Jorge Quinteros
Blogger, web enthusiast & avid photographer based in Brooklyn.

9th July 2010

Photographer Spotlight: Samantha Tran

Samantha Tran is a 26 years old photograper based in Texas where she lives with her husband. The notion that to be a photographer you needed a degree has long been erased from her mind as she’s taken advantage of online tutorials, blogs, books and inspiration from Flickr to come to the realization that all you need is the desire and passion to become one. Her dream job would involve traveling the world to take awesome photographs of her experience.

1. How would you define your photographic style?

Since I try to soak up everything photography, I don’t really know that I have a particular style. Which honestly sums up my whole life. I am one of those people that will try to go in every direction all at once. I’m extremely eclectic. I am indecisive but picky I think that comes through in my photography. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I don’t know if that constitutes a “style”.

I like color and I like beauty. I like motion and I like stills. I like photo manipulation and I like straight out of the camera. I have tried all the styles I come across, portraiture, landscapes, black and white, high key, low key, heavy photoshop, night shots, flowers, animals, macro, underwater…you name it, I have either tried it or plan to. Change keeps you on your toes. It keeps things interesting. There you go, that’s my style: Interesting.

2. What does your camera equipment consist of?

Since I have only been doing photography for a little over a year now, I don’t have quite as much as some do, but I love what I have.

My main camera is my Sony A700. I have three lenses for it. A telephoto (18-200mm/f3.5-6.3) a macro (50mm/f2.8) and a wide angle (20mm/f2.8). I also have a remote, the external HVL-F42AM flash, and a QSX 9502TM Sunpak tripod.

I also use the Sony H3 (usually for travel since I have not found a smaller tripod) and my new underwater camera the Canon D10 (not pictured, since I had to take a photo of my photo equipment…I wasn’t sure how everyone else did this.

3. What’s your post-production software of choice?

I use only Photoshop. I have heard great things about other software like Lightroom, but I have yet to tackle it. In part because I don’t have it. Photoshop is an amazing program that I am understanding a teeny tiny bit more every day. I believe it’s possibilities are almost endless! Or maybe I’m just a newbie.

4. Are you considering any equipment upgrades in the future?

I would love to upgrade to the A900 at some point, and I also know that Sony has another, sleeker, alpha NEX line that I am highly interested in. That could replace my H3 at some point. I would also like a Carl Zeiss lens.

5. Share with us your proudest photograph.

Haha! You DO realize that you are asking an extremely indecisive person, to be decisive, on the spot…right? Ok, I suppose if I HAD to choose my proudest photo it would be:

This photo marked the first time, for me, that I really executed a vision I had in my head, perfectly, using all the techniques in Photoshop and general photo composition that I had learned up to that point. It’s a self portrait and means a lot to me. It made me very proud and I felt very accomplished.

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To view more featured photographers, check out the series page.

26th April 2010

Photographer Spotlight: Richard Willilams

Rich Williams describes himself as just an ordinary guy who likes to take pictures and capture the everyday essence of life but what’s remarkable about his work is always seeing the layers that evolve as you pause and examine his work. That plus I’ve never seen anyone capture the town of Boston more beautifully at night.

How would you define your photographic style?

“Anything goes.” While some photographers specialize in one field, I like to flex my creative muscles and employ a diverse range of subjects and techniques — from portraits, to night photography, to floral shots, to random objects that happen to grab my attention.

What does your camera equipment consist of?

I’m currently shooting with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, an amazing beast of a full-frame camera that has helped take my photography to heights I never knew were attainable.

As for glass, I own quite a few lenses, but the ones I use most frequently are:

Canon EF 24-70mm f.2.8 L USM - This is my first L-series purchase and my preferred walkaround lens. Its focal range makes it a versatile choice for both portraits and landscape photography. What’s more, it’s compatible with my 77mm neutral density 10-stop filter, a tool I use for daytime long exposures.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM - Here’s a solid lens that captures crisp wide-angle images, from cityscapes to coastal shots. Its aperture of f/2.8 also makes it an ideal choice for handheld shots in indoor/low-light settings. This lens is almost always in my bag whenever I’m on a photowalk.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM - In my opinion, these are the two finest Canon portrait lenses on the market. Once you do portraits with either glass, you won’t want to shoot with anything else.

At f/1.2, they deliver amazing depth of field with butter-smooth bokeh, and they’re fast enough to use in almost any low-light setting without the assistance of a flash. In addition, the clarity, color and contrast both lenses offer are second to none in Canon’s vast catalogue of lenses. Sure, they cost a pretty penny, but they’re also worth the investment.

Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye - When you’re in a creative rut and have exhausted every possible photo cliché in the book, this lens will bring new life and fun into your world as a photographer.

Its super-wide 180-degree view provides some insanely distorted images and radical curves with Ginsu-sharp clarity. It’s a small and lightweight lens, but don’t be fooled by its tiny physical appearance. It packs a serious punch and will transform the conventional into the unconventional.

What’s your post-production software of choice?

I often use both Photoshop and Lightroom for a variety of needs ranging from color adjustment to noise reduction. They both play an invaluable role in my post-processing.

Are you considering any equipment upgrades in the future?

I have no immediate plans to buy new equipment, but I’m growing more intrigued by tilt-shift photography. I’ve seen some amazing photos taken with the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L that have tempted me to add it to my collection one day in the future.

Share with us you proudest photograph

It’s definitely this shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, taken in March of 2009. The spider-web lines and detailed clouds give this often-photographed bridge a rather dramatic and even ominous twist. If I had to choose the photo that represents my proudest moment as a photographer, this is it.

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To view more featured photographers, check out the series page.

22nd February 2010

Photographer Spotlight: Adam Swords

Aged just 21, Adam Swords is highly motivated, self-taught photographer that learned the ropes of running a successful photography business through assisting reputable photographers within the industry, such as award winning commercial photographer Chase Jarvis who Adam interned for in Seattle in 2009.

A seasoned traveller, Adam has traveled to over 20 countries and has a passion for local culture. He shares quality advice and his experiences of the photography industry on his blog and Twitter as well as posting behind the scenes videos giving us an insight in to his working methods.

How would you define your photographic style?

My photographic style is ever changing and my work is influenced by so many different things. If you take a look through my portfolio right now you’ll see dynamic images with rich blacks and vibrant colours that seek the attention of the viewer.

It’s very hard to describe my own style so I’d love to flip that question around and ask you how you and the readers here would describe it Jorge?

What does your camera equipment consist of?

I’ve used both Canon and Nikon and will never be caught trying to argue one is better than the other. I shoot Canon simply because my very first camera was a 300D that I bought second hand for a great price and once I started investing in lenses I saw no reason to jump ship.

• Canon 5D Mark II
• Canon 40D
• Sigma 10-20
• Canon 17-40L
• Canon 24-70L
• Canon 70-200L F2.8 IS

I also use Sandisk Extreme UDMA 16GB Cards, Pocket Wizards Plus II wireless triggers, Lowepro camera bags (my main bag is a Vertex 300 AW) and Nikon SB24 Speedlights that work great for small compact lighting solutions on location, especially for the extreme sports stuff.

What’s your post-production software of choice?

Don’t hate me Mac peeps but I’m a Windows user so I use Adobe Lightroom to manage and edit my photographs and then import them in to Adobe Photoshop CS4 for final editing and retouching.

Are you considering any equipment upgrades in the future?

I’ll be getting my hands on 1D Mark IV later in the year and I’m currently looking in to which lighting set-up to invest in. Currently Bowens are my top choice.

I’ve also started shooting video with my Canon 5D and I’m heading over to Dubai in a couple of weeks to help teach at the Gulf Photo Plus photography workshops where Vincent Laforet has a class. Needless to say I’ll be picking his brains about rigs for the new breed of video shooting DSLRs.

Share with us your proudest photograph.

My proudest photograph…wow that’s a tough call. I think it’s probably this shot I took in Dubai nearly three years ago when I was 18 years old. I was a student on the same workshops that I now assist at and I remember getting back to my hotel room later that afternoon and editing the photos.

When I came across this one there was just something about it that I loved and made me realise that photography was my calling as a career. I wanted to shoot more photos like this and see them printed out on billboards around the world. Three years later and my dream has become a reality and at 21 I have my own great photography business.

Explore the Series

To view more featured photographers, check out the series page.

15th February 2010

Photographer Spotlight: Matthew Mawson

Matt Mawson’s introduction to photography began while assisting many London fashion and still life photographers at Holborn Studios. Eventually he left the artificial lighting of a studio and began contributing to a number of European press agencies that focused on covering many world conflicts.

After numerous assignments and having experienced two creative approaches in the industry, he’s managed to really establish a distinctive photographic style that’s excels both in terrific lighting and composition. He’s stream on Flickr is one to be looked at for daily inspiration.

How would you define your photographic style?

My pictures, I can say, are all about capturing a “moment” within a strong graphic composition. Most of my recent assignments have been through design agencies and designers like a good graphic composition so the image sits comfortably on the page or across two pages.

I like to divide my pictures into thirds using lines or anything that suggests a line. I find that pleasing and I think now I usually include those divisions intuitively in many instances.

However, I work quickly because if you think too much about something it’s gone and then the moment is gone. And when I work that way often I capture lucky accidents, someone walking into the frame for instance and that’s what can make a picture. Serendipitous, I suppose you could say.

What does your camera equipment consist of?

Up until a year ago I used to drag around a Hasselblad 503CWD with the large 16mp sensor and winder, a spare 503CWD with 16 mp sensor and 5 lenses - 40mm, 50mm, 100mm, 150 and 200mm. The big fat light gathering sensors on those digital backs make for beautiful images that ‘snap’ with quality.

However I did a 10 day shoot on the streets of Shanghai and Beijing using the Hasselblads and that was enough. I appreciated the great image quality but it was so damn noisy and heavy working in the street and stopping to change the large lenses, so now I use a Canon 5D MK2 and a back-up Canon 5D and two lenses – 24-105 f4 and a 70-200 f2.8 L IS USM.

The image quality at a pixel level is not as good but for what I do they are perfect. I use Quantum Q Flashes for the Weegee affect and its wide even light and keep a small Canon flash 270EX on the cameras at all times.

I also have a Canon G10 but never use it as the quality is not good enough for commercial ad and design work. I still have all my film cameras – Canon EF, New F-1, AE1, 2 T90s and a Leica M6 and lenses and Hasselblad film backs but who wants them so I hang onto them for sentimental reasons.

I use a Gitzo tripod and carry my gear in a Crumpler backpack. I still use the Hasselblad digitals whenever I shoot some static corporate imagery or cityscapes that are joined together in Photoshop as a panorama.

What is your post-production software of choice?

Everything goes through Lightroom first and if I have to change pixels I obviously use Photoshop CS4. Processing hundreds of 67mp files through Lightroom you need a lot of processing power and I use a MacBook Pro stuffed with as much RAM as it will hold.

I have an older MacBook Pro as a spare and use a 24 inch non Mac screen and on location I take LaCie Rugged 500GB portable hard drives although I am changing to Western Digital 500GB because they are smaller and more reliable.

Are you considering any equipment upgrade in the future?

I will swap my 5D to an update of the Canon 5D MK2 when that becomes available and the new 70-200mm lens that is out in April I think. But that is upwards of £2800! I will also look at the 1Ds Mk 3 update when it comes out.

They say it may have a sensor of more than 30 mp. But I think this megapixel race is crazy as it is the size of the light gathering sensors not the amount that make for great image quality. For instance those I mentioned earlier on the Hasselblad 16mp back.

Share with us your proudest photograph:

I am proud of dozens of my pictures, some taken under extreme circumstances for instance during the genocide in Rwanda and fighting in northern Iraq, others shooting from the hip as it were and getting an image that could never have existed any other way.

But this image taken whilst shooting the Beijing Olympic site works for me. I was standing in amongst the Pampas grass using it to frame the stadium and when I stepped back tourists were watching me use it and decided to try their own version and I got this attractive woman in her shiny red shoes posing strangely in the grass.

On Lightroom I brought back the saturation and increased the blacks and contrast which made the reds stand out. It is a happy picture.

Explore the Series

To view more featured photographers, check out the series page.