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Peter Pan-tsless

Pedro

Joined DPC: Jan 24, 2003
Awards
Movies
Forrest Gump
Silhouettes II
At Last Light
Halloween
Idle Hands
Yellow Revisited
First Snow
Self Portrait IV
Alone in a Crowd
Nude IV
Angie
Free Study 2007-06
Dharana
Framing
Like a llama...or an Emu
Lines
Of Wisdom
Moods
Disturbed
Heart
Lurve
Perspective III
From The Horse's Mouth
DPL Album Cover
Deathmetal Played Loud
The Eyes Have It!
Top Secret
Interview Details
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Interview Listing
A DPChallenge Interview with Pedro

by Ian York (Artan)
Oct 10 2005

Background

Where do you live?

On the edge, most of the time.

Tell us about your family/friends?

They say your “Dharma” is your purpose in life. Jack, my 5-year old son, is my Dharma. If I died today I’d float away smiling knowing that I’ve done what I was meant to do in this life. He’s got his own little portfolio here if you want to check him out . We have a blast together; taking photos, playing computer games, learning new soccer moves, and making sure the wave pools are free of sharks (they are). He lives with his mom Lisa (aka my good friend/ex-wife) 3-4 nights a week and with me 3-4 nights a week. He rocks.

I’m tight with my family. My folks live about 10 minutes away from me and I see them regularly. I have a sister (married with 2 awesome kids) in Toronto that I get to see 3-4 times a year, though I’d prefer it be more. My Dad has been a camera freak since before I was born, so I suppose that’s how I got interested. Both my mom and dad supported me in whatever lunatic mission I engaged as a kid; frequently to their disapproval I’d assume. I was all about trying everything once - twice if I liked it. It likely explains my well-rounded (read: occasionally scattered and eclectic) approach to life. My friends are all insane. Every one of them. True Story.

What is your occupation?

I’m a Stock Broker. *yawn* I'm sorry...did you ask me something? I drifted off for a minute there.

How long have you been involved in photography?

I remember a field trip to China Town when I was in the first grade (1976). Hm. That must be a typo…it almost looks like that would be close to 30 years ago, which is impossible of course since I’m nowhere near that old. Anyway I took my dad’s old Autopak 500 and a 24-exposure roll of 126 film. I still have the photos from that trip. After that I waited a decade or so and the bought a Pentax PZ-10 SLR. It wasn’t the best cam on the market, but it was good enough to show me what a decent camera could do. Time and money kept me away from it until after I graduated from university. I dabbled with film until the digital bug bit me in 2000..

Have you won any photographic competitions outside of DPC?

I can honestly say I’ve won 100% of all the competitions I’ve entered outside of DPC. One. I entered Nice To Meet You in a Canadian Photo/Technology Magazine’s monthly competition. It won first prize which was a Lexmark 6 in 1 printer/scanner/fax thing. It’s still in the box I think.

What's your favourite movie?

Vanilla Sky. After 20 or so viewings I’m still finding new and beautiful and sad and scary and tragic and wonderful things in it. Amazing imagery too…Cameron Crowe’s a freaking genius. Natural Born Killers was my fave pre-VS; not so much for the subject matter but again for the surreal imagery. What Dreams May Come may be the only movie that ever made me cry twice. I can watch movies like Napoleon Dynamite (Vote For Pedro), Zoolander, and Super Troopers over and over and still laugh my brains out. I say it’s because I pay attention to new details each time, while my friends would argue that it’s because I’m not very smart and my memory isn’t good enough to remember the jokes between viewings. Either way..

What music do you listen to? Do you listen to music while post processing?

I like my music the same way I like my photography/art – clean and simple. Lately it’s been lots of acoustic rhythmy (yes it’s a word) artists like Jack Johnson, Dispatch, Damien Rice, Donavan Frankenreiter. My aunt was a classically trained pianist who played in a Blues Band (Downchild Blues) before she died of Leukaemia. Growing up both of those had a huge influence on me. I still like to listen to classical music when I shoot; mostly cello or piano. There’s something about it that helps me focus. Bless the advent of the MP3 player.  : )

When I edit it varies based on both my mood and the mood of the shoot I’m working on. When I edited my NYC Pictures I listened to heavy melancholy music, because that’s how I was feeling. The ones from Thailand were edited to more rhythmic stuff because despite the occasionally horrific images I found there, I also found a real sense of peace and hope there. In fact I can safely say that journey changed my life, though I may never be able to put into words how.

What is your favourite food?

Steak. No wait…Thai Food. Thai Steak. Yeah. Mmmm…Thai Steak.

Do you have a main source of caffeine? If so, is it Tea, Coffee. Chocolate or Other?

I’ve never had a cup of coffee. Tea is way too polite. It’s rare you’ll see me without Diet Coke. And Red Bull. Giddy up. And now they make beer with caffeine. : D

Where does your nickname on DPC derive from?

A debaucherous week with my Italian Friend Luigi. He thinks we should all be Italian.

Do you have your own website, if so can I list it here?

peter-marlin.com is the only active one at the moment. It’s just a personal site for photos, music, and inane babble.

I’m developing a portraits-only site called onehundredfaces.com , but time never seems to permit. I’m currently in the process of developing another site which will be for pro-fotogs that will be something like a Canadian version of printroom.com. A place to upload, store, print, and sell photos. I’m guessing it will launch in November, but again…believe it when you see it.

Hardware

Take us through a history of your camera purchases, both film and digital.

1976 - ‘inherited’ my Dad’s Minolta Autopak 500
1986 - Purchased Pentax PZ-10 SLR
2000 - Purchased a Sony TVR Digital 8 video cam with still capability (1megapixel of terror)
2001 - Purchased Nikon Coolpix 995 (sold in 02)
2002 - Purchased Nikon Coolpix 5700

2003 – Purchased Canon dRebel (sold in 04)
2004 - Purchased Nikon D70.

What camera do you currently use and are you happy with it?

Still using and loving the D70.

You own a DSLR. It would be great if you would list the lenses you own, what you think of each lens, and how often each one gets used.

I can honestly say I’ve won 100% of all the competitions I’ve entered outside of DPC.

Lenses

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8DG IF-ED VR – phenomenal lens. - I use it for just about all purposes, but mainly candids. It’s probably on my camera 50% of the time. Fast and sharp, but heavy.

Nikon AF Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G IF-ED DX – my least used but most entertaining lens. I tried entering a fishy pic on DPC and it got hammered. It seems voters don’t share my passion for fisheye.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 – cheap and fast. Very sharp. I use it for most of my studio portraits. The lack of zoom makes it hard to do candids with. Hard to argue with its simplicity.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED – the kit lens. It’s a great starter lens, and amazing quality for a ‘kit’ lens. Anyone wanna buy a kit lens?

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED – can’t be beat for wide angle, but has limited use other than that. I’d like the long end to be about 40 or 50mm. Then it would be almost perfect.

Are you considering another camera purchase in the near future? If so, what?

Purchase? No. But I was thinking of trying to steal a D2X from Morgan or Dr. Jones.

Do you still own/use any compact digicams for their ease of use and less weight?

You know I kept my Coolpix 5700 for that very reason, but looking back I’ve only used it once since I got the D70. and that was to take a picture of the D70. hm. Maybe I should re-think that. Anyone wanna buy a Coolpix 5700?

What size memory cards do you have?

2x 1GB
3x256MB

Do you shoot in JPG or RAW mode?

It depends on the situation. If the shots are really important or really tricky exposure I’ll use RAW, but mostly I shoot in the lowest compression JPG. I rarely print larger than 8x10, so I prefer getting more shots per card.

Have you ever lost any images on memory cards?

Never.  I have lost a card though…does that count?

If you have a home studio setup, please describe it.

I have 6 of those really cheap Home Depot halogens. 2 are on tripods so I can position them just about anywhere. Because they’re so cheap I can haul them with me everywhere (and I do) and not worry about breaking them. On the downside they’re hot like the sun (which isn’t always a negative in the winter when it’s -30 degrees). I recently built a ring light for portraits as well.

Software

Do you use any software for organising your digital pictures?

ACDSee 6.0. Uber quick thumbnails and lots of keystroke shortcuts. Not a bad search tool either. For browsing I like Picasa 2.0.

Do you use Photoshop or an alternative? If so what version?

Photoshop CS2. Photoshop is sexxxahhhh.

What Photoshop skills do you consider to be essential to digital photography?

Essential: Cropping, curves or levels, Unsharp mask (for DSLRs), and at least one decent B&W conversion method. Quadtones are my preference.

Nice-to-know skills: Dodging and Burning, layers and blending modes, Cloning/Healing, and liquify for adding horns to people’s heads.


"The Unbearable Lightness of Simon"

Out of your own entries on DPC, what photo had the most digital editing?

Hm. I guess technically Idle Hands was the most affected by editing, though it only took about 30 seconds. The Unbearable Lightness of Simon actually took a lot more work. Seems I'm not very smart about time appropriation.

Do you use any other software in relation to digital photos? If so, what?

Neat Image to prepare images for print, but rarely for challenges.

On the whole, do you prefer a minimalist approach to post editing, a no rules approach, or somewhere in between?

Do what ya gotta do to make it look purdy. it's the final image that matters, no?

 

Images

“Forrest Gump” is your highest scoring image on DPC; take us through the background to this shot, and what you feel about it now, some 18 months later?


"Forrest Gump"

Stupid is as stupid does. Sometimes you find a photo, and sometimes it finds you. As soon as I saw the topic this idea popped into my head. I look more like Forrest Gump than Brad Pitt so I didn’t figure I had too many options. I garnered a small audience sprinting back and forth from camera to bench in a suit and bad-ass running shoes.

I’m pretty sure they were waiting for the nice men in the white van with a fancy extra long-sleeved jacket to come and get me.

From a technical perspective the photo sucks, but the idea apparently was solid enough to overcome that minor detail.

It is often said that true artists put their whole self into their work. In producing “Disturbed” it looks like you followed this ethos. This image has received high acclaims and criticisms. Can you describe the thought processes you went through to produce this, and your own responses to some of the observations made by others?

I actually had the idea to do a series of shots with fishing line well before this challenge came up. I have always been drawn to slightly obscure images and wanted to create something unique.,
"Disturbed"

I was pleasantly surprised by it’s placing, because typically people tend to like pretty images, and this one ain’t so much pretty.

I laughed when I saw that it received more ‘1’ votes than any of my other entries; some of my entries have been really bad. I can’t say I was surprised by the mixed reaction though…People only see what they are prepared to see.

Looking through your challenge entries and portfolio, you seem enjoy taking Portraits. What is it that attracts you to this genre of photography, and which portrait shots have given you the most pleasure?

I’m most often drawn to photos that I can connect with on an emotional level. By definition, portraits have an inherent advantage over inanimate objects in this regard. I hope I can show my subjects in such a way that the viewer can connect to it and may see something they wouldn’t have seen without my direction.

I figure the camera’s job is to record what’s in front of it; the photographer’s job is to gently guide the viewer through the photo and see what he /she wants them to see. I decided this year that I really wanted to develop my own style of portraiture. Here are some of the latest.

There are a number of photographs of horses in your challenge submissions, are they an important part of your life, and do you draw inspiration from them?


"At Last Light"

My father-in-law breeds Appaloosas, so for the past 15 years I’ve been around horses a lot.

I wouldn’t say I’m particularly inspired by horses per se. However they’re willing models and really really really ridiculously good looking, so they’re kind of a natural target for a goof with a camera. And they don't bitch if their mane is a little out of place and their mascara is running.

You seems to have an eclectic style, taking inspiration from a number of different styles and techniques. Is this just my take on things or do you feel you have developed a specific style/technique?

Eclectic is just a polite way of saying random and scatterbrained. I’m really still searching for my groove. When I first got home from Thailand I was really lost about what I wanted to do with photography. It brings me real peace and so I didn’t like being at odds with it. Manny (librodo) and I had some very interesting conversations about what it means to be an artist and being true to yourself that didn’t really sink in until after I got home. Since then I've had a much clearer view of the direction I want to go. I’m nowhere near achieving it yet, but I’m on my way. I may never arrive, but I’m enjoying the journey.

One of my favourites is “first snow” I like the simplicity of this photograph. How did you come up with this idea, how was the actual shot taken and how much post processing did you have to undertake?


"First Snow"

I love clean lines and strong contrasts. The ‘yellow’ topic just begs for that sort of image. As with most of my shots that score well the idea hit before I ever set out to shoot anything. First I had to trek up half a mountain in -40 degree weather to reach the beautiful and rare yellow snow daisy.

Then I was attacked by this huge polar bear and…ok…not really. I went to the grocery store, bought a six pack of daisies, drove in my heated car to a nearby park, poked the flower in the snow, took the photo, and got back to my car as fast as I could. It really was -40. I didn’t do much processing at all as it was a basic editing challenge. Curves and USM.

Your “Morning Mist collection” has some great images, what inspired you to take this series?

Wow what a morning. I was up unusually early that day (actually I think I was still up from the night before), and as I drove over this bridge there was a crazy fog coming off the Bow river. Foggy Road Home came from that day. I happened to be very near my two favourite trees so I went and shot them too. I like the idea of shooting series’ of pictures; building a story through multiple images..

For me “Interlude” is one of your images which has even greater impact when you understand its context. I often wonder whether the “blind voting process” adopted for DPC reduces our ability to fully articulate and appreciate a visual story. Please explain the story behind this image and comment on my previous statement.

Context is pretty important element of composition. I think if the photo needs too much explanation you maybe haven’t done a good enough job filling in those blanks
"Interlude"
.

That was a really weird day for me. It was just before the third anniversary of 9/11. The last time I was in New York before that was 3 weeks before the towers went down. Oddly I stayed in what was the World Trade Centre Marriott Hotel. I had pictures in my camera (film) from inside the World Trade Centre that weren’t developed until it no longer existed. Freaks me out a little.

I don’t really know how to explain the story behind it. It’s a very noisy place. Not just the noise of the construction and tourists and traffic…but there’s a persistent underlying discord there. More than a few tormented souls were left behind and if you’re listening you’ll hear them. Maybe if I was there long enough I’d be able to tune them out, but I somehow doubt it.

For the first half hour I was there I could barely even move from my spot against the construction fence that surrounds Ground Zero. I tried to focus on the sound of the erhu to keep the other noises out. It’s got such a haunting and penetrating sound you can’t help but be moved by it. I did finally get my head out of my wazoo long enough to shoot some frames. After that I don’t think I spoke for four or five hours. It was an exceedingly heavy day.

.

The same two trees which are in your morning mist collection appeared in your entry “Soul Mates”. This image has a rather surreal and haunting feeling, which I suspect has been achieved through post processing. Please can you explain the inspiration behind this image and the workflow used to create the final image?


"Soul Mates"

I'll explain a bit about the trees themselves later. They're old friends of mine :)

This was my first shoot with them, and again I had an idea in my head but not the technical expertise in Photoshop to achieve it. I sort of got what I wanted out of it, but not really. The idea was that in this barren desolate landscape these two trees were chillin' out and were so peaceful together that their aura was visible…that’s what the glow was all about.

All I really did to it was burn the heck out of the shadows in the parts that I wanted dark, and dodge the highlights in the parts I wanted to glow. In retrospect I could been much more subtle about it and still got the same feeling from it. If we have a “Do-Over” challenge, this is probably the image I’d re-do.
 

What has been your hardest image to photograph, and why?


"Tragic"

 

Hands Down it has to "tragic" Sometimes meeting someone can have such a profound impact on you that it changes you.

I spent almost no time with this man, yet I think he taught me more in 5 seconds than I’ve learned in the last 20 years. We didn’t actually speak.

If you would like to explain any more of your images in more depth, please feel free.


"untitled"

 

Tony, the subject in this photo, doesn’t really look like this. And those aren’t his boots.

 

General

Are there any type of photographic styles/techniques that you don't like?

Yes.

Name 5 photos on DPC that inspire you, in order of preference.

 


"The Chellist"
by Alecia Mitchell

Far and away my favourite photo. There’s too much goodness going on to describe all that I love about it. I’m not sure if you can really get it without having been there, but I had the extreme fortune of being there with Alecia when she took it. A picture is worth a thousand words, an orchestra of Cellos and million drops of rain. Pure magic. It hangs in my living room.


"A Novice Monk: Simple Life or Simply a Kid?"
by Manuel Librodo Jr

This was the first Librodo I ever saw, and the one that immediately convinced me I was looking at the work of a genius. The smirk, the pose, the lighting…all trademark Manny, and also worthy of hanging on my wall (it does)


"Surreal Vacuming"
by Árni Torfason

Arni is my hero when it comes to taking creative and technically superior portraits. I don’t even know that this is my favourite of his portraits, but it epitomizes what I love about his style.


"Vincent"
by Jean-Jacques Béguin

I could have chosen any one of JJ’s portraits (I wrestled between this one and Mother and Son – another one starring Vincent). JJ’s photos have a remarkable documentary quality to them. No…it’s more than documentary; educational almost. Hard to explain. I can get lost in his portfolio for hours.


"Little Brick Boy"
by Frank Lama

If you haven’t taken time to check him out, you really should. Frank’s portraits ooze cool. Little Brick Boy speaks volumes.

Who is your favourite photographer on DPC?

My favourite fotog is a mythical beast who has the technical skill of arnit, the lighting skills of kiwiness/Anastasia, Alecia’s ability to capture emotion, sher9204’s attention to detail, Jacko’s attitude and humour, goodman’s artistic ability, JPR’s bizarreness, jjbeguin’s compositional skill, scalvert’s creativity, heida's ability to tell a story, Gordon’s technical knowledge, librodo’s ability to find beauty, kosmikreeper's vision, and a thousand more pieces of a thousand more people on this site. Yeah. That person would be awesome :-)

What are the 5 favourite shots that you have taken, and why?

 


"Souls Mates II - Light"

Soul Mates II – Light. This was an image that was rattling around in my head for a long time. Two old trees, silhouetted and overlapping as if they were holding hands…watching the sunset. I looked for months to find just the right ones, and they turned out to be just around the corner. I’ve shot them several times, but that particular morning all the moons aligned.


"Aspiration"

This little man took the cake. He was in a playground at Union Square in New York City. He tried so hard to get up the slide. His dad kept telling him no, but he was determined. Had great plans of success going against the odds…then he fell flat on his pumpkin. I feel like that a lot.


"Can't ear You"

This guy was just a riot. He’s a homeless guy that hangs out near Bay and Bloor in Toronto. I’ve seen him a few times and on that day I asked if I could take his picture. He agreed and promptly stuck his finger in his ear. No idea why, but I’m glad he did. Then he offered to take a photo of my friend and I with my camera. Um…no. Thanks though.  : )


"Joe"

if you knew him you’d understand.  : )


"Fufi At Sunrise"

There was so much luck involved with this photo I almost feel guilty taking credit for it. I was flying into Narita, Japan from Singapore. It’s goofy because you cross the international dateline, so basically you leave at 10am and arrive at 7am the same day. Huh? And here I thought stockbrokers were supposed to be good with numbers. Anyway, the rest of the details are in the pic description.

What do you consider to be important aspects of photography?

Putting the memory card in and pushing the button. Oh, and taking off the lens cap. The rest is a crapshoot.

Some critics still don't think photography is a form of art. What is your response to this?

Some critics are dumb. And cheese gets really gross and mushy if you put it in a fishbowl full of 7-up.

Are you planning any photo trips in the future? If so, where?

I love to travel. In the last 18 months I’ve been to San Francisco, New York, Boston, LA, AZ, Toronto, and Thailand. I shot a wedding (among other things) in Torreon, Mexico last week, and I’d really like to go to Chile or Africa in the spring.

Do you have any photographic projects outside of DPC?

A few. The most demanding one currently is my friend Annette, who’s a very successful fitness model. I’m her photographer/website guy/fitness and nutrition consultant (that’s what I did before I became a stock broker). She just won the Fitness and Model Expo in Toronto in June, so will be on the cover of Oxygen in a month or so…that also means I’ll be getting some more exposure in some magazines too : )

I’m also working on that print-room-esque site I mentioned earlier…soon I hope.

What do you feel is your most underrated shot?


"The Unbearable Lightness of Simon"

 

The Unbearable Lightness of Simon. – I’m not sure why it appeals to me so much; maybe it’s because it turned out very much like I had planned which so rarely happens. I’m a big fan of Surrealism, and that’s what I was trying to go for (albeit subtly). It did very poorly in the challenge, which in itself means nothing. I probably think it’s better than it really is, but no madda. I like it still.

DPC

If you could change one thing about DPChallenge, what would it be?

I’d like to get a little button that I could press when people start to get anal about the semantics of a challenge description. The first time it might just give them a mild shock to their finger tips. A warning shot, as such.

The second offence would bring a mild beating by a hoard of Huns. Strike three would deploy the Ninjas.

What was your motivation for joining DPC?, Is your motivation for continuing to participate any different today?


"By The Sea"
 

I saw By The Sea and wanted to learn how to make photos as good as this.

 

Still haven’t done it…so I remain.  : )

If you could offer some advice to somebody who is new to DPC and submitting to DPC challenges, what would it be?

I’d point out that certain styles of photography tend to score better here than others. For example, well composed, technically proficient photos of interesting subjects will tend to score better than blurry overexposed photos of your cat. And if it doesn’t score well…it’s not because voters didn’t get it. It’s because they didn’t like it. Ok? Ok. No need to start an angry thread about it then.  : )

Since challenge entries are pretty much a part of your "permanent record", in retrospect, are there any pictures you wish you hadn't submitted to a challenge?

No, I like that they’re there. Whenever I’m unhappy with something I produce I can look back and think “well at least I don’t suck THAT badly anymore”.  : )

it’s all about degrees of suckitude I think.

How do you decide which challenges you are going to enter and which ones you'll skip?

It’s a mathematical formula:

     Interesting Topic + Good idea + ability to execute idea + time to execute idea   
     # of annoying reasons voters might use to say it doesn’t meet the challenge         =  entry factor


The higher the resultant the more likely I am to enter.

Do you regularly seek assistance outside of the DPC community in trying to determine which of your photos you should submit?

I’m not usually organized enough to have anything ready more than about 20 minutes before the deadline, so there’s not usually time. I’m more likely to ask a DPC person their opinion though, since people outside the DPC community don’t really get it. Outsiders tend to offer more gratuitous compliments than serious critique. Pats on the back are nice, but ultimately worthless when it comes to your score.

If you could personally ask Drew & Langdon for one new site feature or enhancement, what would it be?

The anti-anal-yst-Ninja-deployment-system I mentioned above would be best, but since I think that one’s still a bit of a long-shot I’d probably choose something that makes it easier to browse portfolios. That or a gear-for-sale/trade forum.

Final Question

Why do you enjoy photography?

It tickles the right side of my brain. The left side does most of the work day-to-day, so it’s nice to have something a little more creative than “buy low, sell high”.



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