Adam Romanowicz is an avid pursuer of the artistic and the abstract. An engineer in “the real world,” Romanowicz’s passion for composition and the outdoors has led him to an adventurous life of fine art, as well as editorial and commercial stock photography. His website, 3scape is an award-winning institution show-casing his fine art work. His published credits run the gamut, from CD covers and store displays to the Oxford Dictionary for the Middle Ages.

Today, this inspirational photographer has taken time from his busy schedule to share a bit of insight with One Stop Poetry.

~Chris Galford

Male Lion

The Equipment:

Cameras: Primarily Canon DSLR cameras, and lenses of all kinds. Additionally, an older 10D body converted to infrared.
Software: Adobe Lightroom for cataloging and digital darkroom workflow. Photoshop for advanced modification.

What began your interest in photography? How long have you been at it? I’ve always had an interest in the arts, drawing and coloring as a child.  In high school I got a cheap point and shoot camera to record boy scout trips and other adventures, thus prompting the move from drawing to photography.  During college, my focus turned to engineering, but the creative itch remained, I played with early versions of Photoshop and other graphics programs.  I got my first 35mm SLR in 1996 and have been learning, upgrading my gear, and shooting ever since.

Mexican Sunrise

Largely it’s about seeing the world around me in new and interesting ways.  The most regular or mundane objects can become beautiful art when looked at through the lens of a camera, this is especially true in macro photography.  It’s amazing how many different renditions of the same scene are created when a group of photographers is brought together.  I’m inspired by talented photographers that recreate the world in its natural form, without relying on an overabundance of augmented reality.  While I appreciate and enjoy digital artistry and photo manipulation, I believe it’s more difficult to capture the perfect moments of color and light of a scene, in camera.  National Geographic photographers inspire me.

If I were to label most of my images with a style, it would probably be realism.  I try to recreate what the world presents to me, and most of the adjustments I make in post are about bringing out the beauty of the original scene.  I have gone further with some of my images, when I had a particular result in my head that I just couldn’t get in camera, and am trying to expand on that to open additional creative doors.

Japanese Dream

Actually, when I’m out shooting, I’m trying to escape from my engineering career However, engineering is deeply rooted in my brain, stemming from a childhood of endless tinkering.  That probably plays into my photography on a subconscious level, but I wouldn’t say I go out of my way to find textures and patterns.  Most of the time, I see something that appeals to me, and I try to capture it in an equally appealing way.

Thai Monkeys

There are those that can find a million things to shoot in their back yard.  I’m not one of those people.  I need to feel motivated and inspired to create images that make me happy and hopefully inspire others.  Travel and adventure are passions of mine, which when combined with photography really get my creative juices flowing, and motivate me to create images that will (hopefully) inspire others.

I started creating websites for myself and others back in 1996, and always wanted to show off my work.  One of my sites started as a large gallery of all of my photos, and as it gained traction on the search engines, developed into a stock photography site.  Soon, requests started coming in for not only stock, but art prints.  As I honed my skills, I started putting my best images in a portfolio for fine art sales.  The hard part was finding partners (such as Fineartamerica.com) to help promote my work to the masses.

Equipment isn’t the first thing on the list, as we’re seeing pro photographers these days capturing amazing images on camera phones.  A healthy desire for learning is key.  Learning from books, classes, workshops, and other photographers, and accepting criticism as a learning tool.  Ultimately, however, success is measured by whatever your personal goals are, and not by the success of other photographers.

Saba Rock

I’ve read about photographers planning out their shoots, sketching out what their end result should be. I prefer to just go out and see what the world has in store for me.  I feel that by having a plan, I’m limiting my creative capacity rather than being completely open ended.  I’m also less disappointed if I come home without shooting exactly what has been planned.

I usually try to maintain a natural look to my photography. However, just as enhancements were done in the traditional dark room, I believe there is room for tweaks in today’s digital workflow.  Simple dodging, burning, contrast and saturation adjustments can do a lot to the esthetics of a photograph, as well as deciding whether it looks best as color or black and white.  I also think there is a distinct difference between moderately enhanced photography and digital art, in that digital artists add or remove a lot more from photographs to completely change the dynamics, mood, or elements of an image.

First and foremost, learn the basics of photography or artistic design concepts.  Guidelines are a great way to start, but breaking the rules later is much more fun.  Also, get to know your gear intimately.  Knowing what each button, feature, or widget does provides opportunities for experimentation and learning.  Don’t just turn the camera to full auto mode and start snapping away.  Experiment with other modes, and ultimately, full manual.  Finally, look at other photographers’ work, think about what you like and don’t like, and try to find out how the photo or artwork was created.

There are countless websites, forums, books, and magazines one can read.  Some are great, others not so much.  Some of the photo related sites I visit are photo.net, fredmiranda.com, dpreview.com (for gear info), luminous-landscape.com. I read Popular Photography and American Photo magazines, and I’m a big fan of any books by Bryan Peterson, Freeman Patterson, and others. It’s really tough to list them all here!
Links: Website: http://3scape.com Blog: http://blog.adamromanowicz.com/ Twitter: @3scapephotos ______________________________________________________________

Picture Prompt Challenge Time!

Write a poem (or Flash Fiction 55)

Post the work on your site.

Sign up using Mr. Linky below—so we can all find the post you choose to share with us.

Please leave a comment about you poem

Please visit your fellow participants. And don’t forget to comment & give credit to Mr. Romanowicz! * Please note that following the prompt is just a suggestion.
~Thank you, dustus

Converging