Flash
What are you shooting with and what would you like to shoot with?
Current cameras and lenses:
Canon 1Ds Mark III
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II Tilt-Shift
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L
I'd like to one day venture into digital medium format or do more helicopter aerials.
If you could sum up your style in one photograph what photo would it be?
It's hard to pick one, but ideally I like to combine skylines and a one of a kind element (lightning, rainbow, etc):
Doing this is rarely possible, so if I don't have the time or opportunities to wait for something like that to happen, I love the "flattened depth" of scenes like this:
Talk about your inspirations and influences.
Downtown Pittsburgh was/is my inspiration. I remember my Dad taking me to the top of US Steel tower as a kid sometime in the late 80s and thinking how special it was. If I didn't grow up close to Pittsburgh, I'm not sure I would of had the interest in cities and their skylines.
When I joined SSP in 2003, being able to share my photos and getting positive responses was definitely encouraging.
Where have you not been that you want to photograph?
West Coast- San Francisco particularly.
Talk about your most popular (in your opinion) photothreads.
The bigger, more admired cities like New York and Chicago get the most attention, I think. I had 9 days to capture NYC in 2007 for my most popular thread. I wish I could always visit for longer durations and devote more time to maximize the diversity of photographs.
Talk about your photothreads that didn't get the response you wanted.
Sometimes the Pittsburgh ones don't get a whole lot of attention. I don't post as much as before on SSP so sometimes I think they might be overlooked.
I'm always trying to cram in as much as possible when I go back home to PA, so I'm not always satisfied with what I can photograph.
Any tips or personal wisdom you'd like to pass on to others?
If you are shooting with an SLR, get the best lenses you can afford. They will stay around longer than the camera bodies.
Who should we ask these questions of next?
I'm always envious of KCGridlock's helicopter aerials around the US.