that begin?
I was inspired by a street photographer
I know. At the beginning, I was
rather interested in birds, She was
into people and stories. Once we
photographed the city together. I saw
her taking the picture of an old lady. I
found it a bit odd, because I thought
old people are not interesting. But
she said “I wonder about her story...
What does she do... where does she
live... who does she love?” It struck
me. I realized that I could empathize
with people I don’t know. And things
around me took a different meaning
as I started to read people’s stories.
My photography was elevated
to a new level after this experience.
That’s why I owe her so much.
How is Turkey for street photography?
Are there laws or regulations?
Street photography is about capturing
people in unstaged environments,
in moments which can’t be
repeated. So, wherever there are
people, there’s potential for street
photography. You just need to be
polite and learn about the life styles
and worldviews of the people.
Istanbul is a vibrant city with huge
paradoxes; tragedy and joy, poverty
and abundance living side by side.
It is a perfect place for great street
photography. On a sunny or snowy
day, you can spot dozens of amateur
photographers shooting people.
Istanbulers are usually very permissive
and indifferent to being photographed.
I had an experience in rural
Anatolia as well though, people can
be much more scrutinizing there. You
get stopped by some people, asking
you why you take pictures, or why
you don’t take other things like old
mosques or sunset rather than people.
But when I explained the reason
and asked how they were doing,
they smiled and offered me a glass
of tea. This is why I love this country.
How often are you out shooting?
And what do you take on a typical
day of shooting - camera and lens??
I keep seeing pictures everywhere.
So I take pictures quite often, sometimes
in most unexpected places.
Many of my pictures were taken
while commuting. Once a month I
take photo walks. I can take a dozen
decent shots on a good day of photo
walk. I don’t own expensive gear. I
have a midrange mirrorless camera,
and a standard 35mm lens. I like it
because its unobtrusive, lightweight,
and hassle free . I prefer to use the
camera rather than the phone because
of its speed.
Who inspires your photography?
When I think about my library, I see
many books about architecture,
modern art, classic paintings, cinema,
mathematics. I have followed
fashion and photography magazines.
They probably influenced me.
I was also influenced by the dozens
of great photographers I met on Instagram.
But also, as I just mentioned,
by my beloved city, its bosphorus, its
people and its birds.
Finally where can your readers go to
see more of your work?
I have an Instagram page with the
nickname: @ayhanton. I’m always
happy when people visit my page
and even leave some comments.
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ONLINE:
www.instagram.com/ayhanton
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Dean
PRESTON
Dean welcome to the first issue of
Photo Live, maybe to start tell us
where you’re based and what sort of
photography you love.
I’m not really based anywhere these
days. Before moving full-time into
photography I was based in Sydney
but now I’m on the road most of the
time.
I try and follow the sun so Brisbane
is about as close as I get to being in
one place for any length of time but
I’ve also spent a lot of time in Los
Angeles for the last 5 years.
I like to shoot outdoors and very
rarely shoot in a studio. I’m not a big
fan of artificial light and flash so natural
light is always my choice when
it comes to lighting a model or landscape.
With the fashion/runway work, are
you shooting for magazines?
I generally work freelance so it could
be for a magazine or newspaper. It’s
getting harder and harder because
Getty now have a monopoly.
It’s definitely a industry that’s changing
rapidly. It’s only a matter of time
before phones can take pictures as
good as a DSLR.
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Your photography is so refreshing,
natural and seems to be almost
straight from the camera... do you
do any post on them?

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I would love to say most of my pictures
are straight out of the camera.
But it’s hard when you’re shooting
outdoors without any reflectors or
flash so I tend to do a fair bit of processing
in Lightroom. I shoot raw so
you have a lot of control over the image,
especially in the highlights and
shadows. I don’t go overboard with
the clarity and saturation like some
people do and I tend to keep my images
fairly natural. Hair is always hit
or miss but most of the time you get
an image you’re happy with. I like to
spend only 5 - 10 minutes editing a
photo if possible and Lightroom is
perfect for that.
Much of your photography is based
around models and outdoors, do
you have favourite locations around
Sydney?
Tamarama and Bronte are my favourite
beaches to shoot at with
Camp Cove and Shark Beach on the
harbour side also favourites.
Balmoral is also a great place to
shoot at and has a European type of
feel to it. I like to shoot in the Blue
Mountains too and in and around
Paddington is great for high fashion.
Do the models come to you for portfolio
shoots or is it more collaborative
work.
It’s more a collaborative effort. I’m
very selective about who I shoot
with and it has to be a joint effort or
it generally doesn’t work.
Modelling is an art and a model really
needs to know how to pose correctly.
I can tell a model I want a particular
look or pose but at the end of the
day she or he has to make it look
effortless and natural and that’s not
always easy.
Are you doing any studio work? Do
you have a studio or do you rent one
as needed? Tell us about shooting in
a studio, do you enjoy it as much as
beach shooting.
I hardly ever shoot in the studio.
I think in the last 5 years I’ve done 2
shoots in a studio so I’m like a fish
out of water.
I’m much more comfortable outdoors
and enjoying the sunshine and
occasional thunderstorm.
You’ve photographed some amazing
people, tell us about a favourite
shoot.
I did a shoot in New York a few years
ago in the middle of winter with a
dancer which was great.
I love shooting on Venice Beach at
sunset. It’s hard to get a bad shot
with the sunset going down in the
west behind you.
My all time favourite would have to
be a shoot I did in Los Angeles with
an actress called Marian. We got so
many great shots, Marian knew a
million poses and we both walked
away with big smiles on our faces.
You can’t ask for more than that.
What do you take with you on typical
beach shoot?
Camera wise just the basics with
spare batteries. It’s usually just me
and the model so no reflectors or
a flash. A hat, sunscreen and water.
You can get dehydrated easily and
burnt so be careful. Baby oil is great
if you want that shiny look on a model.
Any tips for photographers wanting
to get started on shooting friends or
models on the beach?
Your model or friend needs to know
how to pose. It just makes it so much
easier and you’ll get some great
shots. Just standing there looking
bored doesn’t cut it.
You don’t want to shoot straight into
the sun so find the right angle and
make sure the models face has no
shadows on it.
Exposure and focus are important
so get that right and you’re on your
way to getting some great shots.
Finally where can our readers go to
find out a bit more about you.
I’m on Instagram @deanprestonphoto
and on 500px at Dean Preston
Photography. I’m also on Facebook.
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Laura
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Kate - Gold Coast
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Kelly

“ I like I shoot raw so you have a lot of
control over the
image,
especially in the highlights and shadows.
I don’t go overboard with the clarity and
saturation like some people do and I tend to
keep my images fairly natural.”
Ksenia
ONLINE:
www.instagram.com/
deanprestonphoto
500px.com/deanprestonphotography
www.facebook.com/DeanPrestonPhoto
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100
Buckingham

Starting his photographic journey
in the dark room, Tony Buckingham
tells our correspondent, Charlotte
Nicholson about the journey into
digital...
Welcome to Photo Live Tony, please
can you tell us about yourself and
how you got started in photography?
I am a 55 year old freelance photographer
married to artist Gabriella,
previously living in London but now
based 5 miles from the sea in Norfolk
to give our 2 children some fresh
air.
I studied graphic design with photography
in the early 1980s but left
the course and saw an advert in the
West End of London to work in a
darkroom at an advertising art studio.
I luckily got the job and worked
in a few other darkrooms, before
buying a houseboat and moving to
London.
I went for an interview for a job I saw
as an independent black and white
printer thinking it meant freelance. It
was for The Independent, a national
newspaper that was driven by it’s
photography , more magazine style
than any other newspaper. This was
printing news, sport and features
photographs in black and white often
to very tight deadlines.
How did you get into your chosen
genre of photography?
Having access to excellent darkroom
facilities (as well as Leica enlargers)
gave me a new interest in
photography and I often took street
photographs in my spare time.
From working in the darkroom I saw
first hand what the photographers
did and often what we ‘saved’ in the
printing. All pictures then were taken
in available light.
Myself and other darkroom printers
decided to put our pictures up in the
darkroom instead of the photographers
work and someone from the
newly started children’s newspaper
asked who had done certain pictures,
which were mine and gave me
some work.
From there I also began to work
for the daily paper doing the ‘standalone’
pictures they rarely have
now. Finding an interesting event
happening and trying to take a picture
that summed it up. From there I
began to get commissions.
I did a fair amount of architectural
photography when working freelance
later for The Evening Standard,
there are always interesting
new buildings going up in London. I
enjoyed this but newspapers always
want to be the first with a new project
which often meant the site was
mostly still a building site! I always
thought it would be great if you had
proper access and time to picture
the buildings properly.
A friend who is an architect asked
me to photograph a project he had
done for a chain restaurant and a lot
work came from that initial project..
As often the case it is who you know,
networking now is really important.
Which photographers influenced
you, and did they influence your
thinking and career path?
Originally all the photographers working
at The Independent Newspaper,
especially Brian Harris and Norman
Lomax. Norman would always take
chances , he would rate Kodak tmax
at ridiculous speeds and process it
in a secret recipe when photographing
boxers in the gym and they would
have amazing detail and grain. He
also bought a 5 by 4 view camera,
tried it once then used it ( and 35mm
as well) to photograph Kirk Douglas.
Of the 4 pictures he took 3 were out
of focus and one was perfect and
amazing! I think he influenced me
into thinking it is always worth trying
something extra even if you think
it may not work out, it’s only a few
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frames of film, not even that now.
Also sports photographer David
Ashdown who would go to a game
at Wimbledon or a cricket match and
come back with 3 rolls of film! Now
everyone seems to need amazing
frame speeds but he could capture
the shot with perfect timing.
Among your works, which one is
your favourite and why?
One of my favourites is the picture
of socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.
It is full of joy, I see too much of the
expressionless, staring in to the distance
type photographs ( which I am
guilty of too!) which people take on
film to make them more ‘serious’. I
like having movement or some mystery
in a portrait
Can you tell us what technology/
software/camera gear you use to
keep focused on what you do best,
as you photograph?
Now I find a wifi card (my old Canon
1DS mark III camera doesn’t have
wifi) really useful. Seeing the picture
instantly on a larger tablet screen
is so much different than through a
viewfinder or on the 3 inch screen
on the back of the camera. Also I
don’t use a tilt/shift lens but use DXO
Viewpoint for lens and geometry
corrections as they are fairly minor.
What is the one thing you wish you
knew when you started talking photos?
I wish I knew digital and ‘phones
would eat away at the business! I
also think it is a good idea to specialise
when you have found your
interest.
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“ I like having movement or
some mystery
in a portrait.”
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ONLINE:
www.tonybuckingham.com
www.instagram.com/tony_buckingham
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CHRIS
MARQUARDT
If you’ve ever listened to a podcast
on photography you must have
heard about Tips from the Top Floor
with Chris Marquardt. He not only
produces and hosts the longest running
photography podcast, but is an
author, photographer and tour leader...
let’s head over to Germany and
say hello...
Chris how did you get into photography,
when and who got you started?
I’ve always had an interest in various
art forms. I was lucky to be able
to get musical training for over 20
years and over time I learned to play
multiple instruments. Photography
also always fascinated, I had access
to our school darkroom and
got to experiment with light fairly
early on. Watching an image appear
out of nowhere in front of my eyes
was a really magical experience
and photography has been a passion
ever since. Like many others,
I started out shooting mostly “from
the gut” without really understanding
what made some pictures work
better than others. Over time - and
especially thanks to my podcasts - I
started digging deeper and gradually
learned how perception plays a
crucial role in photography and how
I could use that knowledge to create
better photography.
You do so many different things -
how did you get started as a podcaster?
In the early podcast days, around
2005, creating a new show wasn’t
as straight-forward as it is today. It
all came down to being at the right
spot at the right time. Thanks to my
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music background, I knew how to
produce audio, which helped me record
my first podcasts. My interest
in photography gave me something
to talk about and my business background
allowed me to understand
internet distribution and also helped
me cross the language barrier. I am
German, back then, podcasting was
so new, there were virtually no podcast
listeners in my home country.
Podcasting allowed me for the first
time to find an international audience.
And while I cringe a bit, when
listening to my first few episodes,
over time and with the weekly training,
my English and my production
skills improved. I released my first
episode in April 2005 and the first
months were quite a rollercoaster
ride. I saw this whole field more as a
playground than anything else, and I
had the very naive assumption that I
could explain photography in about
10 episodes. That was my initial
plan, but after a few episodes, Tips
from the Top Floor had 500 listeners.
When Apple later that year released
iTunes 4.9 with podcast support,
that number literally grew ten-fold
overnight.
And a workshop leader?
At the same time as more and more
people discovered the show, I began
receiving emails from listeners asking
me if there would ever be a “live
version” of the podcast. Something
along the lines of a workshop. So I
planned out a first event in my studio
here in Germany and a wonderful
group of people showed up from all
over the world. We had participants
from the US, the UK, from Italy and
from Germany. That’s when I realized
that holding photo workshops had a
chance become part of my business.
This initial workshop in 2006 was followed
by my first US workshop tour
in 2007 and 2008. Through podcasting
I also met Jon Miller, a film-maker
from Colorado who produced “The
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Rest of Everest” where he documented
an Everest climb. We ended
up becoming great friends and Jon
came up with the idea to do a photo
workshop at Mt. Everest base camp
in Nepal. We planned it out, opened
it to our audiences and it sold out
within less than a minute. Truly one
of the most surreal moments ever.
This is where my international photo
tours go back to. Since then I’ve
brought photographers to Canada,
Nepal, Tibet, Berlin, Ireland, Japan,
Ethiopia, Iceland, Greenland, Bhutan,
Siberia, Norway, Greenland and Svalbard,
just to name a few. And it still
feels like this is just getting started.
There are so many amazing places
on our planet that I haven’t seen yet.
With all this under your belt, you
wouldn’t have much time left, yet
you are also an author. Tell us about
your books on film...
I’ve written The Film Photography
Handbook together with my better
half Monika. Actually she deserves
most of the credit, as she wrote at
least half of it and her writing style
is so much better than mine. The
book aims to bring film photography
into the 21st century. After the mid
90s, film was slowly becoming replaced
by digital, to the point where
I shelved my analogue cameras and
switched. I didn’t touch a film SLR
for ten years, but at one point it became
clear that film photography
wasn’t dead, rather the opposite. It
was clearly in a niche now, but not
only was there a vivid scene around
it, film also offered things that digital
couldn’t. Our re-discovery of film
went hand in hand with learning to
work the larger formats and today
we have our own darkroom and
shoot everything from 18x24 mm to
4x5” large format. After adding film
photography to my workshop portfolio,
we received some interest from
a German publisher and that’s how
our book project was born. The Film
Photography Handbook is available
in English and in German (“Absolut
analog”) and we’re currently both
working on other photo-related book
projects.
You’ve been leading workshop tours
for a while, what’s your favourite
places to go and why?
It’s really hard for me to choose favorite
places, they are all so diverse
and each has so much to offer in
their own way. From the cultural side
as well as in terms of photography.
Having said that, I’m a great fan of
the colder climates. Photography
of ice and snow and their infinite
variations really clicked with me. I
find the abstract shapes, the people,
the serenity and the colors and
contrasts really intriguing. This never
gets old for me. I went to Iceland
several times, I have fond memories
of Hokkaido in Japan, Lake Baikal in
Siberia was amazing both times I’ve
been there, and Greenland and Svalbard
in the Arctic have left a lasting
impression. To the point that sooner
or later I probably will want to re-visit
all of these places. But then there’s
Asia, the amazing people of Nepal
and Tibet, the first flush tea harvest
in Darjeeling, the cultures and sights
of Ethiopia and the many little unplanned
encounters with wonderful
people make those tours as memorable
as the colder ones.
What happens on a tour? Tell us
about the experience. One thing we
hear from photographers who lead
tours is that people like to do them
more then once..?
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Over the years I’ve had many repeat
clients, some travelled with me six or
seven times. If the travel bug bites
you, sometimes it bites hard and if
you travel with someone you know
and trust, deciding to come on another
tour is easy.
Most of my tours include all lodging
and meals, so the clients will only
have to get to the initial meeting point
and we’ll take it from there. While the
photo tours often include well-known
places and landmarks, I always include
ample time to visit places off
the beaten track that are much more
interesting and much less touristy.
On our entire Ethiopia tour we met
less than a hand full of other tourists.
In India we got a spontaneous
invitation to visit a school and were
greeted by hundreds of curious pupils.
In Moscow we went to a local
farmer’s market and made friends
with the mall cops and in Bhutan we
got invited into a farmer’s house and
even got to participate in an archery
training session. While it’s great to
have seen and photographed the
landmarks, these unplanned experiences
are the ones that people will
talk about and remember for the rest
of their lives.
How do you fit so much in - travel,
teaching and podcasting, do you get
much time for personal photography
projects?
I really love what I’m doing, that
makes it much easier to find the time
and energy for it. I also don’t think I
could do one without the others.
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Traveling, teaching and podcasting
are all part of a larger picture. The
photo tours are a great source of
stories, which I love telling on my
podcasts. The teaching is an extension
of the podcasts and the
podcasts help people find my photo
tours, books and workshops. It all belongs
together and it all works hand
in hand. And the different areas transcend
into each other, for example
my latest podcast “Curiously Polar”
where I talk with an Arctic scientist
about the polar regions has grown
out of my latest photo tour.
What do you recommend as a beginners/
first timer travellers’ gear
list for going on a tour to say Bhutan?
For me the best camera is the one
that you know best. Photo gear is almost
like a pair of shoes. They take a
while to adapt to you and you take a
while to adapt to them. Buying a new
camera a few days before taking off
on a photo tour is probably not such
a good idea. I’ve seen too many people
not heeding that advice and ending
up coming home with sub-par
photos because they had to spend
too much time fighting the new gear
during the tour. Different photo tours
have different points of focus, which
might influence lens selection. The
polar bears in the Arctic are usually
at a distance that requires a focal
length of at least 600mm, while you
might bring a 50mm for New York
City street photography or a 24mm
for Siberian ice-scapes. Also for
wildlife or sports you might want a
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114ONLINE:
www.discoverthetopfloor.com
www.chrismarquardt.com

camera with a slightly higher frame
rate, but nowadays all cameras from
micro four-thirds up to full frame can
deliver outstanding and professional
results.
You’ve also created a guide on Lightroom,
how did that come about?
I’ve used Lightroom since it was in
beta and it has quickly become the
main hub of all my photography. It’s
where I manage my photos, where
I edit them and where I print them
from. Over the years, Adobe added
enough features that the roundtrips
to other programs like Photoshop became
less and less necessary. The
daily work and the in-depth knowledge
that camera out of that, allows
me to work on my photos at quite a
fast pace. Also shooting between
200 and 400 photos on a typical
photo tour day made me realize that
if I didn’t develop a good workflow, I’d
end up with massive amounts of unedited
photos over time. Today I work
on my photos the same evening I
took them and at the end of a tour, I
have all my photos sorted, keyworded,
rated and edited. With just a couple
of mouse clicks I can bring up all
5-star photos of the last eight years
of photo tours. At one point I realized
that such a workflow could be valuable
for others too, so I put that in an
ebook titled “1 Hour 1000 Pics”
which I’m now giving away at
1hour1000pics.com - this also
spawned a series of video workshops
on Lightroom that go a bit
broader. The latest one is at discoverlightroom.com
(it’s being updated
to the latest version of Lightroom as
we speak).
Your partner Monika also an amazing
photographer, do you have a
hard time choosing which photos go
into your books?
While both Monika and I are working
on book projects, of the two of us,
she has the better photographic eye.
Her compositions are often stronger
and clearer and she tends to get the
shot with much fewer shutter clicks
than I do. And we also make a great
team when it comes to selecting
photos. It’s hard to select pictures
that you have taken yourself. You are
often simply too close and can’t see
them without your memories getting
in the way. It’s much easier if you let
someone else you trust help with the
selection. Monika and I complement
each other really well in that respect.
Who inspires you and why?
I take my inspiration from many places,
often outside photography. The
sense of spacing and placement
shown by Walter Gropius, Architect
and founder of Bauhaus, has influenced
me at least as much as that
of the photography and paintings
of Henri Cartier-Bresson or German
photographer Jim Rakete. The lighting
in the paintings of Jan Vermeer
are as wonderful and as important
to me as the lighting in the photography
of Yousuf Karsh or Arnold
Newman. Music has also instilled me
with a decent sense of rhythm and
melody, which in my eyes both apply
to photography too. I think it’s really
important to look beyond your own
nose. Being curious about many different
disciplines is what makes me
as a photographer today.
Finally Chris, where can readers go
to find out more about you?
My photo tours are at:
discoverthetopfloor.com. You can
find everything else, including the
podcasts, at chrismarquardt.com.
Thanks so much for giving me the
chance to be part of the first edition
of Photo Live, I really appreciate it.
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“Music has also instilled me with a
decent sense of rhythm and melody,
which in my eyes both apply
to photography too. I think it’s really
important to look beyond your
own nose.
Being curious about many
different disciplines is
what makes me as a
photographer today. "
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119

Raychul
the model
MOORE
Raychul Moore is a friend of the Live
group of publications, we’ve been
lucky to interview her previously in
Cosplay Live, but what many fans
may or may not know is Raychul is
also a journalist, model and social
media veteran. One thing most photographers
want to get better at is
social media, and if you’re a portrait
or model photographer or want to
be, you probably want to know how
to photograph and approach models.
So with that in mind, I decided to
reach out to our friend in the U.S …
Raychul, welcome to our first issue
of Photo Live!
Whoa, thank you for such an amazing
intro!! And thank you for asking
me to be a part of the first issue, this
is super exciting!!!
You’re a well-established cosplayer
and social media personality; tell us
about your modelling work. How did
you get started?
My best friend was getting into photography
so I was basically his willing
test subject. I had started cosplaying
and really wanted to get more comfortable
being in front of a camera
cause I can be quite shy. So between
shooting with him and doing
more and more cosplay stuff, it just
kinda became a thing I do more fulltime
than just a fun hobby.
You’re also a very popular cosplayer;
do you find the two cross-over?
Yes and no. Some people will say
cosplay is basically “character modelling”,
dressing up in a costume and
modelling it. But that’s not what cosplay
is to me at all. You don’t need to
be a model to cosplay, and a model
in a costume doesn’t equal cosplay.
In modelling you are hired to help
a photographer complete a vision,
whether that’s to capture a moment
or to show off some sort of fashion.
In cosplay, I make my own costumes
and I design some of the pieces myself.
When I’m being photographed
in my cosplays, I’m showing off my
own work and the photographer is
helping me capture the character I
am portraying.
I want to talk a bit more about modelling,
how do you get jobs for modelling?
Jobs in this industry can come from
a bunch of different sources. They
can come from friends who are photographers
that you’ve worked with
before. Jobs can come from discovery,
people who happen across
some of your photos and reach out
to you because they want work with
you. Or sometimes, you can just luck
into something that opens a lot of
new doors.
Can you walk us through a typical
model shoot and maybe compare
that to a cosplay shoot…
A modelling shoot is all about helping
the photographer create an image
or a moment he has thought of
or has been hired to create. So for a
modelling shoot you usually already
know the theme of the shoot; you
get dressed up and made up then
you get in front of the camera and
follow the photographers direction
to help him achieve the goal of the
shoot.
A cosplay shoot is more about
portraying the character you are
dressed as. The photographer will
help pose you still, but it’s up to you
as the cosplayer to really bring out
that character’s personality while
showcasing the costume you created.
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122
Photo : Seth Hendrix

Browsing your social media, you’ve a
great following across all the social
media networks, and I’m wondering
if that’s normal - what I mean is
sometimes you see a person have
a massive Instagram following but
perhaps not so big on YouTube, but
you’re well established across all the
main social media channels. Did you
build them together or one by one..?
Each social media platform handles
it’s content differently and people
consume their media differently on
each platform; so I’ve always tried to
build them up separately. Like stuff
you post of Instagram might not always
work on Facebook and visa
versa. Also, why would someone
follow you on all your different social
media channels if you post the each
same content on each one? I think
the best way to build up your social
media is to tailor your content to
each platform and how people consume
their media on each one. Give
your subscribers a reason to not just
follow you on Twitter, but to also follow
your Instagram and Facebook if
they want to be involved in all the different
content you produce!
Do you get any negative and how do
you handle any negative on social?
Oh yes, negative comments go hand
in hand with social media. Can’t have
one without the other. Kinda like a
necessary evil, I guess. But you really
just have to let it go and not dwell on
the negative. Focus on the positive
and focus on the people who are
supporting you in what you do. I see
some people who seem get caught
up in all the negative and they don’t
see that by giving attention to it,
you’re inviting more of it. Positivity
will help you grow, negativity won’t.
You’re really busy - I’m reminded of
the word prolific… YouTube videos,
print shops, calendars, blogging,
how do you manage it all? Plus on
top of the cosplaying, visiting cons
and all the work you do…
I’m not one to sit still well. ☺ I like staying
busy and honestly, when you love
what you’re doing…it doesn’t feel like
work! It all started as a passion project,
and I’m just lucky that now I can
call it my career!
Have you got some advice on how
to create blog posts or social media
posts that really connect with your
followers? Often photographers will
have great images to share, but they
don’t know what to write. Any tips on
making the text of a post engaging?
The best part about photos is they
usually can speak for themselves,
so you really don’t need to write a
long intro or post to go along with
the pics. I think it’s best to keep it
short. Something like, “Had such a
great time shooting with /model’s
name at an amazing location at /
location. More pics soon!” Or if you
want to get your viewers involved,
try asking them where are some locations
they’d like to see you shoot
at, recommendations of photoshoot
themes or style challenges. Those
help followers get engaged in your
content and gets them looking forward
to more!
What about Instagram, your feed is
fun, personal, a bit sexy and always
interesting. Do you plan it in advance?
Also … you don’t seem to go
crazy with hashtags..?
Thanks! I don’t plan my postings in
advance, I know I probably should,
but that’s a little too much pre-planning
for me. ☺ But no, I don’t do the
hashtag thing. I find a ton of hashtags
to be rather excessive. Hashtagging
is meant to help people find
your content through search, but using
a hashtag for every small aspect
in a photo or video is a little over the
top. I know people want to grow their
following but keep it simple and the
followers will come! #interview #girl
#cosplay #modelling #purpleshirt
#browneyes #shortgirl #stillinpajamabottoms
#imonmylaptop #dogsleepingbesideme
#todayisthurday
#tomorrowisfriday #ilikepizza
Back to modelling, what’s coming up
for you for the rest of this year? Also
any cosplay events you can talk to
us about.
I’m working on a bunch of stuff
currently! I have several photoshoots
coming up, both cosplay and
non-cosplay. And I’ve got about 4
new costumes in the works that I’ll
be shooting in/debuting soon!
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Raychul
Photo : Seth Hendrix
MOORE
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“I think the best way to build up
your social media is to
tailor your content to
each platform"
We’d love to share a few tips with anyone
wanting to do some modelling -
can you give us 3 tips?
1. The thing that has helped and
still helps me a lot I practicing in the
mirror. It will help you learn your best
angles and facial expressions, which
will then help build confidence while in
front of the camera. Confidence can
make all the difference between a
great photo or an ok photo.
2. Set your boundaries and don’t
make any exceptions. If you feel that
doing nudity isn’t your thing, stick by it
and don’t let anyone talk you into doing
anything you don’t want to do. Don’t
ever be ashamed of your boundaries,
they are for you, and no one else.
3. Lastly, keep it fun! As long as
you’re having fun, then it’s never work.
That doesn’t mean it won’t ever get
hard, it will…but even the challenges
can be fun and help you grow.
Yeah! You can find me on all the social
medias and my website: Raychul.com
YouTube.com/RaychulMoore
Twitter.com/theRaychul
Facebook.com/RaychulMoore
Instagram.com/theRaychul
My print store is where I sell calendars,
personal Polaroids and of course,
prints! Raychul.storenvy.com
And I do have a Patreon.com/Raychul
that’s an amazing community of people,
we have movie nights and game
nights together, a private Discord
channel and they vote on my upcoming
photoshoot themes and cosplays.
It’s a lot of fun and we’re all a bunch of
goofballs!
Thank you so much for including me in
the first issue of Photo Live!!
Raychul, thanks for talking to us again
and we’d love to talk again soon, where
can readers go to find out more about
you? Tell us about your print site and also
to finish up, Patreon - is that going well?
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Photos : Rick Basaldua

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Photos : Rick Basaldua

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Photo : Seth Hendrix
ONLINE:
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www.raychul.com
YouTube.com/RaychulMoore
Twitter.com/theRaychul
Facebook.com/RaychulMoore
Instagram.com/theRaychul

some photos supplied are uncredited.
131

andrew
HELLMICH
Welcome Andrew to our first issue,
you’re a professional photographer
and run a successful podcaster,
what else are you doing?
Thanks Rob, are you suggesting
running a full-time photography business
and a photography business
podcast isn’t enough!?
Between these, there’s not much
time left most days. My photography
business, Impact Images, is primarily
focused on weddings and portraits
but we’re shooting some sporting
teams and commercial work too
- mainly headshots for local small
businesses here on the Central
Coast of NSW... about an hours drive
north of Sydney.
My wife, Linda runs the business
from the financial side of things,
coordinating shoots and managing
everything. We have a studio assistant,
Tenneille, who we couldn’t live
without. Tenneille handles sales, album
and print design, colour correcting
and ordering. In addition, we have
three associate shooters, there’s always
something happening.
I find I’m spending less time shooting
as the podcasts grow and the time
demands become greater in helping
listeners and members grow and improve
their businesses.
Any spare time I have is spent cycling
which is my outlet and a way
to stay fit. I love racing my bike and
300km plus per week is standard for
me.
Other than that, I love holidays and
travel. It’s rare for me to not have at
least two holidays planned at any
time. At the time of writing, I’m onboard
Singapore flight SQ232 en
route to France to see the Tour de
France and ride in the mountains of
the Pyrenees and the Alps. Later in
the year, I have a photography trip
planned to India. I’m looking for a
couple of photographers to join me
if anyone is interested?
Let’s start with your photography,
you’re a full time professional, what
are you photographing?
When asked, I say weddings primarily
but really, after being in business
for 20 years, the photography work
is more varied than that. Portraits
make up a big part of the business
and is heading toward being the primary
income source.
In addition to weddings, portraits and
some commercial work, we photograph
local sporting clubs through
winter when things are a little quieter.
Linda and our associate shooters
do all the work for these and I find
myself focusing more on the podcasts,
marketing and getting away
on holiday.
How many weddings would you do
a year? And how many portrait sessions
would you do?
Personally, I’m shooting around 12-
15 weddings per year now and I’ll
reduce that number in 2018. I have
a plan to travel from one side of the
USA to the other, staying with photographers
and interviewing them
as I go. I’ve put aside three months
to do this and another month to do
something similar in the UK.
Our associate shooters will carry on
shooting for the studio and pick up
most of the shooting while I’m away
- weddings and portraits.
Before the podcast, we were photographing
a maximum of 72 weddings
each year but it was just too much.
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We photograph around 100 Portrait
sessions per year plus engagement
shoots. The portrait sessions are
mainly centred around families and
kids with some pet shoots.
Tell us a bit more about weddings,
what got you started shooting weddings
and maybe tell us about your
first few...
I was working full-time and discovered
photography through fishing. I
was a mad keen fisho and a couple
of my mates were getting published
in fishing magazines. I wanted a slice
of that action to help offset the cost
of my fishing gear but to get published,
the magazines required photography
plus articles. I was all good
with writing, but had never taken a
photo in my life.
I purchased a Nikon F601 film camera
in 1996 and started shooting
transiency film right away - the magazines
only accepted slide film for
publication. It was a steep learning
curve and one I thrived on. I was like
a sponge!
I found my way after reading anything
and everything I could on photography
and was getting published
pretty quickly. Shooting slide film
made for quick learning with almost
no exposure latitude and the ability
to see my mistakes without a lab
making any corrections as with print
film.
Shooting slide film was the equivalent
of shooting digital but having to
wait to see your exposures. Oh... and
I had to pay to see. Each roll of Fuji
Velvia was around $50 to shoot and
process.
I realised how much I loved photography,
I had a friend who was shooting
weddings and I asked if I could carry
his bags and learn the ropes to see
if this was something I could do and
pursue for money.
I was already thinking, could it really
be possible to do photography for a
living?
Not long after, I was booked to photograph
a friend of a friends wedding.
The deal was I shoot in exchange for
them covering film, developing and
printing two sets 5”x7” prints - one
set for the couple, one set for my
portfolio.
This was the start of going pro!
This couple were on the larger side.
Actually, they were big. And it was
their photos that made up my first
promotional album, my wedding
portfolio. Linda and I went armed
with this album plus a few photos
from my second shooting days to a
local bridal expo and we booked 18
weddings!
Brides to be would ask if we had their
wedding date free and Linda would
make a point of flicking through our
empty diary and look up with a big
smile with, “you’re in luck, Andrew is
free that day!” We still laugh about
this expo and our empty diary today.
It was interesting that most of the
couples who booked us from that
expo were large couples. We heard
delighted comment after delighted
comment that we were the only
photographers at the expo featuring
a larger couple in their portfolio and
they loved it.
I was off and running!
Months later, the bookings continued,
I went part time at my day
job and Linda worked hard from
home doing all the admin, accounts,
emails, album assembly and ordering.
While raising our two baby boys
at the time.
A couple of years later, I left my then
part time job completely and it was
full time photography. We haven’t
looked back since.
How did you progress to being good
enough to be a full time wedding
shooter? How did you know you
were ready?
I didn’t really know I was ready and
I was nervous heading out to weddings
in those early days but I knew
this is what I wanted to do.
I still wasn’t a great photographer but
I was good at seeing images I liked
and replicating them at weddings.
I slowly grew my staple of ‘safe
shots’, adding new looks or poses I
preferred for ones I’d grown tired of.
I was developing a look made up of
the photographers work I was influenced
by and admired at the time.
This approach was a fast way
to learn but caused me rethink
everything further into my career
when I realised I never felt worthy of
being labelled a photographer. I was
making a living as a photographer
but struggled with the title. All this
head space stuff occurred later.
Linda and I had a mortgage, two
young children and only my income
at the time. There was no quick decision
to leave the security of my
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job until we knew we had enough
bookings and consistent enquiries to
make a go of photography.
Looking back, some of my work was
terrible but I think every photographer
would say the same thing looking
back at their work.
The clients loved what I was doing,
loved Linda and trusted us to photograph
their weddings. The enquiries
kept coming and two years after going
part-time with my day job, I was
given an ultimatum by my employer
- the other worker I was job sharing
with had given his notice... I needed
to come back full-time or quit.
I quit and we made it work. I was a
full-time photographer and Linda
and I were running a successful and
fast growing photography business.
In hindsight, quitting was the best
thing for growing the business and I
should have done it earlier. Quitting
meant no safety net and it was time
to commit to the business, get serious
about marketing and going for it.
Talk us through your process of getting
ready to shoot a wedding, what
gear do you take, bags? What about
lights or reflectors? Maybe fill us in
on a typical day.
Before a wedding I don’t like to do anything
much. I like a no stress, easy
morning and I’m already focussed on
the day and somewhat absent from
everything else going on.
One hour before I need to leave, I
have a bit of a routine in packing the
car, checking gear, showering and
changing. After so many interview
for PhotoBizX and hearing about split
pants and embarrassing moments, I
always wear dark underwear and
take spare trousers.
Gear wise, this has changed a lot
since the beginning and is always
evolving. Currently I’m using a Domke
shoulder bag which I love for it’s
ruggedness and simple utilitarian
looks.
For shooting, I’m using a Fuji X100f
and a Fuji XPro2 with a range of
lenses, almost all primes. My go to
lenses are the 23mm f1.4 (35mm
equivalent) unless I have the X100f
with me. Otherwise it’s the 56mm
f1.2 (85mm equivalent) or the 90mm
f1.4 (135mm equivalent).
For the reception coverage, I’ve
been using a Nikon D750 and primarily
a 24-70mm f2.8 lens and SB900
Speedlight with Yongnuo triggers for
any off camera flash work.
I’m yet to shoot with the Fuji EF-
X500 flash which I now have and
am hoping this will mean the end of
using the Nikon for reception coverage.
Until now, the Fuji’s just haven’t
delivered the kind of functionality I
like when working with flash at a reception.
The Nikon and speedlight
combination on the other hand, just
work flawlessly.
In addition to my shoulder bag, I have
extra speedlights, a sunbounce reflector,
tripod and other gear in the
car but honestly, I rarely use any of
it on a wedding day. Since discovering
and moving to the Fuji system, I
love working light, with minimal gear
and I’ve only just added the X100f to
the kit - until now, my preference has
been to work with a single camera
body - Fuji or Nikon. I’m making an
allowance because of the small size
and light weight of the X100f.
And after you’ve finished, what do
you do ... back up wise and also post
processing... what do you do there?
After any shoot, I drop my card and
paperwork with my studio assistant,
Tenneille. She downloads and backs
up all the files over two separate
hard drives. The files on her computer
are backed up via time machine
and the copy on the external hard
drive are also copied to another
drive automatically.
From here, all our work will be on the
one set of files with the knowledge
we have three other copies backed
up plus the original card.
I shoot in JPG and don’t use Lightroom
so our workflow probably differs
from most pro photographers.
Following an edit/cull in Photo Mechanic,
files are renamed and numbered.
These renamed files are all
put through a photoshop action for
‘enhancement’ and they are now client
ready.
We don’t do anything else with the
files at this stage unless a client is
purchasing an image. Commercial,
wedding and portrait clients will all
see these enhanced JPG’s with no
other work being done on them. Album
designing and sales sessions
are also carried out with these enhanced
files.
Once a print, album or file is purchased,
we’ll do some additional retouching
in either or both Photoshop
or Alien Skin’s Exposure.
It’s a simple, streamlined, fast and
easy approach for handling image
files.
Do you have any moments that
stand out as a wedding photographer?
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Not any particular moments, none
that would be too different from
every other photographer in that I
feel lucky to be able to do what I do.
As a whole, all the small moments
amount to what I feel has been and
remains a pretty amazing life for
Linda, our boys and me. Through
photography we have always had a
lovely home, great schooling for our
boys and plenty of overseas holidays
and time to enjoy all of them.
To think about everything we’ve
achieved through photography
amazes me.
Ok, let’s talk about podcasting,
you’re running a successful podcast
- talk to us about that part of your
life.
The podcasting has become a real
passion of mine, I love it, I love the
listeners, the Premium Members, the
community. It’s become a special
and valued part of my life.
I know I can affect clients with my
photography, but the podcast has
a similar affect... on steroids! The
emails and messages I receive from
photographers all over the world
leaving their day job to pursue photography
full time because of what
they hear on the podcast is like a
drug I can’t get enough of. I didn’t realise
the impact the podcast would
have when starting it. Sure, I hoped
and dreamt but wow, it’s incredible
now it’s happening.
The podcast started off as a one
day per week thing but it’s almost a
full-time gig now. Between the two
podcasts - Photo Biz Xposed and
The Photography Xperiment Podcast,
the interviews, editing, show
notes, emailing, managing the active
Facebook group and two virtual assistants,
it’s grown a lot in 240+ episodes
over 4 years.
Both shows are interview based
and focused on photography for
photographers all over the English
speaking world.
PhotoBizX revolves 100% around
the business side of photography.
My goal in every interview is to get
something valuable the listener can
implement into their own business
- that could be related to marketing
SEO, advertising, branding, networking,
pricing, products, sales, time
management, workflow, etc.
What continues to amaze me is just
how much guests are willing to share
about their own businesses. From
turn over figures, exact prices, advertising
copy, marketing strategies
- nothing is off limits.
The success listeners are finding
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with the information being shared
has been astounding and is the driving
force behind the show. I received
an email from Mike Seaman in the
UK last week to say he’s just gone
full time with his photography after
only recently discovering the podcast.
His email message is not out of
the ordinary. That kind of thing continues
to blow me away.
The Photography Xperiment Podcast
is a little different. The focus
here is to get inside the head of the
photographer and learn what makes
them tick. Why they do what they do,
how they approach their photography,
how they achieve what they do.
There’s a bigger focus on the creativity
behind the photography and
a lot less about the money making
side.
One listener described the two podcasts
beautifully, he said; PhotoBizX
is like an intensive business workshop
each week where you go to
learn, improve and grow as a business
operator. The Photography
Xperiment Podcast is more like sitting
around with your photographer
mates over a beer or two after class
and talking photography.
You’ve interviewed a real mix of
people from photographers to marketing
and social media experts, if
a reader was wanting to get serious
about wedding photography, what
would you advise them to get in
place first... what I mean is do they
ensure they have the right gear,
the right training or understanding
of photography and what about the
business and marketing side?
The mix of guests on the PhotoBizX
podcast has been super varied and
funnily enough, it’s not always the
big name photographers who share
the best content to help the listener
get ahead with their business. Often
it’s the lesser known photographer,
scrapping away in the trenches
fighting to be profitable that share
the real gems.
In regard to getting started as a
pro, my feeling is you need to know
how to shoot first. A photographer
should be able to create great photos
no matter the conditions they
face. Sure, some of this will come
with experience and you can’t learn
everything before you give business
a try BUT, a photographer has to be
confident in delivering something
worth paying for, from every shoot.
Once here, it’s all about the business.
And by business, I’m talking
about pricing, marketing, branding,
advertising, networking and being
able to get the phone ringing and
people booking. Without bookings
and sales, you won’t have a business
for long and you’re certainly not
a professional wedding or portrait
photographer.
The biggest hurdle I see for new
photographers is building that consistency
of bookings, shoots and
sales. That doesn’t happen by owning
flash camera gear or even being
the best photographer. Anyone trying
to profit from photography must
work on their business, there’s no
way around that unless you work for
another photographer.
One thing to add... being a pro photographer
isn’t for everyone. Some
of the happiest, best photographers
I see have a full time job and shoot
for fun. To a lot of pro photographers,
that looks and sounds pretty
attractive. Running a business can
be tough and takes a lot of work.
In saying that. I wouldn’t swap!
Are you teaching too or plan to?
My teaching is limited to writing
books and courses based on the
interview content and helping PhotoBizX
members succeed with their
businesses.
My most recent course on Facebook
Ads has been a great success
but it was all knowledge learnt from
an interview guest (Bernie Griffiths)
that members, listeners and I have
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workshopped into a strategy to get
bookings and sales fast.
I enjoyed putting that course together
and the phenomenal feedback
has me thinking about future projects.
So, in regards to teaching...
maybe.
What about future plans, what’s in
the pipeline?
More interviews, more success for
listeners, more travel, cycling and
more shooting.
I’m enjoying shooting as much as
ever, maybe more so. And this crazy
idea to travel across the USA interviewing
and staying with photographers
along the way is the nuttiest
idea I’ve had in a long time. I’d love to
see it come to fruition and I’m sure
that will lead to plenty of other opportunities,
plans and ideas.
Back to your photography, who inspires
you?
Mostly it’s my interview guests for
the podcasts. Once someone’s work
catches my eye, I follow them on Instagram
and reach out for an interview
when the time is right.
Some recent names whose work I
admire.... Joao de Medeiros, Ian Weldon,
Paul Rogers, Edwina Robertson,
Neale James, Donato DeCamillo,
Kaylee Greer, Fer Juaristi, Kirsten
Lewis.. there are so many more!
... And what keeps you going, what
drives you?
I don’t know if there’s any one thing
that drives me. I love what I do and I
feel like I’ve shaped my life to always
be able to do what I love. That alone
is pretty special so yeah, I don’t have
one thing I’m reaching to achieve
each day I wake up. I guess the plan
is to always be a little better at each
of the things I’m working on, that’s
enough drive for me.
I’ve just returned to this question and
I think what drives me is something
internal. I don’t feel it would matter
what I was doing for an income, it
feels like I was born with a drive to
find something I love to do and learn
how to do it well. Looking back, it’s
been the same with everything I’ve
taken on - from school, to sport, to
photography, to work. I just want to
be good at what I’m doing. I’m not
sure if there’s some deep issue
where I need to be proving something
to myself or someone but it just
feels like it’s part of my make up...
maybe its an eldest child thing (I’m
the eldest of four boys) and being
fiercely shaped by my parents when
younger?
Thanks Andrew, where can our readers
go to find out more and perhaps
subscribe to your podcasts?
The best place http://photobizx.com
to check out the podcasts. If readers
would like to hear the full interviews
from each guest and get a taste for
the Premium Membership, there’s a
$1 30 day trial at http://photobizx.
com/try.
For my photography work, you can
find me at http://impact-images.
com.au and I use Instagram purely
for fun and to find photographer
guests at http://instagram.com/andrew_hellmich.
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145

Nathan
Dalton
his Personal Project
"The homeless and the homeless"
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Everyone has a story,
and this is always
first and foremost
in my mind. Having
come from a
back ground with
not much money
(born in Africa) and having grown up
in a home where my parents often
reached out to the homeless with
the little that we did have, it birthed
something of a compassion towards
people less fortunate than ourselves.
Growing up I realised sadly a
lot of these people are in these positions
due to poor decision making,
however when you actually take the
time to hear their stories one can’t
but help be moved by the humanity
aspect that we are in the end all human,
we the same.
Be it Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney
- whenever I go on a business trip I
always make sure I have my camera
with me. Usually after a day’s work
and evening dinner with work colleagues
I head out into the streets
to capture whatever I may find in the
city night life. For many years my
canon 550D and 50mm 1.8 was my
faithful companion on these adventures.
Recently I have moved to Fujifilm
Xpro2 with the 23mm 1.4 lens.
The build of the Fujifilm set up certainly
comes across less intrusive as
a camera set up.
Earlier this year I started I personal
photography series called “The
homeless and the homeless”. The
inspiration behind this was driven
by a compassion for people on the
streets and to give ear to their stories
and then with their permissions
grab some photographs of their raw
reality environments. Homeless and
homeless to me meant that most
often it is not only their physical bodies
that were homeless and living
on the streets, but their dignity and
identity as human beings and sense
of belonging was also homeless. We
all have a story and we all know the
sense of warmth it brings to feel accepted
and heard. My humble efforts
were to be something of this to these
men and woman on the streets.
Like most often in life, you can start
out with good intentions and learn
that their are dangers along the way.
Someone who is coming off a high
or having had a hit of ice can pose
genuine safety issues. It would be
advisable to pursue such photography
with a friend by your side. I have
been cursed, had things thrown at
me and even chased on my adventures
in night street photography
with the homeless. One gentleman
sleeping on the floor inside a Westpac
ATM foyer was delighted when
a small group of us gave him a hamper
of food and clothes in a kit bag.
I asked If I could take a few photos
to which he nodded with a smile in
what I interpreted as approval (as
did those around me). I was taking
a few shots and decided to get really
low and lie down on the ground
and get a lower more creative angle
looking up. I would have been about
4 meters away from this gentleman
so I was not in his private space by
any means. The next thing like a African
Nile crocodile launching out
of the water to grab a zebra, this
gentleman shot up with screaming
fits of rage and headed straight towards
me. Fortunately my reflexes
were sharp (like the lucky zebra that
got away) and managed to escape
a swinging leg intended to kick me.
Once I was on my feet this gentleman
proceeded to chase me. At this
point his obvious intoxication gave
me the clear advantage to get away
as I sprinted down the side street.
Moral of the story - always be alert
and aware.
But then there are the awesome
connections one has that are more
moving than watching Slumdog Millionaire
with a hot box of popcorn.
One gentleman had lost his entire
business, factory, and family and
was now on the streets with nothing.
Yes there were a series of unhelpful
decisions that led to this point, but
in that moment, being in the pres-
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ent with this gentleman and seeing
his tears, hearing the remorse in his
tone I could not help but have a heart
that bleed in compassion towards
him. On occasion I’ll buy a pie, coke
and some treats as a small something
of giving to these men and
woman. It’s not payment for the photos
but rather a small token of love
to go hand in hand with hearing their
stories. Usually at this point I’ll take
a few photos, shake their hand and
wish them all the best for a brighter
and more hopeful future.
My growing efforts in this type of
photography is to capture creative
angles and expressions that capture
something of their story. Every line
and scar tells a story. After mentioning
that I will start taking photos I usually
carry on talking and asking questions.
Depending on the emotions I
wish to capture I carefully select my
questions (whilst respecting their
dignity of coarse). The manual toggles
and dials on the Xpro2 certainly
make the textile experience in those
environments enjoyable. Some aspects
of shooting a homeless person
makes the photography easier
when it comes to expectations as
they not a model that requires you
to take a glamours shot. Having said
that though the challenging part
is you don’t have two hours with a
homeless person and posing them
in multiple different clothing sets
getting the perfect shot. Often you
only have a few shots you can take
before they get a little agitated because
you taking to many shots.
Fast thinking, assessing the lighting,
composition all keep you on your
toes to get the best shot possible in
the few shots you do take.
From the photography aspect I
love street photography because it
teaches me you can’t always wait
for perfect conditions before getting
out the camera. It gets you shooting
and gets you out.
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"From the photography aspect
I love street
photography
because it teaches me you can't always wait for perfect conditions before
getting out the camera.
It gets you shooting and gets you out."
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"My growing efforts in this type of photography is to
capture creative angles and expressions that
capture something of their story.
Every line and scar
tells a story. ”
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ONLINE:
www.facebook.com/??????
????????????
ONLINE:
https://www.instagram.com/ispy_digital
159

Victoria
Bampton
“The Lightroom queen”
The team at Photo Live were sitting
around sharing a drink and discussing
pre digital photography versus
today’s photography. One topic we
talked about for a while is how much
post processing did photographers
do in the dark room. Talking to our
friend Sarah (see her interview earlier
in this issue) she said that people
like Ansel Adams were masters of
the darkroom.
Dodging and burning, according to
Ansel Adams were required in his
famous photo, Moonrise, so that
the sky looked darker. Doing some
Google snooping around we found
many examples of processing pre
digital. Master printer, Pablo Inirio
use to make test prints and then
make notations on what he felt an
image needed for the final print.
Today things are easier, there’s no
need to get a master printer to do
the hard work (although having a
good retoucher is a bonus for many
photographers), you can do quite a
bit of adjusting in Adobe Photoshop
Lightroom. With that in mind we
asked the Lightroom Queen herself,
Victoria Bampton about post processing
of images both in the past
and in today’s digital world.
Victoria welcome to Photo Live, can
you start with telling us about yourself.
Thanks for the invitation. I’m a Lightroom
author based in England,
where I live with a cheeky West
Highland White Terrier called Charlie.
My father has been a professional
photographer since the 1970’s,
so I grew up in the family business.
I worked with him for a few years,
then started a raw processing company,
offering editing services for
wedding photographers. When the
Lightroom beta became available in
2006, I knew it was going to revolutionize
photography workflows, so I
jumped in with both feet.
How did you become the Lightroom
Queen?
Immediately following Lightroom 1’s
release, I was spending a lot of time
answering questions on the forums,
and other forum members kept suggesting
I compile them into an ebook.
Imagining a 10 page document,
I decided to give it a try... and it grew
from there! Thanks to the support of
my loyal readers, I now get to spend
all my time writing and supporting
Lightroom users.
Back to the opening paragraph, do
you know much about pre digital processing
of photos as in dodge and
burn and other techniques used?
I understand the basic idea, but that’s
before my time! The same principles
still apply today though, whether
you’re using a digital darkroom or a
chemical one.
The aim has always been to draw
the eye to certain areas of the photo,
and away from distractions. It’s
fascinating to see how they used to
mark up the photos in “the old days”
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and we can do essentially the same
thing today with our digital tools.
On to Lightroom, is working in the
post processing area your full time
job? What’s involved in your typical
work week?
These days, my business partner
runs Photoshop Services, our raw
processing company. Since 2012,
Lightroom has been my full time job.
My normal week includes writing
regular tutorial blog posts, replying
to emails from my readers and supporting
users on numerous Lightroom
forums including my forum
(https://www.lightroomforums.net)
and the official bug report/feature
request forum (https://feedback.
photoshop.com/photoshop_family/).
I spend a lot of time testing Adobe
software, and I’m currently working
on 2 new books, with 1 more book
and 2 video series in the works after
that. I never get bored!
Are you shooting much yourself and
what’s your favourite genre of photography?
I don’t get to shoot as much as I’d
like to, so vacations are my time to
escape the office, travel and shoot.
Landscapes and seascapes are my
favorites, because it’s peaceful and
calm. I enjoy photographing animals
too, as I can get lost in the moment,
waiting to see what they’ll do next.
Photography has to be one of the
best ways to relax!
Can we get a few tips? For example,
you’ve gone out and taken some
landscape photos in colour, what’s
the first few things you do in Lightroom?
When I get back from a shoot, the
first job has to be culling the bad photos
and picking my favorites. Most
of us tend to get a bit snap-happy
and editing all those photos can be
overwhelming. Sorting through them
first, allows us to focus our time and
efforts on the best photos.
Before you start editing, it’s important
to stop and analyze the photo.
Where does your eye go, are there
any distractions, and then technically,
is it too light, too dark, not enough
shadow or highlight detail, does it
have a color cast, is there noise, and
so forth. The results of that analysis
affect what I do next, but most of
the time, I start with Exposure, getting
it in the right ball park, followed
by Highlights and Shadows, and
then Contrast, because Highlights
and Shadows will have flattened the
midtones. Once that’s about right,
it’s easier to go back and fine tune
the white balance. Then I move on
to clarity and local adjustments, and
finish up with sharpening and noise
reduction.
I find a lot of photographers struggle
with setting the white balance, especially
on landscapes. In a lovely landscape,
there’s often nothing neutral
to use for a click white balance. Over
time, you can learn to adjust it by
eye, but if you struggle, shooting a
light neutral card such as a WhiBal
makes it really easy to get the “correct”
white balance, which you can
then tweak to taste.
What about Black and White - same
question...
A great Black & White starts with a
great color photo. The white balance
can be used creatively for B&W, but
as a general rule, I’d try to at least
get the overall Exposure and White
Balance right before switching to
B&W. Next I’d tweak the B&W mix,
perhaps darkening blue skies and
lightening pale greens to add to the
contrast. I love a contrasty B&W image,
but you have to be careful not
to lose the shadow and highlight
detail. The Clarity control can give
the image a nice gritty feel without
losing the detail. You started out talking
about Ansel Adams, and dodging
and burning using the Adjustment
Brush can make or break a B&W image.
It allows you to draw the eye of
the viewer to specific areas of the
photo, and away from distractions.
And for portraits - what is the first
few things you do?
I treat portraits in exactly the same
way, first analyzing the photo before I
start making adjustments. For closeups,
I’m more likely to do a little teeth
whitening and spot removal, but I
don’t like to go overboard. There’s
nothing worse than a portrait that
looks like it’s been photoshopped!
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Let’s talk presets - love them or not?
Why?
Like any tool, presets can help
or hinder, depending on the way
they’re used. I see a lot of people
trying to use presets for absolutely
everything, but they’d get a better
result if they learned to use the sliders.
Presets also tend to come and
go with fashion, making photos look
really dated, whereas good photo
editing is timeless.
On the other hand, presets can be a
great way of getting some inspiration
when you’re stuck, or learning which
sliders to combine to get a particular
kind of look, or just ensuring consistency
over a set of images.
Adobe’s subscription plan has proven
popular as it makes a lot of their
software more immediately affordable,
but does this give opportunity
for different companies like Capture
One or even Apple’s Photos opportunity
to break into the market in a
bigger way?
The Photography Plan is a fantastic
deal, because it means everyone
can have access to industry-standard
tools at a very low cost. There
has been a sudden influx of new editing
tools, and some of them show
great promise. That’s really exciting.
There hasn’t been a lot of choice for
users over the last few years, and
competition is a really good thing, as
it pushes these companies to continue
to grow and innovate.
You’ve got a bunch of great books
on Lightroom, even a free one, tell
us about your books, how long does
it take you to put one together and
are you asked by publishers or even
Adobe to write them or are they your
own product?
How long it takes depends on the
size of the book, but I like to spend
the time to think it through properly.
A free eBook might take 3-4 weeks
to perfect, but on the other end of
the scale, I spent 2 years completely
rewriting my main LRCC/6 book.
I’ve been offered book deals by
big publishers, but I’ve turned them
down. I want to be able to write the
books that readers want to read, not
the books that the publishers want
to publish. Self-publishing gives me
control over the whole process,
so I’m not limited by page or word
counts, or someone else’s vision of
how the book should look, but instead,
I can take feedback directly
from my readers. They’ve given me
some great suggestions over the
years, and I’m constantly tweaking
and improving the books based on
their comments.
Finally if someone wants to learn
about Lightroom where should they
start? I mean do they get your free
download book and go from there?
Yes, my free Lightroom Quick Start
eBook:
www.lightroomqueen.com/quickstart
would be a great place to start. It’s
designed, not only to guide new
users through the basics, but also
helps them avoid the most frequent
problems I see, such as thinking their
photos are “in” Lightroom and then
deleting the originals. Many readers
then move onto the Fast Track that
weaves its way through my main
Missing FAQ book, taking their learning
one stage further, and then they
can dip in and out of the rest of book
when a particular topic takes their
interest.
Adobe also has some excellent Getting
Started videos:
helpx.adobe.com/support/Lightroom.html,
which are an ideal companion to my
Quick Start book.
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Left: Original image
Left Bottom: Straight black and white
Right Bottom: Brushed black and white
ONLINE:
www.lightroomqueen.com
www.facebook.com/lightroomqueen
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podc
No matter what you’re sort of photography
you’re into, there’s a podcast
for you. From podcasts dealing
with gear and news like Petapixel,
to the brilliant Candid Frame where
host Ibarionex Perello interviews
photographers and digs into their
stories. Scott Bourne (one of our interviewees)
is a long time podcast
host as is Chris Marquardt with Tips
from the Top Floor. The great thing
about podcasts is you can listen anytime.
For me it’s driving to work. My
journey each day is around 50 minutes
so plenty of time to listen to 1 or
2 per day... sometimes more.
Friends they tell me they listen whilst
visiting the gym, going for a walk, or
riding the bus. I plug my iPhone into
the USB plug (or via Bluetooth) and
select a podcast and while driving,
I’m either catching up with the latest
in the world of photography, listening
to someone tell their story or hear
about tips and techniques.
Over the next few pages are some
of our favourites ...
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asts
for photographers
The Digital
Story
Hosted by Derek Story, this is a very
community focused podcast with
Derek talking through news in the
world of photography, tech topics,
tips and tools and often including
regular blog posts on the show. The
Digital Story is informative and fun,
and Derek has one of those warm
deep voices that you like listening
too - like Ibarionex.
www.thedigitalstory.com
Tips From
The Top
Floor
Or as Chris Marquardt often shortens
the title to TFTTF, is a podcast
that’s been around longer then any
other. TFTTF is a weekly show as
Chris describes it “... about all things
photography since 2005. Reaches
a global audience and features a
strong community...” Listening to the
show is like listening to a friend talk
about photography. Chris answers
listener questions, chats about the
occasional new gear release and
gets into detail on how things work,
doing so in such a way that the listener
finds fascinating. Educational,
fun and often inspirational. TFTTF
also has a great community using
Slack.
www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com
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improve
photography
It’s a mix of gear, news and specific
genres on the Improve Photography
podcast feed, topics include travel,
portraits, post processing and photo
news. The on air talent are friendly
and knowledgeable and well worth a
listen!
www.improvephotography.com/category/roundtable
PPN:
Photo
Podcast
Network
Hosted by Scott Bourne with cohost
Marco Larousse, this is Scott’s
new portal for all their photography
podcasts. The network is for people
who love photography and as the
site says, is not affiliated with any
camera manufacturer. Scott has an
informed approach to any podcast
and is one smart guy who doesn’t
take in all the PR “BS” and tells it
like it is. Marco too is up front on
any issues from camera brands. The
show is a mix of news and tips and
opinions on all things photography.
A great chemistry exists between
these two guys and you need to add
this to your podcast feed!
www.photopodcasts.com
The Candid
Frame
Host Ibarionex interviews photographers
from around the planet and
from very different genres about
how they got into photography and
who they are, who or what they
shoot and gets into the “whys” not
about the gear, but about the passion
of photography. Listening to
The Candid Frame is like listening
into a conversation between friends
who love photography. Great voice
to listen to also, I could listen to Ibarionex
read a bunch of audio books!
www.ibarionex.net/thecandidframe
Photobiz
Xposed
Hosted by Australian pro photographer,
Andrew Hellmich this is one for
the photographer wanting to grow
their photography business. Andrew
interviews other photographers who
are full time and some part time but
all working as photographers as part
of their job. Sometimes Andrew will
interview marketing experts, design
experts and social media pros... all
with the view of helping the amateur
and pro who want to turn their passion
into the career. Andrew’s also a
fun guy to go street shooting with -
we had a fun competition one time
in Sydney... but that’s a story for another
issue.
www.photobizx.com
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Other’s we love include TWIP - This
Week in Photo which is hiatus at
the moment so I’ve not mentioned it
in the main list. Hosted by Fredrick
Van Johnston, the TWIP show was
probably one of the most listened
to shows on air. Originally it featured
Scott Bourne, Alex Lindsay,
Ron Brinkman and the always smiling
Steve Simon. To me those were
the golden years of TWIP - fun and
informative, but to his credit, Fredrick
Van Johnson has taken over the network
and had moulded TWIP into his
show. What happens next while the
show is being re-tooled ..? Well, we’ll
wait and see.
Also check out Martin Bailey’s podcast,
Lensworks, Photofocus,
Petapixel and highly recommended
as is LensWork and The Grid by
Scott Kelby.
This is only a short list - there’s dozens,
maybe hundreds more to keep
you entertained and educated every
week, so go exploring on your podcast
app whichever that may be, and
feed your photography passion.
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Corey Hayes
Around a year ago I came across
Corey Hayes’ photos through a project
he did called, “Alter Ego.”
That project got quite a bit of media
as it showed a bunch of regular
people who love dressing up in
cosplay. It was almost like finding
our your neighbour was a super
hero... looking deeper into Corey’s
photography you find out he’s passionate
about photographing people.
Whether it’s actors, musicians...
it’s all about people. Corey’s based
in New York City and has had his
work appear in The New York Times,
Vogue UK, GQ and many other magazines
and has published a book,
Nightshift NYC with Russell Leigh
Sharman and Cheryl Harris Sharman.
Corey welcome to the first edition of
Photo Live...
I’d love to know what it’s like to be
a working photographer in New
York City, sitting thousands of miles
away in Australia, we have this preconceived
conception of New York
being a thriving, gritty in places city,
with people everywhere and always
something happening.
That is usually people’s perception
of it, and there’s quite a bit of truth
to it. For me New York has always
been a very neighborhood scene.
I live on the Upper West Side and
for the most part stay pretty close. I
know my laundry person, the people
at my local teashop, and recognize
folks at all of my usual haunts, so
for me it is not unlike some of what
I experienced growing up in a small
town. Being a working photographer
is tough! I think I can best sum it up
with a story. The first time I dropped
off my portfolio was at Blue Note Records.
When the person at the front
desk took it she placed it in a pile of
other portfolios and one in particular
I recognized as one of my favorite
photographers. I immediately realized
that I needed to constantly be
working on improving my work as the
people I was competing with were
some of the best photographers in
the world.
Tell us about your photography, what
sort of work are you doing most often?
After spending about 5 years in NYC
assisting other photographers and
another 8 doing work as a freelance
photographer, this past year I’ve
made a big shift in my work and have
started working with a non-profit
called New York City relief that helps
the homeless here in NYC. Most of
my day to day work these days is
photographing the poor and homeless
folks we serve, and trying to
help them recapture some dignity in
their lives.
What about personal work - do you
have much time for projects?
I do still take on clients from time to
time, and try to make time for personal
work as well. I find that now
that I’m trying to make these two
areas converge. I’m a bit more discerning
when it comes to which jobs
I take. After working with the homeless
for the past year, it’s hard to go
back to a place of wanting to see a
lot of fancy hair and makeup in my
images. Right now I want to see
more of the beauty that resides in
each person without anything added.
Photographing people right when
they walk into the studio, that is what
I’m exploring right now.
You do quite a lot of actors headshots,
what’s your process? I mean
what do try to capture on a shoot?
Wow, these are really good questions!
My process always begins
with a meeting. I always try to grab
coffee with the actor I’m planning to
shoot beforehand. If I do anything
right in my work it starts with getting
to know someone first before put-
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ting a camera in between us. Then I
ask a few key questions like; “What
characters appeal to you?”, “Who
are you usually cast as?”, and “If you
could have any actor’s career, who’s
would it be?”. This helps me to figure
out what they want an image of
them to portray. I don’t believe in a
generic headshot. If you are an actor,
I think that your headshot should aim
directly towards the roles you want
to play. When I did Dane DeHaan’s
first head shots out of acting school,
I was really impressed that he had
such a clear grasp on what made
his image and how that affected the
roles he wanted to be cast for. The
photography is the photography, but
the forethought of “What do I bring
to this craft?” can really help create
a headshot that defines you.
What about your musician photography,
do you approach it differently to
something like the actors?
Yes! End of the day, all musicians
want is a photo to make them look
cool. I don’t mean that in a bad
way or conceited way. Actors want
something specific, and usually want
it to play into their image. Musicians
are usually much more open to
something artistic, and creative, as
long as it fits with where they are
creatively. With musicians, I want to
listen to their latest songs and that
alone is usually enough to give me
a starting point. I can start thinking
about visuals after listening to and
reading the lyrics. They are also
usually a bit more interested in
collaboration which usually elevates
the places that the photos can go.
Sometimes not. But I’ve been pretty
lucky to work with some really
creative people.
Your Chrysta Bell photos are stunning,
they seem to really capture her
personality, as many of your photos
do, how do you bring that out?
Thank you! Chrysta was still living in
Austin and I had just moved to NYC
when that shoot came together.
Capturing someone’s personality
depends on two parts for me. The
first is creating a safe space for
someone to be themselves. The
second is what is that person willing
to bring to the shoot? I believe that
I’m pretty good and creating a space
where people can not be judged and
have a sense of freedom to be part
of a creative process, but part two I
don’t have much control over. It reminds
me of how people feel when
they look in a mirror. We all see a reflection
that is distorted through how
we feel about ourselves, but some
people are comfortable with that
view, and others just are not.
The Jenny Owen Youngs photos are
very film like, beautiful grain, what’s
the story behind them?
Jenny and I became friends through
other musicians I had photographed.
We had talked about collaborating
and though a few conversations we
had talked about how she is a huge
Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. She
is also an introspective, funny, multi-layered
person and not that comfortable
being photographed. We
went a diner in New Jersey that Jenny
loved and shot for about and hour
and a half. I feel like those photos are
actually more fitting now than when
we shot them a few years ago because
Jenny and her partner recently
started a Buffy podcast that you
can find here: https://bufferingthevampireslayer.com/
You’ve got lots of beautiful black and
white, talk about that and perhaps
share how you create a black and
white.
Black and white photography in
some ways has been a return to
where I started in photography
when I worked in the darkroom. I
don’t want to bore people with the
HOW of making a black and white,
especially because I’m not a tech
head when it comes to photography.
What interests me to constantly try
to get rid of the the non-essentials
in my images. I’m pretty much a
minimalist in both my work and my
life, so I like seeing how much of the
non-essential information I can get
rid of. This is why I’m so drawn to
black and white. It’s making a portrait
of the bare essentials of that person.
Currently I’m especially drawn to find
beauty in the rawness or unrefined
parts of people.
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Ok, what about something funny
that’s happened during a shoot, care
to share something with our readers?
There have been lot’s of funny moments
and maybe even more when
I was assisting other photographers
in NYC. I think one that was
both funny and interesting is while I
was photographing cosplayers for
my “Alter-Ego” project. One of the
cosplayers named Ruby Rinekso
brought his Man-Bat costume which
took him a solid hour to fully put on.
Ruby is usually a really sweet, funny,
rock-and-roll kind of guy, but once
the costume was on, his persona
completely changed. My photo assistant
Claire was so creeped out
by it that she was really shook up
for the rest of the day. I found that to
be one of the most interesting parts
of the entire cosplay project; seeing
people’s personalities change once
they became the character they
were cosplaying.
Let’s say a fairly new photographer
you meet asks for a few tips on portrait
photos - what 4 or 5 tips would
you give them?
1. Shoot what you love. If you love
something, then it matters to you. If it
matters to you, it will never be boring
and you’ll always want to return to it
and discover more about it. One of
the most impactful things I’ve ever
done is to revisit a subject over and
over.
2. Photography is something you get
good at fairly quickly, and then takes
a really long time to master. (I’m nowhere
close to mastering it!!)
3. Know when to pick up the camera
and when to put it down. It is too
easy to live vicariously through photographing
something, and not actually
being part of it.
4. Find your style. This is really
tough, but it comes through finding
out about yourself. There’s a million
photographers out there, but none
have your accumulated experience
or point of view. Once you find your
point of view, and what you want to
say, there will only be one photographer
that shoots like you.
5. Respect your subject. Anything
I get that is personal from my subjects
begins with respecting them
first. This takes time and there are
no shortcuts. I don’t believe that any
subject/person is just for you to get
your needs met.
What gear do you take on your on
location shots or on-the-street musician
photography
I’ve admitted I’m no gear-head when
it comes to photography, so I travel
light. I’ve been much more interested
in shooting with natural light over the
past 3 years which makes it even
easier to travel unencumbered. My
camera is a Canon 5D mark III, and
24-75mm lens and a fixed 85mm.
I love fixed lenses! They make me
move more to get the framing I want.
Aside from that, usually a reflector,
or scrim, some blotting papers and
chewing gum. (The gum is only for
me! I don’t let people chew gum
when they are being photographed!)
Finally Corey, where can readers go
to see more of your photography??
My website of course, and there is a
photoblog there that I post to pretty
frequently.
(www.coreyhayesphoto.com)
Instagram: @coreyhayesphotos
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film classi
CAME
It’s a cold winters day here in
Australia and so what better thing
to do then head into your favourite
camera store and talk to the
pros about some old classic film
cameras. We met Tom Taylor from
Camera House on Grenfell Street
in Adelaide and got to play with
these beauties.
First up is the Pentax K1000, we
asked Tom all about it...
The Pentax K1000 model was
Made by the Asahi Optical co
in Japan. A 35mm full manual
controlled slr body, Completely
mechanical not reliant on batteries
to run any part of the camera
with the exception of a button cell
battery for the built in light meter.
Utilizing the K-mount pentax
fit lens bayonet , Pentax
manufactured some of the best
lenses to support their cameras.
Made from 1976-1997 It was
almost bullet proof and most
Schools were supplied this model
not only for there build quality
but also a very easy camera to
operate.
This camera when new would have
sold for about a third of the price
of the Nikon equivalent and yet
equally as good.
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c
RAS
RAS
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"A great deal of Leica M3 bodies used to cover th
Next up we saw this old Zeiss
sitting on the shelf, Tom what can
you tell us about it?
This is the Zeiss super Ikonta
533/16 - this one being the early
model made in 1937-52 Manufactured
in the Zeiss factory in Germany
.
Uncoupled exposure meter, 12 exposures
6cmx6cm on 120 roll film,
This is a most awesome compact
medium format camera with the
sharpest lens on the planet,
Over engineered being German
manufactured, Zeiss Tessar 80mm
2.8 LENS IN A Compur rapid shutter.
Considering the age of this camera
it would still produce outstanding
image quality and highly valued
by camera collectors. One of the
best built and compact medium
made.
Then I saw that classic red dot
calling me.. the Leica M6, ok Tom
talk to us about the Leica cameras
here...
The Leica M6 is now a classic
35mm rangefinder camera that
comes from a long line of M series
bodies which started from 1954
onwards and now M8 M9 Didital
bodies.
Made in the Ernst Leitz wetzlar
factory in the early days.
M6 accepts all m mount Leica bayonet
lenses and leica screw mount
with adaptor, These are the best
optic available for 35mm cameras.
This one is a chrome body and
at $1750.00 great value. These
seems to go up in value each year
and are really popu;ar with press/
photo journalist and street photographers
,One word sums it all
up. Amazing optical performanc e
of their lenses,
Compact beautifully manufactured
equipment and cost a fortune
when new.
A new M9 or 240 body now
$9500.00 aud. Pus A standard
Summilux or summicrom lens another
$2500/3500 Australian.
A great deal of Leica M3 bodies
used to cover the Vietnam war and
other uprising around the world.
Some of the top press photographers
are still pounding their old
leica gear and still winning top
press photo awards.
French master and pioneer of
street photography Henri Cartier-Bresson
used a Leica M3 for
most of his photography, One of
many famous artist who chose the
Leica system.
184

e Vietnam war and other uprising around the world.
"
Now The Vintage Leica 111F with
collapsible Elmar 5cm f3.5 Lens,
Again same factory in Germany
1950-56 This model accepts the
Leica screw mount lenses not the
M bayonet type, Very useable but
the most desirable models to camera
collectors and historians.
Some of the early models can
easily sell for massive figures at
auction.
In 2012 in Vienna Austria a Leica
O series prototype one of only 6
made in 1923 was auctioned and
sold for a world record of $2.79
Million dollars US.
So please check your Grandparents
house and sheds, Who knows
what may turn up.
All the 35mm leica cameras are
popular for a great number of reasons,
German engineering, precise
optics and compact easy to use
models that travel well and super
reliable, The bonus is like the old
vintage car they get more valuable
with age if looked after.
Most shooter will use black and
white film but colour can be used.
Rolls Royce of the camera business,
Not unlike classic BMW
Mercedse benz and Audi etc
We hung around for a while longer,
talking about old cameras, I took
a liking to a few range finders and
played around with them. Outside
it began to rain and I thought
about those iconic street shooters
wandering Paris or New York
with their rangefinders in hand.
Capturing life on the streets no
matter what the weather. Eventually
we had to leave and get back
to the real world of work, digital
everything and a life where the
web is the centre of your day. I can
only imagine the peace of wandering
those streets without needing
or wanting to check Facebook or
email. Where there were no smart
phones that interrupted the simple
joy of being alive and taking
photos.
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One thing photographers have in
common is the desire to progress as
artists. For some it might be technical
skills, others the creative, more
artistic side. And for many of us, it
is both sides that we want to grow
in. Fortunately some photographers
that are further along that pathway
are more then happy to share and
teach others. Jim Harmer is one of
those photographers. He’s got an
amazing eye, brilliant technical skills
and loves sharing his knowledge.
You may have heard of Jim through
his online site, Improve Photography
or from his podcast or social media.
We got together with Jim and asked
how it all began...
Thanks Jim for talking to us, tell us
how a law student decides instead
to be a photographer, educator and
podcaster..?
During law school I taught adult-ed
classes at night for retirees. I started
the blog as a way to communicate
with my little class so I wouldn’t
have to repeat the teaching of the
basics of photography each time I
I think what helped me grow in the
early stages were that the photography
blogging arena was much less
competitive back then. There really
weren’t that many photography
blogs, so it helped me to get started.
Also, I began locally. I was teaching
classes and workshops in my own
city, so people got to know me per-
JIM
harmer
got a new class. Pretty soon, hundreds
and then thousands of people interest in my website. It made peosonally
and it generated much more
were visiting ImprovePhotography. ple comment and share my articles,
com, so I started writing more resources
for the world. The site took pressive than it really was back then.
which made the site look more im-
off from there and now gets a million
people a month visiting the site. You’ve got an amazing portfolio and
somehow you have carried over a
look or style across all genres, tell us
about that.
Why do you think you’ve managed to
be so successful, what I mean is you
have a massive following online that
is a full time business if I’m right?
I feel like the look of my photos is
constantly changing as I improve
and learn knew things. I wouldn’t
necessarily even say that it’s super
consistent. I try to keep things fresh
and not get stuck too much in a rut.
What’s your favourite genre to shoot,
if you have one of course?
Landscape
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You’re also a teacher, can you tell us
about that journey.
Once my blog started getting massive
amounts of traffic, I started
selling online photography classes.
This was before Youtube was huge,
so they sold really well at the time.
I’ve evolved as things have changed,
and now I do most of my photography
teaching on ImprovePhotographyPlus.com,
which is a subscription
site where photographers can get
hundreds of hours of photography
instruction, Lightroom presets, and
tons more for $19/month.
What are you offering photography
students on your Improve Photography
site?
Improve Photography publishes free
tutorials every single day, has an
active youtube channel, releases
a podcast twice a week, and maintains
a very popular subscription
site called ImprovePhotographyPlus.
com, where people can subscribe
to get video training on all different
types of photography. We also offer
those same videos as one-off purchases
on the Improve Photography
store.
On to podcasting and content creation,
when did that all start?
I started back in 2009 and the site
has grown incredibly since then. We
now have a team of 15 writers who
create content each day, and awesome
podcasters who produce our
show.
Tell us about the latest changes in
the Improve Photography Podcast
network. What I mean is I’ve noticed
a few podcast networks (for want of
189

We’ve decided to streamline our
podcasting. Before, we were producing
multiple different shows and
it became unwieldy to produce that
many podcasts each week, and the
marketing became jumbled to tell
a new user to subscribe to 5 different
shows. Now, we’re moving
everything to one podcast--the Improve
Photography Podcast. Each
Monday, users get a new episode of
a different genre-specific podcast
like Photo Taco, Tripod (landscape
photography), Portrait Session, and
Latitude (Travel Photography). Then
each Friday the listeners get our
popular roundtable show where we
have the hosts of all the podcasts
come on and talk photography.
My goal is to create the best quality
photography podcast with excellent
prep. Something information
packed and well-produced. Creating
the most number of shows was the
wrong goal.
Ok - I have to ask, social media,
what’s working, what’s not, what’s
frustrating you and why?
Over the years I’ve amassed a gigantic
social media following. I’m really
grateful for that, and there was a
time that it was the single thing that
helped the site to grow. We now
have a million followers on social
media, and 650,000 of them are on
Facebook. Yet, Facebook only generates
less than 2% of the traffic to
ImprovePhotography.com now.
Facebook has taken a stubbornly
anti-small business attitude over the
last few years. They publicly stated
their goal is to only show posts
to 1% of the people you get to like
your Facebook page. It now costs
me over $3,000 just to boost my
Facebook posts so that HALF of the
audience I built gets to see the post.
Think about how insane that is!
Facebook essentially says “Send
traffic from your site over to Facebook.
Get them to like your page. If
you do, we’ll let you pay us $3,000
to let half of them see your post.
Otherwise, only 1% of them will see
it.” No thanks. I’m done playing their
game.
My efforts going forward are on Youtube
and making my own site the
best it can be. I’d rather just encourage
people to come right to the site,
where they can follow everything
we do.
So the best place for readers and
fans is the Improve Photography
site?
Absolutely. We are pouring a crazy
amount of resources into making the
Improve Photography site the very
best it can be. With a large team of
writers producing excellent content
each day, tons of great videos, podcasts,
and more... it’s the place to go.
Fun question, what would be a
dream destination to visit and shoot
and what would you take with you?
Right at the top of my list right now
is Tasmania. It’s almost never talked
about in photography circles, but I’ve
spent the last two years working on
a new app called Really Good Photo
Spots. It’s an app with THOUSANDS
of awesome photography locations
around the world, that you can easily
search and find. It’s perfect when
traveling that you can just press the
“Spots near me” button and BOOM!
Your trip research is done for you.
Anyway, while researching locations
for the app, I was blown away with
the spots in Tasmania. It’s an incredible
place, and one that I never hear
photographers talking about.
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ONLINE:
www.ImprovePhotography.com
www.photographyidaho.com
193

chris
niccolls
Chris you’re the host of The
Camera Store TV, how did that
start out
Jordan and I decided to do a
store tour really only in an effort
to have some sort of audio visual
appeal on our website. He had
just recently started at TCS and
had a background in film making. I
taught photography regularly and
so was capable of public speaking
in front of crowds. So we figured
we would give it a try and see
what happened. It was not our
best production to say the least
but there was something there and
we worked well together. The rest
is history.
Do you think the traditional
photography store business model
needs to change? What I mean is
we’ve seen major retailers in the
past close, how do you see the
future for your type of store?
It’s has changed drastically. If you
think of it in terms of a pyramid,
the base and largest group of
people were the casual memory
makers wanting point and shoots
and simple cameras. In the
middle you had a smaller group of
enthusiasts who took photography
in a more serious way buying SLRs
and advanced lenses. At the top of
course the smallest group are the
working professionals. Cell phones
largely took away that whole
bottom layer and thus a big part of
the photo industries business. So
the key for us during this downturn
is to diversify into drones, and
video equipment, sound gear,
and even telescopes. Further it is
because of our website and across
canada sales which is in no small
part supported by the YouTube
brand we’ve created. Hopefully
in the future we can branch out
into more international sales and
continue to improve our web
presence.
On the Youtube channel, you’ve
probably tested and played with
as many different cameras as
194

The camera store TV host
anyone on air, any cameras
stand out for you with the type of
photography you like?
You bring up a unique problem
for sure. At the outset it sounds
amazing getting to use the
latest photo gear all the time as
it arrives. We also do get early
access to a lot of new products
which is as awesome as it sounds.
However it also creates an issue
for me as a photographer. I’m
always having to start from square
one learning the ins and outs of a
new camera. I don’t get to really
achieve that level of comfort using
a camera for a long time. That
intuitive level of proficiency that
really makes photography flow.
Not complaining though! I do get to
play with all the latest gear all the
time.
Speaking of your photography
what is it you love shooting?
For me i started out shooting
black and white film on the street.
195

I love photographing people, the
randomness of life, and beautiful
light as I find it. I will say though
that doing the show has pleasantly
forced me into many other fields
of photography. For the show i now
have to do landscapes, people,
architecture, and even a little food
once in awhile. It’s helped me grow
quite abit.
Tell us what would be the perfect
day for you (taking photos)
My perfect day taking photos
would actually be to put the
camera in a bag and go fly fishing
or shooting firearms instead.
Maybe a nice canoe ride or
hike. But if i still take the camera
with me that counts right!? I am
thankful that the show keeps.me
shooting on a regularly basis so
that I can pursue other things I
want in my freetime.
Back to Youtube and podcasts in
general, where do you see this
media in say 5 years?
That’s tough one to predict. We
will obviously always want media
at our fingertips from now on. The
age of scheduled programming is
over and we want it how we want
it, when we want it. On demand.
My oldest son is twelve and
YouTube is such a big part of there
age group now. They will grow up
to be the producers of content in
the future and from what I can tell
now, it’s gonna be a video game
world.
Some of our favourite shows are
yours and also was, Digital Rev
that seems to have gone into
hiatus since Kai, Lok and Alamby
moved on, do you have any
thoughts on that? Can they or will
they bounce back?
That was a big change for sure
and I’m surprised they didn’t try
to at least keep the engine going
more fervently. I’m happy for kai
and lok though. They seem way
more creative and way happier too
now. In the end the show is really
it’s people and not it’s brand so I’m
happy to see followers joining the
ex digital rev crew in their future
endeavours.
For readers who’d like to perhaps
get into creating a channel or
even a podcast what do you
and Jordan and the team do to
prepare for an episode?
Say goodbye to our families and
disappear for hours and hours
until the children barely recognize
us. Im joking, but only slightly. It’s
lots of hours and lots of work and
Jordan and I easily spend more
time together than with anyone
else. Kinda scary... for him mostly.
Anyone getting started on a
channel should be passionate
about it and give themselves over
to it.
A fun couple of questions, when
you and Jordan have a few drinks
to do your gear show, who drinks
the most and what’s the choice of
beverage?
Weve done quite a few now
and it varies from pitcher sized
old fashions, to straight whisky,
to craft beer. He always drinks
more because he loses all the
drinking challenges. We need to
find something he can beat me at
to level the playing field. I’m also
thinking tequila...
Let’s say you can choose one
camera and one lens to go on
a holiday, what would you take?
Let’s say a warmer climate like
Asia in spring..
For me personally I use Panasonic
and own a GH5. For me it’s the
ideal combo of stills and video.
Jordan also has one and loves it
for that very same reason. It has to
be appreciated that the lenses and
tripods required are also smaller
for micro 4/3rds and this all helps
to make them ideal travel cameras.
What bag would you choose for
that trip?
I’m digging the Manfrotto bags
lately. I like their green street
series bit overall they are stylish
enough and affordable. We’re
looking into the peak design gear
as well and if I had unlimited finds
I’d probably own a few ona bags by
now.
What’s your favourite photo you
have taken so far?
196

Oh man. Probably a picture of a
young elephant trainer in Thailand
with his elephant. It’s black and
white and you can find it on my
Instagram feed @tcstvchris he had
such a genuine expression and I
enjoyed the scale and framing the
elephant created around him. It’s
funny but for me photos are like
fish. After I’ve “caught” one I let it
go and move on. Maybe I should
spend some time looking back a
little.
And finally where can readers go
to find out more about you and the
TCSTV?
Definitely please visit the above
Instagram channel and keep
watching the show in youtube.
Jordan and I feel the thing that
makes our show unique is how
much of our actual sincere
personality is in there. No act
is put on although we do swear
more IRL. Also our live show is
now nearly.every saturday mirning
at 930mst so we cant even edit
our personalities on that one.
Watching the show is the best way
to get to know us. We also love
taking to people on Twitter and
Instagram so check out the feeds.
Chris
Twitter @tcstvchris @tcstvjordan
Instagram @tcstvchris
@thecamerastoretv
Jordan
197

a film by Cheryl Dunn
Everybody Street is the sort of
documentary that we really need
more of. It’s an in-depth look at
some of the world’s best street
photographers who use New
York City as their canvas. The
film covers 9 decades of street
photography and pays tribute to
the “spirit of street photography
through a cinematic exploration of
New York City.”
There’s a flow to the film, the
pacing is tight so you never
get bored or drift off. Featuring
iconic photographers including
Bruce Davidson, Mary Ellen
Mark, Boogie, Bruce Gilden and
many more, it’s a film that shows
you different approaches to the
street photography genre by very
different photographers. From
Boogies’ (Vladimir Milivojevich)
attraction to the darker side
of people he’s captured gang
members aiming guns at him,
people shooting up and the danger
of the street at night.
Everybody Street also features
the “in-your-face” brilliance of
photographer, Bruce Gilden who
captures characters he comes
across as he wanders through
the city. His style is unique and
not often copied, you have to
see him in action to understand
what I mean. With a sense of
humour, Gilden documents
the unique among the city’s
inhabitants. Then you’ve got the
prolific Mary Ellen Mark (1940-
2015) who travelled the planet
extensively, documenting subjects
such as Mother Teresa, brothels
in Bombay, homelessness, the
198

“A picture is a picture.
What’s it matter what
tool you use?”
- Jill Freedman
demonstrations in opposition to
the Vietnam War and transvestite
culture to touch the surface of her
accomplishments.
Also included are Jill Freedman,
Rebecca Lepkoff, Jeff
Mermelstein, Joel Myerowitz,
Martha Cooper, Jame Shabazz,
Clayton Patterson, Ricky Powell,
Max Kozloff, Luc Sante and
Elliot Erwitt.
It’s a must see film, not just for
those who are interested in street
photography, but photography
across all genres. Hearing how these
amazing artists approach their photography
is an education no matter what you’re into
shooting. It’s available on a number of sites
including:
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/
everybodystreet/70639661
iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/au/movie/
everybody-street/id997499593
Buy online:
http://www.everybodystreet.bigcartel.com/
Don’t rent -
BUY this movie!
You’ll want to
watch this more
than once.
199

INTERVIEW WITH
CHERYL DUNN
Interview with Cheryl Dunn, Film
Maker, Photographer and the
director and producer, editor of
Everybody Street.
Cheryl Dunn is a brilliant film
maker. We reviewed her “must
see” film, Everybody Street in this
issue simply because it’s a great
movie about street photography,
and also because I’m not sure it’s
as well known in the community
as it should be. I reached out to
Cheryl and asked if she had a few
minutes to talk about the movie
and what might come next...
Thanks for talking to us Cheryl,
first up what inspired you to make
Everybody Street?
I was asked by a museum in
lower manhattan to come up with
a film idea that could play within
an Alfred Steiglitz exhibition .
i wanted to make a film about
photographers who had followed
in his foot steps and gone out and
created substantial bodies of work
about the streets of NYC. after
showing the short at the museum
and then being invited to show it at
the Tate modern i went back into
the project to expand it to feature
length because there was so much
more to say .
How difficult was it to
book interviews with the
photographers?
As I said The film was initially a
commission from a museum to
make a short My total production
time for that short was just 3
months. Some of the people I
approached had timing issues
but I would say I got most of the
photographers I reached out to
. Joel Meyerowitz was a family
friend of one of my producers and
he was my first interview .
I knew Bruce Davidson’s gallerist
and went through those channels..
they were both so lovely but you
have to remember if you are
approaching someone, and asking
them to give you their time you
shout think about a few things:
why should they care, what can i
ask them that they haven’t been
asked numerous times before .
so i really did my research and
because i am a shooter myself, i
focused on more insider questions
or the psychology of street
shooting... I also shot 16mm of all
the photographers. Many of them
have made films themselves and
I think they appreciated that.. I
asked Bruce to go into the subway
with me , and he watched me labor
over loading a 100 foot load in
my beaulieu 16mm camera. He
gave me more of his time maybe
because he acknowledged my
efforts and was he cool with me ..
when I went back into shooting for
the feature I was able to get more
people because I had the short
to show and timing was better for
some.
Who was the most interesting
person to interview? Our guess
would be Bruce Gilden, but we
could be wrong..?
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201

They are all so different and
extreme . some of these
photographers have been doing
this for over 60 years . I would
never really say anyone was more
interesting but I did have a funny
street experience with bruce
gilden.
When we were Shooting Bruce
Gilden in mid town manhattan
he said he never goes on 47th
st.. which is the diamond district.
Most people milling around the
streets here are either carrying,
diamonds, guns, or cash , . we
stepped on the street and he took
one picture of a girl looking at
herself in a shop mirror . the flash
went off and she immediately
turned around and tried to hit him
. he blocked her punch and all of a
sudden 3 big dudes appeared out
of nowhere holding bottles and
cans ready to jump him .. That
was pretty memorable . he got
very wound up afterward, and
went on about what he would
have done to those people if this
were back in the day when he was
more wild.
Will you do a follow up film or
something else with photography
as the subject?
Possibly . maybe more like a
series.
Finally if people want to buy or
rent Everybody Street, where
should they go?
They should go to my site http://
everybodystreet.com/
To buy a dvd or watch on vimeo .
And you can also see it on Netflix
and other streaming services
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issuu.com/gametraders