Centre Stage~Shaun

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Centre Stage~Shaun

« on: October 8, 2008, 10:00 pm »

SHAUN

Charley Farley

Nikon D50 + Sigma 10-20 lens

Taken in Budleigh Salterton, Devon
We stay in a cottage overlooking Budleigh beach every November for my wife's birthday.
Even in bad weather it is a wonderful place to watch the seas crashing onto the pebbles.
This is one of the local fishing boats taken just after sunrise.

Preferences

What camera gear do you currently use, and what will be your next piece of camera kit?

My main camera is a Nikon D300 which I love, having upgraded from a D50 earlier this year. Lenses include a Nikon 18-70, Nikon 18-200VR, Sigma 10-20 and Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro. I have UV filters and circular polarisers for every lens. Plus a selection of Cokin P series ND grads. A Manfrotto 190CL tripod and RC2 head, plus a variety of camera bags. My main walkabout bag is a Lowepro Slingshot 200AW. I process in Elements 6 and Lightroom 1.3. My next purchase will probably be another lens. I have my eye on a Nikon 105mm f2.8VR macro lens so that I can improve my close-up photography.

Are you considered an expert at any aspect of photography?

Absolutely not, I’m still very much a novice. I’ve been into digital photography for about 4 years (and holiday photography with film cameras since childhood) but am still trying to climb that steep learning curve and hope one day to be able to reach the standard of many of the photographers on this site.

Are you considered the 'go to' person for family shots and friendly portraits?

Not really, they probably think I’ll try to take an abstract arty shot instead of what they really want. I’ve taken a lot of shots of property and antiques for sales on behalf of my wife’s parents.

What is your "Ultimate tip" for beginners?

Get the shot in focus because no amount of playing on the computer afterwards will save it if it isn’t. Think about your composition, consider not only what is within your viewfinder, but also what isn’t. Sometimes a change of angle or a few steps to one side can turn an average shot into a great one. And use the light, the light is everything in photography!

What would be your dream location, if you had the choice?

Being into landscapes I would love to visit the South Island of New Zealand, particularly Milford Sound. I’ve also seen amazing shots of the lakes and mountains in Chile and would like to get down there one day. Having said all that, some of the best landscapes I have seen have been taken right here in the UK.

If you had the opportunity to travel back in time what person or event would you like to photograph

I’d like to be sitting on the summit of Everest in 1953 with my camera just as Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing pop their heads over the top and say “Hi Guys, just taking a few shots of the scenery” and see the look on their faces!

GREEK ISLAND SUNRISE

Canon Powershot S2 IS

Halki Island, Dodecanese, Greece. The view from the walk up to Halki Castle. In summer, it is so hot on the island that the only time to walk up the long steep hill is very early in the morning, but it does enable you to enjoy the wonderful sunrise and views back across tiny islets towards the coast of Rhodes.

Performance & Plans

When & how did you get interested in photography?

I’ve always been into photography since childhood. Until a few years ago it was mainly restricted to holidays and special occasions. I would go to incredible lengths to get the shots I wanted on holiday, including on one occasion climbing half way down a cliff. However once the holiday was over and the photos developed and put in albums, the camera would be put away until the next holiday. In 2004 my wife bought me my first digital camera, a 3mp Fujifilm Finepix A210, that’s when my enthusiasm really took off, since then I have upgraded a further three times and photography now plays a big part in my life.

If you had unlimited resources, what aspect of photography would you have a go at?

I’m a big lover of Greece and her islands. My dream would be to live in Greece, and run photography holidays, taking holidaymakers to all my favourite viewpoints, advising them on how to get the best out of their cameras, then helping them to process them afterwards before adjourning to a local taverna for ouzo, wine, good food and photographic chat.

What are your photographic goals?

I would love to be good enough at photography to make enough money for me to give up the job I have now, and to be able to devote my time to taking photos.

Have you won any awards for your photography?

Yes, I won the Greece Magazine (a UK based magazine devoted to the country of Greece) photography competition in 2006 and won a 2 week holiday in a luxury villa in Crete. I also won the Devon Summer photography competition last year and won free admission to all Devon’s tourist attractions for a year. I came 4th in the Daily Telegraph Photography competition last year and won a load of walking gear sponsored by Craghoppers. I was also Greece Magazine’s Photographer of the Month for July 2008.

Does your lifestyle influence your photography?

Maybe… we live in a pleasant country village in the centre of England, so I enjoy taking shots of the surrounding countryside. We also try to get to the coast as much as possible and I love taking shots of the British coastline, which I think offers some of the best seascapes I have seen in any country. My day job is very boring and has no influence on my photography at all, taking photos for me is a way of escaping the monotony of the day to day routine of going to work.

Are you aiming for a particular achievement right now?

I have been offered the chance of a small exhibition of my work in a local restaurant so am in the process of getting suitable local scenes together and framing them. If that takes off I would like to get local shops to sell my framed shots and cards. That would be a small start to achieving my dream of making enough money from photography to live on.

Have your photographs ever been published?

I have had photos published in Greece Magazine (several times), Country Walking Magazine, Devon Views Magazine, and local newspapers in Staffordshire. I have also had several of my shots used on the internal intranet website of my employers the Department of Work and Pensions here in the UK.

GATEWAY TO THE WEST

Nikon D50 + Nikkor 18-70

Taken in Sidmouth Devon
The view through the entrance to Sidmouth's Connaught Gardens, across Lyme Bay, one late winter's afternoon

Passion

About what aspect of photography do you feel most passionate?

Definitely landscapes, I love being outside in the countryside and on the coast, both here in the UK and on holiday in other parts of the world. The different seasons and the constantly changing light give landscape photography so many possibilities, especially on the coast where the changing seas and skies can make the same scene seem totally different even minutes later.

Do you have any famous photographer that you get inspiration from? If not, where do you look for inspiration?

Not really, in fact I don’t think I have ever really studied the work of any famous photographers to any great extent, Perhaps I should! I could mention people like Waite, Cornish and Noton who are all superb, but very often some of the images uploaded to this site are just as good, if not better. I get my inspiration from the Photography Cafe and other similar websites, and from photography magazines.

Do you get inspiration from the pictures in the Gallery?

Absolutely, quite often I will view some of the shots on this website at full size and just think WOW! The quality, colour and texture of some of the images here are just awesome. The landscapes and seascapes always catch my eye more than people shots, flowers, and abstracts etc.

Which Cafe members inspire your photography and why?

The café is full of tremendous photographers of all abilities and with varied experience. I’m struggling to think of names to be honest but those who come up with those landscapes and seascapes with that special WOW factor inspire me greatly. I was a big fan of Anna Banana’s series of lighthouse shots last year and I’ve always been an admirer of the work of Pekster, particularly those taken in the Peak District which isn’t too far from me. Many of the photographers on the café produce wonderful images which I find influence my own style.

What is the most interesting thing you've ever shot? The most boring?

That’s a difficult one to answer. For me the most interesting shot would probably be the one which won me the Greece Magazine photography competition, which resulted in a fabulous all expenses paid 2 week holiday in a luxury villa in Crete. The shot was a candid of an elderly Greek gentleman sipping his coffee outside a kafenion in a mountain village which seemed to catch the eye of the judges. We returned to the same kafenion this summer and were delighted to see a photograph on the wall of the same man, reading a copy of the magazine with his picture on the front and beaming all over his face, I’m really glad it seemed to make him so happy. It’s strange that even though landscapes are my passion, my favourite shot is actually that of a person!
As for the most boring, well probably 19 out of 20 shots I take are boring, it could be the light is wrong, the composition not right or the subject matter not particularly interesting, but if I get one shot in 20 which I’m really happy with then I can live with that.

As a digital photographer, would you ever go back to film and if not, why not?

Definitely not, digital has given my photography a new lease of life. I keep less than half the shots I take and if I was limited to film it would prove very expensive and extremely time consuming. I can understand those who say that using film makes you put more effort into getting the shot right first time, but for me, digital rules, I would never go back.

Have you ever been so frustrated with the hobby that you wanted to quit?

Yes I’ve had those moments, although I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to give up photography. We live in a nice village surrounded by pleasant countryside, and we have a canal with colourful boats passing through the village. Many times I will go out with the camera and just find no inspiration at all, and struggle to think of anything to take which would be of any interest to anyone else at all, other times I take dozens of shots. One of my biggest problems is going out with the wrong lens on, I’m not confident changing lenses in the open air so always stick with the lens I leave the house with. Last weekend for example, I did a 10 mile country walk around here, carried my D300 all the way round and didn’t take a single shot.

COFFEE TIME

Canon Powershot S2 IS

Taken in Kastania, Greece
Kastania is a tiny village tucked away in the Taygetos Mountains of the Mani Peninsular in Southern Greece. This elderly gentleman was enjoying his morning coffee when I took this candid shot. This image won the Greece Magazine 2006 photography competition and I won a 2 week luxury holiday in Crete. The gentleman still lives in the village and I spoke to his daughter this year who said he had been absolutely delighted to see his photograph in the magazine, someone had seen it on sale in a supermarket in nearby Stoupa and taken it to show him.

Practices

Have you ever taken any classes in Photography

No, the local college used to do a City & Guilds photography course which a friend of mine did and found really good. However it was on Tuesday evenings, I also work in local radio and do a radio show Tuesday evenings so couldn’t take part. So all my photography education is from websites like the Photography Cafe and magazines.

Do you shoot in Manual mode?

I tend to shoot mainly in aperture priority, the only time I use complete manual mode is when taking low light shots to achieve better sunsets, milky sea shots etc. I don’t have enough confidence to use complete manual all the time. Shutter speed still confuses me sometimes!

What's your viewpoint on photo editing?

I can see both points of view. I can see why sometimes just leaving the image as it was taken “in-camera” is best, however I have uploaded many shots to this site and onto my own website www.shaungeraghty.co.uk which I would never have used if I had been unable to manipulate in Photoshop Elements. Quite often it is possible to turn a very bland image into something much more pleasing to the eye by a little editing. Occasionally I enjoy going really over the top to produce something very bizarre! The final image is what matters, and the person looking at the photo won’t care whether it has been “Photoshopped” or not.

In a normal session, how many photos do you take and how many would you expect to keep?

I have no such thing as a normal session, it varies depending on where I am, how much time I’ve got, and what the conditions are like. However to give an example, say I am on a Greek holiday, I might take 60 shots in a day. Probably 15-20 will go whilst reviewing on the camera’s LCD, and then a further 20 after transferring to PC. So I usually keep only a third of the shots I take.

Do you cancel outside shoots on overcast days, or go and shoot the misery instead?

If I’m in my home area then I’ll probably not bother on grey overcast days, but if I’m away in a different place or on holiday then I will persevere and then perhaps convert to mono later.

If you could only shoot one style of photography, what would it be and what would be your second choice?

My first preference would always be landscapes, and my second choice macro close up work of flowers, plants or bugs etc. I need to get a better macro lens to make more of close-up work and have my eye on a Nikon 105mm VR lens.

Why do you concentrate on your favorite subject matter eg birds landscapes etc

I enjoy travel, seeing different places, and being out in the open air. Mother nature provides us with a never ending variety of landscapes, weathers, lighting etc, I could never tire of photographing this beautiful planet. It’s just a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, and then knowing how to get the most out of your camera.

What are your favourite photos on the Cafe and why?

As I mentioned before, some of the stunning landscapes by photographers such as Anna Banana, Pekster and many more. Many of them have that WOW factor with a quality and light which I constantly strive to match myself, and have rarely achieved, but I keep trying!

HALKI SUNRISE

Nikon D50 + Nikkor 18-70 lens

Halki Island, Dodecanese, Greece
Halki is a tiny island off the coast of Rhodes.
This shot was taken around 5am one summers morning,
just before the sun appeared over the hill.
Despite the tranquil appearance, I was soon joined by about 200 people
waiting for the approaching ferry to Crete.

CLEAR WATERS

Nikon D300

Taken in Trachilla, Mani Peninsular, Greece
I love this shot because it shows how clear and clean
the sea water is in that part of the world, and the boat
almost appears to be hovering above the surface of the water.

SHAUN's Gallery

Many thanks to SHAUN for giving us some insights into his photographic life. We would appreciate seeing any other questions you would like to ask him. Please post them here and SHAUN will do his best to give an answer. When you have done that why not head over to SHAUN’s Gallery and see the rest of his wonderful work.


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