Welcome to One Shoot Sunday!
Today OSP brings you Part 2 of Chris G.’s interview with JackAZ Photography, as well as our Picture Prompt Challenge. First, I’d like to offer an apology to Jack for mixing up photos last week, and invite everyone to revisit Part 1 to have a look at his great HDR shots. Jack has been kind enough to allow us access to so many great images, for which we are extremely grateful.
That being said, let’s continue the interview and hopefully you will all feel both inspired and compelled to accept our poetry challenge. —Thank you, Dustus.
What has been your experience with the internet as a medium for sharing your art and experiences with photography?
The internet is a great medium for sharing both photographs and writing. What makes the internet so great is that it’s not just a one-way conversation. Unlike an art exhibit that allows art to be seen and enjoyed with minimal, if any, feedback to the artist, the internet provides two-way communication allowing the audience to provide feedback to the artist. It also provides the artist the opportunity to have ongoing conversations clarifying opinions and critiques of his work allowing more opportunity to identify consumer desires as well as improve on one’s work.
What inspired you to share it?
My wife has been very supportive of my photography habit since rekindling it in 2008 and she had asked a few times what I planned on doing with my photos when she realized I had several thousand in my archive. I spend most of my day job buried in computers in one way or other so I hadn’t been into the social media thing and hadn’t had a personal website since the 1990′s. I decided Flickr was the easiest and likely most popular way to go so I created an account and started sharing photos there. I eventually created a Picasa account as well where I put larger galleries or lower quality photos. I post photos for completely random reasons rather than posting just my best work. This eventually led to the creation of my blog. The blog was initially just an experiment I did to pass some time while recovering from an injury and surprisingly it has actually turned into more than I ever imagined it would. The blog is what inspired my creative writing to resurface in the form of poems that usually accompany related photos.
Do you find any common ground between photography and other creative pursuits like writing or poetry?
Absolutely! As can be seen at my blog my poetry usually coincides with a photo, or vice-versa, however one chooses to see it. I often have a story in my head that I will write out before attempting to capture it through photography. Of course, sometimes it’s the other way around. Photography has completely rekindled my creative spirit in not only the visual arts but the writing arts as well and as I progress in both they tend to feed each other.
How much of your work/photography in general would you say is pure shot vs. post-processing?
I estimate that 80% of my photographs are pure shot while the other 20% are heavily altered in post processing. I often process high dynamic range (HDR) photos for various reasons and use HDR as a tool to truly bring out the beauty of nature and replicate what I saw with my own eye. However, there are times when I use HDR techniques to completely warp reality. That’s the great thing about art, the artist gets to decided what it is at the time he creates it and it can be different for every piece.
Jack’s Equipment:
Primary: Olympus E-510 accompanied by an E-410 for backup.
Favorite lens: Olympus Digital Zuiko 35-100mm f2.
Other lenses: Sigma 18-50mm f2.8, Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6, and Olympus 70-300mm f4-5.6.
Filters: Doesn’t make a habit of filtered lenses, but uses circular polarizing filters and a 10 stop neutral density filter to manage reflections, light and general creativity. Occasional UV filter to keep the front lens element clean or to keep small debris from damaging it.
Post processing: Open source software. Digikam for cataloguing, tagging and organizing. Ufraw for raw conversion, with almost all other processing done in Gimp. Luminance HDR to process HDR images and Hugin for panorama stitching.
What would you suggest to people just beginning with photography?
It’s not about gear or gadgets, you can make a great photograph with whatever camera is in your hand. Most importantly, make photographs for yourself. Photography is a spectacularly rewarding art form, hobby, profession, and escape from the hum drum of daily life.
Are there any photography resources you would recommend for individuals who wish to know more about the art form?
There are many members at photocamel.com who willingly provide insightful critique and advice for improving one’s photographic skills. The members at this site welcome photographers of all levels very warmly and look forward to sharing their knowledge with those willing to learn. Prior to discovering photocamel.com I commented to my wife (who used to take a lot of black and white 35mm rolls) that I didn’t see the point of black and white photography on a large scale in the colorful, vibrant world we lived in. Boy, did I eat my words. With a little mentoring from a member at photocamel.com I quickly became a lover of black and white photography. I learned to envision the scene at the time of capture in black and white seeing where I would adjust tones and contrast in post processing to really make the monochrome tones sing. It’s amazing what a difference a good mentor can make.
Connect with JackAZ on Twitter
Visit Jack’s official website: jackazphotography.com
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Now for the Picture Prompt Challenge!
- Write a poem (or Flash Fiction 55)
*Based on the prompt
- Then post it on your site.
- Sign up using Mr. Linky so people can find your work.
- Let us know what you are sharing by leaving a comment below.
- Write a poem (or Flash Fiction 55)
*Based on the prompt
- Then post it on your site.
- Sign up using Mr. Linky so people can find your work.
- Let us know what you are sharing by leaving a comment below.
* Finally, visit other participants, comment, and please give credit to Jack in your post.
Thank you, Dustus
Accept the Picture Prompt Challenge!
Hope you all enjoyed Part 2 of Chris G’s interview with JackAZ. Look for Jack when visiting poets on One Shot Wednesday. He’s an extremely talented guy, as well as very understanding.
For today’s picture prompt we have a throwback of sorts…. Consider the image and share your creation. Can’t wait to see all the different responses to the challenge!
I wrote this one Wednesday but fits this photo well…so I added photo and posted…Wonderful photos Jack….love the one with the little girl….thanks…bkm
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fabulous image! i had fun with this one. thanks.
I couldn’t think of a poem, so I just wrote a memory.
Jack’s methods here got me really intrigued. Once upon a time, I wrestled with the difficulties of HDR photography using black and white film and an Ansel Adams-ish system. But color remained a dream.
Then, when digital came along, it was love at first click, even with the low resolutions at first available. Suddenly, I could afford photography again.
Then it seemed everyone was doing it. There were two ways to stand out: either you caught an extraordinary moment, or you mastered the new kind of “painterly’ effects. Of the latter, we still see a lot of garish abuse, but then there are those who know how to get up to the bleeding edge and push it past without falling over into the over-manipulated. Thanks for shining a light on a great path, Jack.
Hmmmm…the challenge is getting steeper to climb! But the image is always too compelling to turn away from. Thanks again, Chris G for a good interview!
thanks for part 2 of this interesting interview..what sticks with me is using photography as an escape from the hum drum of daily life
my response to the picture prompt is a poem, written in Rondel form – literary fights or writing madness…
nice….i am in….heading off to hike the mountain to watch the sunrise from the peak…will catch up with everyone when i get back
Great work, Jack, and thanks for trying to articulate in images what we try to write through and to in our words.
Once again, Jack makes me look at the world in a different way.
And get my camera out again.
Thanks Jack and oneshotpoetry.
tossed together tidbit in few minutes before work, but the photo caught my eye and heart
and many thanks to folk at One Stop Poetry
well worth a Part 2…glad Jack offered some insight of his hardware and techniques, I had forgotten about GIMP…my first was an Olympus OM-1, although I enjoy the way DSLR cameras have changed our abilities, I miss the feel, the weight, the struggle of shooting on film…thanks Jack
Peace, hp
I have two offerings today
Another great prompt…thanks. Looking forward to visiting the responses.
I love those dalmatians!
Once again, I have used one of the other pictures.
For some reason, One Shoot is not showing on my blogroll, or my dashboard. I had to follow from Brian’s link.
I wrote a poem last week, but was too late to link it here… Hope no one minds if I link it today.
I love this latest photo and will probably have a shot at it too.
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I wrote an “abecedarian” a month ago, and thought it quite fitting for todays prompt. Thank you.
Some interesting photos today–I really loved the first one. But despite how the challenge photo as always was really …challenging, I did find a few words for it. Thanks for another little push to get me working on a Sunday.
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Thanks for these. It’s fun following a different trail. Am enjoying the interviews and the trip around the twitterverse . I know it’s a lot of work for all of you.
Oh the memories… gifts waiting. Thanks for the challenge.
I’ve wanted to try the photo prompt for a long time. Lovely photos! Thank you.
Dear Dustus… since you “goofed” last week, could you tell me the name of the photographer who did take the photo I used, so I can give him the credit. When I visited JackAZ’s site I noticed the photo from the previous week’s challenge there (the haunted barn). I’d like to go back and fix that too, if necessary. An honest mistake means no harm done, but I like to give due credit. Please leave a note on my blog. Much appreciated. My second poem is actually based on the photo you chose today… I’m trying to conform
Certainly. I think the “haunted barn” in question is an image from Sean McCormick. He was a One Shoot guest before Jack. Here’s the link to Sean’s interview: http://bit.ly/erYLbB I’m looking for the link for the other one. (Apparently related photostreams on flickr change currents so to speak). Thanks for your patience.
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Wonderful images today! And an insightful interview.
The photo prompt made me long for days past. Amazing photography.
Here’s my poem:
http://thoughtsnotlost.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/simply-forgotten/
Some beautiful photography, Jack.
I loved the prompt, this one pretty
much wrote itself.
Thanks again, for this opportunity. I’ll start reading other people’s work tomorrow, when I don’t feel so worn down – have been sick, and working in spite of it.
I want to take just a moment to thank Brian, Dustus, and the whole One Stop Poetry gang for their kind hospitality and while I’ve barely scraped the tip of the iceberg on this weeks submissions want to thank everyone for sharing their talents with the world. No talent should go silently to waste and in some way you are all an inspiration.
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