by Dan Hare (dhare)
Jul 18 2004

Where do you live?

Originally, I come from New Zealand but moved to Germany some years ago. We have just bought a new house in a small town in the north of Germany called Nottuln, and have been spending all our spare time renovating and moving lately. That's the reason this interview has been sitting on hold the last weeks.

Tell us about your family/friends. Have you met anyone from DPC?

My wife Nastya is also a member on DPC (Anastasia) so we share the same passion of photography. She works as a photographer in a local photo studio. She is a great help to me and I get all kinds of tips from her on lighting, etc. However, it is usually impossible for us to work together on the same photoshoots because we inevitably end up in some kind of argument. Our tastes in photography are quite different!

My immediate family lives in New Zealand so I don't get to see them that often, maybe once every 4 years or so.

I have met a few DPC'ers in the past. Magnetic9999 and his wife Anita came to stay with us last year for a few days. We drove to Paris for a couple of days together, I enjoyed that time a lot. Mag is a great person who I respect very much! I also met Stephan in Berlin, a very down to earth and very likeable person. In May we went on a tour around Scandanavia and I got the chance to meet Carsten and Mona in Sweden where we stayed for two nights. They are both wonderful people and went out of their way to make sure we had the best time possible. Carsten has some wonderful work, it's a pity he doesn't submit so much anymore. Mona is very dedicated to DPC and puts all she has into her entries, she loves photography very much. On the same trip we met Motocycleboi who lives way up the top of Sweden near the Arctic Circle. Very nice guy, he showed us around the beautiful area he lives, awesome countryside.

What is your occupation?

I work as an English language trainer for an EDP center. There are something like 2000 employees working there so I have my work cut out for me for a while.

How long have you been involved in photography?

Not really all that long actually. “I can't sing, I can't paint and I can't write how I feel, so all I have left is photography to express myself” I have always been taking photos in some way or another, mainly snap shots, holiday photos, that kind of stuff. But I never really got into it seriously until the end of 2002. About that time Nastya was the one who took most of the photos for our albums and I noticed that she was getting good at it and starting to take some amazing photos. She had started to move away from our usual snap shot style and started to get a little creative about it. She took some really amazing photos that I found so stunning that I was quite envious, and because of my competitive nature, I wanted to take better photos than she did. So I bought myself an Olympus C-5050Z and began to learn all I could about photography. Then one bleak December day I stumbled across DPC, found the competitive nature of the site very much to my liking and got hooked immediately.

Have you won any photographic competitions outside of DPC?

Well despite my extreme competitiveness I don't really take part in any other competitions. For a while I did, but I have stopped it all now, and DPC is the only place I (seldom these days) take part in challenges. In the past I have won competitions on www.digitalphotonut.com and www.digitalphotocontest.com and fotofutam.npc.hu

Apart from DPC I enter photos on a Russian site under the name of Giorgi Peskoff (my alias), it isn't a competition site, but the critiques you get there are hard, honest and direct!

What's your favourite movie?

Gladiator without a doubt. Russell Crowe is not only a fantastic actor, he is also from New Zealand :-) He really showed his acting versatility in the film Beautiful Mind. Also one of my favourites.

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

I prefer silence when working at the computer. Nastya prefers loud music. More arguments :-) But when I do listen to music I just go how my mood is. My tastes range from classical through to heavy and most of everything in between.

Whats your favourite food?

Since I got married to a Russian girl it has to be Russian food. Love it!

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

I'm an incurable coffee drinker. It's my only caffeine source, unless beer contains caffeine :-)

Where does the nick 'kiwiness' come from?

Kiwi is the slang name for New Zealanders, and kiwiness comes from His Royal Kiwiness, something that just came up jokingly ages ago. I can't even remember how it really originated, but I think it was while I was looking for an email addy on Yahoo and all the other names I wanted were already taken.

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

I don't have my own website yet, but it is on my list of things to do.

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

My first digital camera I brought in 1995, it was an Olympus D-320L with something like 800,000 pixels. The next camera was an Olympus D-340L with 1.2 mega-pixels. I took that camera with me everywhere and showed off all the time that it was possible to take photos and look at them immediately on the LCD. Unfortunately that camera got stolen. I then bought the Olympus C-5050 Zoom which is now with Loz1 somewhere downunder in Australia. I had the Olympus E20 for about 4 weeks after that which I didn't like at all so I exchanged it for the Canon 10D which I still have today.

You currently use a Canon EOS-10D, are you happy with this camera?

Absolutely! It was well worth the investment. I have had it for well over a year now and will probably keep it for a long time to come. The only thing that bothers me with the 10D sometimes is the slow start up time, I have often missed good photos because of it.

Since you own an 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.

Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5

Good lens, sharp and fast. I don't use it so often though, mainly for landscapes, or indoor shots.

Sigma 24-70 f/2.8.

This lens I use the most and have it on my camera as a standard. “The equivalent Canon 24-70 costs 3 times as much as the Sigma but I find the quality pretty much the same.” I use it for out-and-about photography and also studio fashion and model work. My wife recommended this lens to me seeing she uses it as a standard on her camera and had good results with it. The equivalent Canon 24-70 costs 3 times as much as the Sigma but I find the quality pretty much the same.

Canon 50mm f/1.4.

Excellent lens for portraits and for hand held use in low light conditions. However, if I had to choose again I would probably buy the f/1.8 model at a third of the price.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS.

Darling lens! Luv it! Very expensive though and I don't use it as much as I would like to. But when I do it is either for sport, wildlife or candid photography. I often use it together with the Canon 1.4 Extender.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro.

I hardly use this lens at all, which is a pity because it is a fantastic lens. Jacko does some amazing stuff with it! I am not really into macro photography though so it stays in my bag most of the time.

That's all I have. There isn't anything else I have on my shopping list at the moment. Maybe one day I'll get myself a fisheye lens but I am afraid that will probably stay in my bag most of the time as well.

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

I was considering the new Canon 1D Mark II, but as Setz already mentioned it is a hell of a lot of money to pay for a few extra features. I've decided to stay with the 10D, I am very happy with it.

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

Nope. I did keep my Olympus C-5050 Zoom for a while when I bought my 10D, but it just stayed in the cupboard all the time so I sold it.

What size memory cards do you have?

Believe it or not I only have a 1 GB Microdrive, that's it! If I need more then I just use Nastya's :-)

Do you shoot in JPG or RAW mode?

Both. I shoot in JPG when I am out and about and I shoot in RAW in the studio or for set up shots.

Have you ever lost any images on memory cards?

Yes, often! Next question please.

What does your home studio consist of, in terms of lighting, backgrounds, etc.

I don't have a home studio, I shoot any studio shots at Nastya's work studio, I can use it whenever I like.

Do you use any software for organising your digital pictures?

I use ACDsee version 4. But it doesn't help much, I am just not someone who can organise anything. My photos go into folders created by the Canon Software and every now and then I just transfer them onto CD-ROM which I write the month and date on.

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

I only use Photoshop CS. I always update as soon as a new version comes out.

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

That depends on what you want to do with your images. Generally, if you get the exposure and composition right in the camera then you shouldn't have to do too much post processing. In such cases I just tweak the curves and/or levels using adjustment layers and sharpen. It usually takes me a long time to get the combination right though. If I want to get an image ready for a print or my portfolio (or DPC member's challenge) then I go a bit deeper and may use other features like dodge and burn, layer masks and the channel mixer. Digitally manipulated images like my cloning shots for example, I mainly use layer masks, vector masks, the pen tool (can't live without it) and various brushes. The cloning and stamp tools in Photoshop are indispensable! Sometimes I tend to post edit photos even if they don't really need it. Don't ask me why!

"X-ray frames"

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

X-ray frames, I spent about 7 hours on that one. But looking at it now, I see so many mistakes. It was my first attempt at anything like that.

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

For image processing I only use Photoshop CS. There are a number of third party filters I use on separate layers of the image I am working on and blend them into the background layer. I don't often use the Photoshop standard USM filter anymore, instead I use KPT Equalizer where I have far more control on the sharpening results. Other third party filters I use now and then are Flaming Pear Melancholytron, Human Soft Select 3.0 for color correction, and the Andromeda Scatterlight filter which is good for simulating shallow DOF. In the past I used NeatImage a lot but I don't use it anymore.

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

I post-edit all the photos I want to print or post on the internet and I spend an amazing amount of time getting each image exactly to the way I want it. Long ago I used to use the auto functions on curves and levels and was usually always satisfied with the result. Now I need more control and take the time to adjust manually, getting each channel the way I want it.

"Portre Ressami" is your highest scoring image on DPC. One of the best portraits I have seen anywhere, let alone on DPC. Take us through the studio setup for this image. Did you arrange model clothing? What kind of instruction did you have to give your model? Have you worked with her before?

"Portre Ressami"

Thank's for the compliment! I got the idea for that shot whilst on holiday in Mallorca, Spain. Nastya and I were in an internet café checking out our current scores (even on holiday we were clicking the update button :-) ) and we saw that the next challenge was "portraits".
"He Never Came" Nastya said she was going to beat me in the portraits challenge, so of course I spent the rest of the holiday thinking up what I would shoot. Nastya bought herself a scarf (the one in the portrait) which I liked and decided to use in my photo. One of my favourite photographers is Steve McCurry, I thought of his famous photo of the Afghan girl, so I decided to do something along that line.

The photo itself I shot in the studio where Nastya works. Nastya helped me with the lighting, I think we used three soft boxes from the sides and above. We wrapped the scarf around her head to give her a kind of "Middle East" look, some light make-up and that was all. I think I only took about 8 or 9 shots all together. The model is Pia, she is 16 and has amazing eyes. I have used her once before on the photo "He Never Came".

My personal favourite of all your images is "Zero spot editing.. How?". I have often asked friends if they know how it was done. No-one has picked it yet. After looking at it closely, with explanation in hand, it becomes blindingly obvious. How did you get the idea for this? What was the hardest thing to get right in this shot? How many takes did you need to get it right?

"Zero spot editing. How?"

That shot turned out to be a real disaster! I have an aquarium, no fish, just an aquarium which I use for photography. I had it filled with water for the martini glass shot and left a little hose hanging outside of it the night after I had done the shot. Overnight 120 liters of water siphoned out of the aquarium and onto the living room floor!!! It wasn't a pretty sight :-)

The idea I got from something I saw once in a magazine and I wanted to do it differently. It wasn't all that difficult actually, the hardest part was blowing through the rubber hose to get the right amount of air bubbles rising into the glass and pushing the shutter at the right time. I think I took about 25 shots for that one.

You have shot a few partial nude/erotic pieces, like "Sun Basker", "Daniela" and "Alina". What do you feel is important with this type of shot? What was your lighting setup for these shots? What advice can you give for people attempting this type of photography?

"Sun Basker"

Nude photography is something I would like to do more of in future, along with more fashion photography. It is still fairly new for me and I find it a little difficult to ask girls to take their clothes off for me :-) Sun Basker was my entry for the nude challenge, the model was Julia the same model as I used for X-ray Frames.
"Daniela" We went to an abandoned quarry for that shoot and the sun was pretty much overhead and harsh so not really adequate for such a shooting. It was the first time I ever used dodging and burning to get the image right. Nastya's entry Stone Aged for that challenge is the same model in the same quarry.

Daniela just wanted photos for her portfolio, it is all studio work using soft boxes and umbrellas etc. Alina is new. She is a Russian girl I met from Cologne, 16 years old and has a lot of potential. I will do a lot more work with her soon. So far I have only done one photo shoot with her which we did out in the wheat fields and some portrait shots in the studio.
"Alina" I also used her for the cloning shot Fight for the Groom.

Advice for this kind of photography? The most important thing is to have ideas before the shooting. Very important! It will hardly ever work if the model turns up and you don't have any concrete ideas of what you want to do with her. I always write a list of my ideas before hand with some sketches, stuff like that.

Some of your recent pictures, that have been heavily modified in photoshop, have provided inspiration for many people. Can you give budding digital artists any tips for this type of work?

"Egghead"

"Rituals"

I had been working with Photoshop long before I started with photography, I started way back with Photoshop 4 and updated everytime a new version came out. I have always liked graphical work and the possibility to combine digital photography with Photoshop was something that I welcomed with open arms. However it is only something I do for fun and not something I would pursue as my future in photography. Digital manipulation can create some amazing images, but it isn't really photography in my eyes. It is just a way of creating illusions. Fun, but that is all!

What has been the hardest image to photograph, out of all of your entries on DPC? Why?

"Ice Fall"

"Gotta Light"

I think the photos where split second timing is concerned. For example "Ice Fall", "Gotta Light" and "Fingering Ghost" which require perfect coordination to get the desired result.

"X-Ray frames" was a unique concept that was flawlessly executed. Was it difficult in deciding on the composition of this piece? Was it hard to direct the model to get what you needed? How do you feel personally about this photo?

"X-ray frames"

Actually I wanted to do something completely different for the multi image composition challenge. I wanted Julia to do the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" trilogy. But as I was shooting it I wasn't happy with the results at all. It didn't have the kick I wanted. It wasn't until later in the evening, after we had all had a lot of red wine that I decided to do the X-ray Frames idea. Photographer and model were definitely not sober for those shots :-)

Some of your cloning pictures like 'My brothers and me', 'All my brothers' and 'multiple kiwis', represent the fantastic side people love to see in trick photography. I think I speak for all of DPC when I ask you, 'Whats next?'

"All my brothers"

Hmmm. I am not that sure to tell the truth.
"multiple kiwis!" Mostly those ideas just pop into my head and I go out and do it straight away. Zoomdak did a cloning photo a while back called Brothers in the Garden (part 2) where he had two clones shaking hands. I thought about that and wanted to try something with clones interacting. It is a difficult process and I shall try to refine it more. I tried one photo trying interaction with Fight For the Groom, where two brides are arm wrestling in a battle to win the groom. It turned out okay, but I need to have it look more realistic. In that photo you can see there is no pressure on the brides' arms and the connection of the hands is not realistic enough. My next cloning photos will probably be more along that line. I do have a couple of other ideas for my brothers photos but there will be a lot of work involved so I'll be putting that off for a while.

You have provided some great photography with the simplest of images. Some examples are "H2O", "Overpainted" and "Gotta light?". Why do you think simplicity works so well with these images? What advice can you give to people who want to photograph simplistic images, and achieve results such as these?

"H2O"

"Overpainted"

Simplicity is really the key to good photography, well for me anyway. Everything I have seen that I really like is so simple! Look at most of the blue ribbon winners here on DPC and you will see that they all possess that element of simplicity. One main subject standing out. It is always a winner. Cluttered and busy images just don't come over well.

Your first entry was "Road to Fogginess". If you could critique that now, what would you say? Would you change anything?

"Road to Fogginess"

I wouldn't change it at all, I still like that photo a lot. I was surprised at myself, I had next to no idea about photography or any rules etc, it was just something I did so that I could enter a photo here. Once I saw my score my obssession with numbers and statistics took over and I was hooked. My only critique would be that it is too centered I suppose.

I think one of your newer images, "Silence", is simply outstanding. Can you describe the photo shoot, how you worked with the model, and why you chose this location?

"Silence"

"Silence" was a photo taken during the first photoshooting with Alina. My original idea was to shoot something similar to the scene in the film "Gladiator" where someone is walking though a wheat field running the tips of their fingers over the top of the wheat. Some of those ones turned out okay too, but this is the one that really had some kick to it. I love the way she is so graceful and the way her hair is so similar to the wheat. It was an overcast day so the lighting was good. I was standing on top of a car and Nastya was holding a reflector in front of her face to lighten it up a little.

"Can of worms" is another one of your popular images. Can you explain the lighting and composition for this shot?

"Can of worms"

This was the one shot I was worried about turning off those people who liked voting while eating breakfast :-) I shot it on the living room table using white photoboard for a background and a soft box to the front left. Taking the photo was the easy part actually, the most difficult part was washing each worm separately so that there was not a speck of dirt on them.

Out of all 8 images you have come first on, what surprised you the most?

I was surprised on every one of them! I didn't expect any of them to win! But the one that surprised me the most I suppose was the can of worms.

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

I explained most of them in the details of each photo.

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

No not really. I like to look at good photos whatever the style or technique. Especially if it is done well and says something to me. I myself am not a macro photographer for example, I don't really like it, but I love looking at macro photography. I spent a long time trying to find a technique I like and I did a lot of macro photography in the past. I bought reversing rings and macro accessories, but it never really interested me at all so I don't do it.

What is your preferred style of photo? (i.e. macro, landscape, etc)

Landscape photography is another area which doesn't really interest me at all. I like looking but I don't like doing it myself. Without a doubt journalist and documentary photography is probably what I like best. I don't really have any examples on DPC but I have some posted on my pbase page here. Portrait photography is something I also like very much and of course fashion photography which I will be doing a lot more of soon. And if I am not doing that, then I'll be doing digitally manipulated and composited photos. That about covers it really.

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

This is a very difficult question for me because there are so many photos I like very much. The list I write here will probably change tomorrow depending on my mood :-) but this would be the list as I see it now:

"The Soul Speaks"
by Manuel Librodo Jr.

Way underrated!

"Rings"
by Constance Mcguire

"Electric Fragility"
by Ecliptic Blue

"Reflections"
by Alecia Mitchell

"Come into the Real World..."
by Nathalie Charbonneau

What are the 3 favourite shots that you have taken, and why?

My favourite shots I don't have online unfortunately. But the ones I like best online are these:

"Silence"

Like I mentioned before, I love the flow, the grace and the way the hair blends in to the wheat field.

"Village Boy"

This photo speaks to me a lot. The boy lives in a village deep in the Ural Mountains in Russia. They know nothing about the outside world and the people have their village and nothing else. The clothes he is wearing were worn by his grandfather when he was a boy.

"Unloading Spuds"

This photo I took in a village in Bashkortostan, Russia. The men are unloading sacks of potatoes for the next brew of home made vodka. I like the way the man in the background is motion blurred and the man in the foreground is captured still.

What do you consider to be important aspects of photography?

To be able to capture fleeting moments that the everyday eye misses.

Who is your favourite photographer on DPC?

I have no favourites. I have many I admire very much, too many for me to name here. There is one photographer who has been impressing me a lot lately though. Librodo. He has a large reservoir of talent, and we have only seen a little part of it so far. I enjoy looking at his work very much.

Who is your favourite photographer outside of DPC? (both film and digital, if you like)

There are many many many! Here are a few:

Steve McCurry

Helmut Newton (who unfortunately died earlier this year)

Peter Lindbergh

Vadim Piskaryov

Stephan Rohner

Ronny Marzok

James Nactwey

Ami Vitale

Heidi Bradner

Do you have any photographic projects outside of DPC?

Yup! I have many small projects going. I was recently toying with getting into stock photography but I don't think it is something I would enjoy doing too much. I don't like setting things up and taking photos of them. I know I have done it a lot for DPC challenges but it isn't really my cup of tea. Recently I had the chance to go to Georgia (the country not the state) to take photos for a book, but seeing we just bought a house that all fell through unfortunately.

This year I will be doing a couple of projects in Russia. One is about Russian village life in winter and the other is about a Russian hospital. I am looking forward to those because it is exactly the kind of photography I like best. Ultimately I would love to do documentary photography in places like Afghanistan, Iraq or African countries in civil war, but unfortunately that will never happen according to my wife :-)

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

Let the critics think what they want.

Is there a reason you dont have any prints for sale? I'm sure a lot of people would like to purchase some.

I did have prints for sale in DPC prints but I took them all out earlier this year when I decided to leave DPC. Magnetic9999 talked me into staying, but so far I haven't gotten around to putting anymore prints in.

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

Yep, like I already mentioned I'll be going to Russia at the end of this year. Hopefully the Georgia trip will take place again next year, and possibly I will be going to Siberia next year to Lake Baikal to do a story on village life there. This year is full with the new house so there is not much chance to get away at all.

What do you feel is your most underrated shot?

"Naked Eggs"

Difficult! I don't think any were really underrated. The voting system works quite well here. I maybe would have like my Naked Eggs to have done a little better though.

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

I know that many people wouldn't agree with me but I would like to have a monthly free study challenge every month. At the moment I don't have much time to take part in the weekly challenges and I am sure there are a lot of people out there who are short of time too. But a monthly challenge would give us a little more time to get a photo in at least now and then :-)

You've been a member since Dec. 19 2002. How did you find out about DPC?

I just surfed on in. I think I was looking for photo galleries or something, I can't remember anymore. I am old you know!

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

My motivation was purely competitive, I love to compete, and I love statistics and numbers. DPC offers me all of that. My motivation is still the same now, it is just a problem of time that I don't enter anymore. It will change again soon :-)

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

I wish I could say don't get addicted but that is inevitable here :-) One thing I learnt in the past is if I have to ask myself should I enter my photo or not then don't enter it, it will bomb out. Be absolutely sure about it

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?

Yep, the ones I mentioned before, where I asked myself "should I or shouldn't I"? For example "Loving Eyes" I should never have entered. It was a last minute thing.

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

I only skip challenges because I have no time anymore. In the past I entered every challenge I could. It will change again soon :-)

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

I ask my wife. If she says "WOW" I enter it. If she says, anything else other than "WOW" I don't enter it!

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

I would like to be able to click at the top of my Challenge Entry list on the "Avg Vote", "Place", "Percentile", "Comments", "Viewed" and "Favourites" headings to sort them in order. Would be helpful!

Why do you enjoy photography?

Some one at DPC once made a comment which I find relates to me exactly. I can't remember who wrote it. It was something like: I can't sing, I can't paint and I can't write how I feel, so all I have left is photography to express myself... Well something like that anyway. And that is the reason I enjoy photography because it is the only way I can express myself.