[PREV<<<<][FIRST][HOME][GUEST BLOGGER'S HOMEPAGE][>>>>NEXT]
IMG_1619_750
You know, I don't like to rank photographers, because I want all of them to be my friends, but today's guest blogger is definitely one of the best. But don't just take my word for it. You can also take the word of the people at the 2006 Photobloggies, who named him the best African / Middle Eastern photoblog. Or, you can check him out yourself. The shot here is amazing, especially with the person standing there to give you a sense of scale. Here's what he had to say:
Your URL
http://www.gosu.co.za

Technical information for the shot
Camera: Canon Eos 350d Digital
Lens: Tokina 12-24mm
Flash: Off
Focal Length: 17mm
Exposure: 1/320s
ISO: 400
Aperture: F/6.3
Whitebalance: Auto
Exposure Compensation: -0.7ev

Any stories about the shot/explain the subject matter or how you took the shot?
I was on my way up the hill to get this shot, I was in kind of a hurry because the light was fading fast and the clouds where just perfect. As I was climbing the hill I spotted this guy out of the corner of my eye, he was framed perfectly in the light, but as soon as I turned my lens on him he backed off into the dark. I decided to wait a little, and was rewarded a little while later when he ran right back into the water. So I managed to get my shot and make it up the hill to get my panoramic.

Your photographic philosophy?
I try and show the world as I see it... or maybe not just how I see it, but maybe how it feels when I'm looking at it. There are millions of 'technically' perfect photographs out there and they seem so empty to me, so perfectly soulless, I can't understand why anyone would want to record the world that way. I don't really see photography as anything different to other creative things I do - design, animation... or even skateboarding. It's all the same thing, I just try and push myself as hard as possible, express myself and enjoy it.

The method to your madness?
I underexpose everything, I try and shoot when the light is good, beautiful clouds give me a woody and I never publish anything until I have had a good think about it.

How you got into photography, and any exciting or interesting experiences involving photography?
After school my mom decided that I was not going to sit around all day and sent me off to this nasty design school. The dude that ran the place was a drunk and I hated it from day one, but after a few weeks I found the dark room and ended up spending all my time there. I used an old Minolta XG9 and really got interested in printing techniques, but discovered that you could burn through money pretty fast when you are experimenting. I lost photography for a few years after that when I went off to another design school and immersed myself in art direction and advertising. Then I got a compact digi when I was travelling around the UK in 2002, at the time all I wanted to shoot was textures, so I have hundreds of pictures nothing but textures. In 2004 I decided to get a digi SLR, my motivation at the time was my job - I was getting a little bored and needed another creative outlet.

What is your ultimate dream and/or realistic goals with photography?
I hope to keep learning and enjoying it as much as I have been in the past, it's been a great journey so far and I hope it continues. I have no real ambitions in terms of having exhibitions or following this as a career. I just try not to take it too seriously and have fun.

Anything else you want to add?
Yes, thank you to everyone that has ever commented or given me feedback on gosu. It's a beautiful thing, thank you :)

Guest Blog: Gosu - Images from Africa

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful photo!

11:21 AM, May 30, 2006  
Blogger Zip3 said...

Wow!! Amazing Photo!!!

10:38 AM, June 01, 2006  
Blogger Tuga7 said...

great photo.

4:33 PM, March 15, 2008  

Post a Comment

[HOME]