Photoblogs Magazine subscriber spotlights are chosen randomly from our subscriber list and posted each Monday. If you would like photoblogsmagazine .
http://www.shutterjunkie.co.uk • Location: Huddersfield, UK • Contact: Jem (at) shutterjunkie (dot) co (dot) uk • Member Since: 12/23/05
Equipment:
Canon EOS 20D, Canon 100mm f2.8 macro, Canon 17-40mm f4 L, Canon 75-300mm, Canon 50mm f1.8, Sigma 24mm f2.8. This equipment list is however going to change dramatically over the next week, as my car was broken into on christmas eve and they took my Mamiya RB67 medium format camera. So it will be replaced with a Hasselblad 500CM, and no doubt a few more lenses for the 20D, or if i’m feeling flush and brave, a Canon 5D
PM: How did you get involved in photography?
JL: I was at the airport in Manchester, waiting to get on a flight to Cyprus for a holiday back in 2001. My other half is quite the techy and we were looking at digital cameras and he was explaining the technology behind them. I’d never had a proper camera before so my dad treated me to a small kodak point and shoot digital camera (Kodak DC280). I took some sunset shots, and some flower photos whilst in Cyprus and was amazed at the quality – it sounds so silly to say that now, given that it was a basic 2mp camera – but compared to the throw away, and plastic ones i’d had before, believe me it was good quality! When I returned home, I started looking into photography more and signed up to www.photosig.com. I uploaded photos on there and people critiqued them – this was incredibly helpful for me to improve and broaden my images. From then on I read books and magazines, looked on websites and upgraded my camera along the way. I gave up my geography degree in 2003 and moved on to do a BA in contemporary photographic arts.
PM: How would you describe your photographic style?
JL: I enjoy experimenting I think is the main observation with my work – but aesthetics is primarily important. I love pretty much every area of photography, and any i’ve not tried I will dabble in. My most recent escapade is in night photography/astrophotography, and I feel i’m slowly and surely improving my imagery. I think every photographer has an area they feel more glued to than others though, and mine would be landscapes and macro.
PM: Why do you photoblog?
JL: I’ve had a personal blog since September 2000, and so it was a natural progression to also have a blog to showcase my best imagery on a day to day basis.
PM: What are your strengths and weakness as a photographer?
JL: That’s a good question, and if i’m being honest a difficult one to answer with regards to strengths. I’d like to say my landscape work is of a high standard, but there’s always a photographer out there who’s work is equally as good if not better. I also feel I have a certain rapport with Photoshop, and can usually turn a poor initial image into a much more appealing one. In terms of weaknesses, I believe my street photography suffers because I’m shy with regards to approaching people, or being stared at whilst trying to take an image. The kind of look that makes you wonder if they’ve ever seen a camera before! I’ve also made a new years resolution to take more medium format photography, and not rely on my digital camera so much.
PM: If a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one around, does it make a sound? Of course it does! Ok, a more serious question. Where do you see photography taking you?
Well I finish my degree in June this year, and then i’m hoping to go travelling for several months. This, I hope will be critical to building up travel photography for my portfolio, and when I return i’d like to land a job doing exactly that or landscape/nature work. I think there’s only so much time I could spend in a studio doing portraiture and product shots etc. before it drove me mad!
Five Recommended Photoblogs:
• http://www.chromasia.com – i’m sure many other people will list Dave, but I have a lot to thank him for. His images have inspired me and i’m sure many others, and he deserves to be listed here.
• http://pointsoflight.blogspot.com – Points of light is James Jordan, from the US. He has a great portfolio of landscape images (particularly excelling with his autumnal images), and unlike many photobloggers writes a decent length entry to go alongside them.
• http://gosu.co.za – I have to thank stumbleupon.com for directing me towards Jason’s blog. His images from South Africa are both amazing and inspiring, and give you a great insight to another world (especially if you’re like me and have never been outside europe!).
• http://www.markmyshots.com – A nice play on words in his URL by Mark. He has an incredibly selection of high quality work on his blog. Definately one to stop by!
• http://thedailyexposure.blogspot.com – John is a lovely guy and his blog has no where near the recognition it should have. He photographs the areas of the western highlands that I also visit, and he produces the most wonderful images of them.
PM: What is your background, and what are you doing when you are not photoblogging?
JS: I’ve had a fairly normal life (you could say boring), in terms of my upbringing and life up to now. I had a great childhood – your typical climbing trees, falling over, riding bikes – I was quite the tomboy. My mum gave me a nice pudding base haircut just to add to that image. I’ve lived in Huddersfield all my life, it’s where my parents were also brought up, so there was no desire to move elsewhere. When i’m not photoblogging, i’m usually out taking more photographs, talking/spending time with friends, working on my degree, or playing counter-strike (yes i’m a geeky girl gamer – try saying that 3 times fast). I have no intention of getting old, and the fact I still cuddle and talk to my soft toy seal (seymour) every night, who i’ve had since I was 7 reinforces that!
