My preference is what I have come to call “found images.” That means shooting what I see as I go out into the world, without studio setup or extra lighting. The subject matter covers a wide range of topics and perspectives including people, street photography, objects, night scenes, nature, iconic landmarks, and unusual perspectives on life and the city around us. Sometimes I do shoot in a studio, especially with nudes.

My inclination is to let each image speak for itself and ellicit in the viewer whatever it might, allowing it to stand alone in a Rorschach-like fashion. One of my joys is seeing or hearing whatever that might be as someone looks at it for the first time.

Some of my photographs have been described as “edgy” and may feel somewhat disturbing to a viewer. That tells me I’ve succeeded in evoking some emotional or psychological connection, which also happens when someone bursts out laughing. Sometimes the response is not disturbing but more curiosity or puzzlement, as someone likes a photo and asks, “What is that?” when the image presented is actually as it came out of the camera without any major Photoshop manipulation.

Story behind this image: I titled the image, “Car, Cowboy, and Astronaut.” It is one I found many years ago on the Venice boardwalk in Los Angeles, and I shot it with film, which is what I was using at the time (Nikon FG, 50mm lens, settings unrecorded). What I loved about it was seeing the juxtaposition of time periods, settings, and what was real and unreal in the image, all of which create a new reality. The car was parked in a lot, up against a mural, and the combination was just sitting there. The photograph is part of a solo exhibition running in Los Angeles.

How would you describe your style?

The style varies, depending on what I find and then what I’m after with what I’ve found. When I’m going out to shoot in the world, without any preconceived intention, which is what I love to do, it is more of a combination of street photography and photojournalism. The photographs vary in appearance between those that are traditional presentations and what I have come to call Contemporary Art Photography.

What’s your approach to post processing?

I always start out with composition. I try to get it in the camera, but I might refine it in post. Or, I might find an alternative composition in the image that’s even better than what I was originally going for. Then, I’m making overall and selective adjustments for things like tone, contrast, brightness, sharpness, and color. I might use plugins like those from NIK, Topaz, or Imagenomics to enhance the image without essentially changing it from what I see. One of the most valuable things I have found is to be working from a perspective of “What can I do with this image?” That doesn’t mean jumping to compositing but rather exploring between color options, black and white options and styles, and generally exploring all that Photoshop may offer without compositing. It’s been a part of my effort to expand my knowledge of Photoshop, which I’m still doing, and it’s often led to some of my favorite results.

Story behind this image: I titled the image, “Nun in Self Reflection.” It came from a grab while I was on the Metro in Los Angeles (Nikon, D80, with pop-up flash). There was no Photoshop manipulation in this photo. It was unposed, of a stranger, taken on the subway, and handheld. I was drawn to the contrast between her relatively calm and placid face and all of the emotional intensity in her reflected image in the window. The photograph was displayed in “Mirrors of the Mind,” an art exhibition sponsored by the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, in 2012, and it will be included in the upcoming book of images from that show.

What or who inspires you?

In the last few years, I have been most influenced by Vivian Maier. Seeing her photographs totally changed my thinking about composition. I was always very aware of lines, curves, contrasts, shapes, balance, and movement in the image, but her photographs changed my ideas of how to put them together. The images shown here were all done prior to that awakening, but they still work within it.

Story behind this image: I titled the image, “Graffiti Washroom -1.” It came from a shoot at an abandoned building in Los Angeles. The room had no color in it, and that version was “Graffiti Washroom -2.” The color here was all painted in with light, not done afterwards in Photoshop, so this is what came out of the camera, with only minor adjustments in Photoshop.

What gear do you use?

A few years ago I upgraded to a full frame camera and switched to a Canon 5D Mark II, with a full set of 2.8 Canon lenses, including a fisheye and 2x extenders. I am still exploring all that this wonderful equipment can do, and I’m loving it.

Links:

Website: http://carlshubsphotography.com

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I’m happy to announce that my solo Fine Art Photography Exhibition is now up and running in the Los Angeles area. It opened February 9 and will be continuing through May 15, 2013, at US Bank, West Hollywood Branch, 8901 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069. You can view it Mon-Thurs., 9-5; Fri., 9-6; or Sat., 9-1. There are 14 images on display, ranging in size from approximately 8×10 inches to 5×4 feet. Subject matter covers a wide range of topics including iconic landmarks, people, nature, and unusual perspectives on life and the city around us. The largest is the one below.

Please see Press Release for more information. While you’re there, feel free to visit the rest of the site and to forward the press release to anyone you think might be interested.

There will be an open house reception on Thursday evening, April 11, from 6:30-9:00 PM, so save the date if you’ll be in Los Angeles. If you’d like an invitation with all the specifics of the evening, just send me an email, and I’ll be happy to send one along when those are ready though you can also just come on in that night. In the meantime, you can stop by the bank during their regular business hours.

So what does this have to do with Photocrati, you might ask? Well, for years I had been looking to create a web site that would give me the professional look, aesthetic style, depth of photo database, ease of functionality and editing, and e-commerce capabilities I had been looking for. As I was starting to have my work shown, I was feeling hopeless that I’d ever find a template that would give me that, and then I found Photocrati. It gave me all that and more. When this opportunity with the bank came along, I was ready for it. I had the site I wanted. It let me show some of the diversity of my photographs as well as giving the people at the bank the sense of professionalism that helped to close the deal.

One of the other things I like about Photocrati is the sense of help and support among their team and this community. These are things I believe in and want to be part of. So, come visit the exhibit and the website, and please let me know about yours.

Best,

Carl Shubs

www.carlshubsphotography.com

I take pictures of everyday things, personal projects, my daughter’s portraits and images anywhere in San Francisco Bay Area (streets, views, landmarks)

I’m also a part time portrait photographer and shoot occasional weddings.

How would you describe your style?

Simplicity of everyday things

What’s your approach to post processing?

Minimum, closer to life with very little retouching

What or who inspires you?

All kind of books, my family and friends, doing project 365 (I’m almost done with it), David duChemin, creativeLive and San Francisco

What gear do you use?

Canon DSLR  (50D) and few lenses – Canon 28mm f/1.8 , Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 85mm f/1.8

Links

Website: http://www.halinav.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Halina.Veratsennik.Photography
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HalinaV

I like on one hand, images that reflect the mood of a situation and thereby have an illustrative character that goes beyond the actual situation and on the other hand I am fond of photographs, that reflect the essence of a person or situation. Thematically, I’m interested in the “between” or, as the famous anthropologist Victor Turner’s once said the “Betwixt and Between”.  So my topics are ritual, religion, culture …. ethnological topics.

Story behind the image: The man in the wheelchair and the little island are a intense metaphor.

How would you describe your style?

I am an visual anthropologist. So I would describe my style as a mixture of docu and art.

Story behind the image: The photo “seagypsy girl” is a sweet, charming portrait I took at Sulawesi.

What or who inspires you?

I like the korean docu-photographer Kim, Soo nam, the portraits of Eric Lafforgue, some works of Michael Ackermann, the incredible work of James Nachtwey and many others.

Story behind the image: I like the photo of the naga baba because it has special lighting conditions, which give the perfect setting to the Naga Baba and his spirituality. It reminds me of a fantastic time at the Kumbh Mela in India.

What gear do you use?

I shoot with a Nikon D700. Therefore I use different fixed focal lengths: 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 105mm. I do not work with a zoom. Usually I opt for a lens and then I try to capture the subject with this focal length. When I am done I might  change to a different focal length.

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Links

Website: www.photoanthropos.com , http://www.mabellephoto.com/photographe-dirk-schlottmann-g10101.htm

I am mostly  specialized in on-location portraiture as well as wedding and event photography. For my own pleasure I love to do travel and nature photography.

Story behind this image: Photography can be a very empowering experience. Shooting a lot of junior sports and other sports, I attempt to capture a moment that makes the subject proud. Here I shot a junior soccer player with a lighting that attempts to mimic stadium lighting. Rather than just shooting a formal portrait, I ask the players do their favorite ball trick in front of the camera.

How would you describe your style?

Light. Camera. Ambiance! Whether shooting with natural light or strobes, whether shooting wedding, portraits, landscapes, or anything else, it’s all about the ambiance.  I always strive to capture the prevailing mood and tone, the atmosphere, the real moments, the ambiance… I shoot from the heart and aim to keep things simple in order to produce  emotional and powerful captures.

Story behind this image: I shot this kickboxer, along others, after a sweaty training session. “Why do shoot the portraits after the training, and not before”, I was asked. It’s very simple. After 90 min of exhaustment your body is tired and your mind is calm and empty. You are in a state where nothing can distract you. You are you. I think it shows in pictures, the calm, the awareness, the deep look. It all creates a unique ambiance. For the light I used three flashes.

What or who inspires you?

The person(s) in front of the camera. Every individual is unique, and this makes every shooting unique. They inspire me to give something back, something they’ll love, something that makes them smile or sometimes cry, something they’ll never forget. Similarly, animals, landscapes and basically any object that catches my curiosity, and it’s interactions with light, inspire me, over and over again. There are also lots of photographers that inspire me, from old masters like Yousouf Karsh and Irving Penn to modern legends like Steve McCurry or Jill Greenberg.

Story behind this image: I am fascinated by people that have a talent, and capturing the talent is something very challenging. Here I attempted to document the work of a young and very talented artist, who is working on a giant reproduction of Caspar David Friedrich’s painting “Chalk Cliffs on Rügen”.  The artist is very focused, thinking carefully what would be his next step. The picture is not constructed, it is a documentary photograph. I simply set up three flashes so that they would not be in the way.

What’s your approach to post processing?

Good post processing prerequisites an image that is good to start with. That is, I always aim to get it right in camera (but of course, I will not always succeed to do so…:)). The extent to which I will do post processing depends mostly on the type of assignment. For wedding pictures I rarely go beyond basic edits. On the other extreme, I may do extensive processing. These are mostly related to local contrast enhancement and selective color shift and/or enhancement. I also do a lot of b&w. But even with substantial processing, the idea is always to enhance features that are already present in the original picture. If the image is not right in camera, it will most likely never be. For my workflow, I shoot raw and import is as a project into Aperture, where I will do the basic edits and eventually some more extensive processing. For certain procedures I will open the image as tiff in Photoshop.

What gear do you use?

I currently use Nikon D3s with Nikon optics (fixed focals and zooms as well). For additional light I use Quadra Rangers and  Nikon speedlights.

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Links

Website: www.ambientscapes.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gilbertludwigphotography
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/GilbertLudwig

I photograph weddings and portraits in Hong Kong.  I was born and raised in New York but moved to Asia in 2006.

Story behind this image: This was a photo from my first overseas wedding gig which was just outside London in the UK. I remember noticing how different the quality of light was from Hong Kong, and knowing right away that we were going to come away with some great shots. You know how there are those few shots that you jump straight to when you’re finally at your computer?  This was one of them.

How would you describe your style?

I consider myself a life photographer and I try to capture the moments that show the qualities that I think are most important in people – authenticity, compassion, soul.  For weddings or studio headshots, that usually involves waiting for someone to open up and have their true personality unfold.

Story behind this image: The streets of Hong Kong are so unique – they blend the old and the new, the East with the West.  I love capturing that contrast in my photography.

What’s your approach to post processing?

All of my images go through a workflow using Aperture for culling, minor editing, and storage, and also Photoshop for retouching and a series of actions to optimize file quality. I don’t apply filters or “effects” very much, and I have taught myself to know exactly what I want to do with an image so that I can keep the process efficient.

Story behind this image: Photographing weddings is a ton of responsibility, but when your bride and groom and all of their friends are laughing and having a good time while you do your job? That’s when your job turns into sheer fun. This photo was taken right after one of Hong Kong’s gloomy, cloudy, rainy mornings, but you could never tell from looking at this shot.

What or who inspires you?

Meeting people that do what they love inspire me. As a portrait photographer, I’ve been fortunate to have photographed many people in Hong Kong that are pursuing their dreams – and their humility, drive, and positivity always inspire me to do more. Its great to read about the next Mark Zuckerberg in the news or on the Internet, but to have a conversation with someone who is doing what they love and believe in – right in your own community – is something else.

What gear do you use?

Nikon camera bodies, various Nikkor lenses and Speedlights
Apple computers

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Links

Website: http://kennethlimphotography.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kennethlimphoto
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kennethlimphotography