Interview with:Connar O'Keeffe [connarokeeffe]
PHOTOGRAPHY
 | Do you have an online gallery where one can view your photos? Yes
http://www.connarokeeffe.co.uk |
| For how long have you done photography? How did you begin? I've done photography for about 7 years. I started really when my family got their first point and shoot digital camera! Then I went on from there and got my own camera. |
| What has been your education as a photographer? I have a Ba Hons in Fine Art. So I'm very much a Fine Art Photographers. Event photography that I do such as weddings and photoshoots have come from experience and experimentation. |
| What is your favourite type of photography? I don't have a particular favourite type. I have my favourite photographers who are amazing in their different areas. I like to think that all types of photography are related. I like creating types of photographs that make a person go 'WOW'! |
| What do you try to express through your photography? A lot of my work is very much Urban/Argumentative photography. So if I'm in a specific place like a building or city then I like the capture the heart and soul of the place. I like each photograph to have its own story.
Its not just about creating a photograph but about capturing a moment in time! |
| What type of preparation do you do before undertaking the photo session? The best type of preparation any photographer can do is to free their mind of any thoughts other than the place their in and the people that surround them. If you shooting for a client where there are specific goals to be achieved it important to have in your mind what exactly it is you want and how you're going to achieve that. So prepare you own brief. |
| Do you normally photograph with a purpose already in mind, or do you let yourself go with the flow? If I just decide to go out and shoot then my mind will generally be free because you never know what you will find. If you set out looking for something you could miss many other great opportunities. |
| Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sigma, Olympus, Sony, Pentax...which do you place your bets on and why? For me personally I use Canon for the reason that having used Sony's, Fuji's and Nikon's I found that Canon were producing the right type of camera for me. |
| Describe your current equipment: cameras, lenses, computers, accessories... Canon 1000D w. Battery Grip
Canon 18-55mm Is
SigmaDG 70-300mm
Canon Speedlite 430EX II
6x Sandisk Ultra II SDHC
Apple iMac
2.66 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
4Gb DDR2 SDRAM
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro
Macintosh HDD 320Gb
Seagate Free Agent Go 120Gb
Samsung Story 1.5Tb |
| What software and plug-ins do you use to retouch and manage your photos? Adobe CS4 Photoshop.
Adobe CS4 Lightroom.
Adobe CS4 Bridge.
Plus assorted Actions and plug-in's
Including Nik Soft for Photoshop. |
| What measures do you take to protect your work against Internet piracy? I use a slight watermark on the bottom right hand corner for any photo's I upload to the internet.
I don't spread the watermark over the entire image because I don't want to ruin the quality of the photograph and by putting things on the internet there has to be a certain expectation that someone might download the image and pass it off as their own. |
| Are you a good salesperson of your work? In what should you improve? I like to think that my work talks for itself. However the photographs that I put out there are always photo's that I really like. I am always able to remember when and where I take a particular photograph so its easy for me to comment on the photo and how I felt when I took it! |
| Which past masters of photography do you most admire? Jeff Wall
Richard Avedon.
Ansel Adams
Herbert Bayer
Gregory Crewdson
Robert Capa
Hiroshi Sugimoto |
| Are technology and digital retouching reducing the gap between professionals and amateurs? In a way. However this isn't a bad thing. Professionals will have to up their game. |
| What have you learned about the art of framing and composition? There are rules such as the rule of thirds etc. But as they say rules are made to be broken.
You must first learn the codes and conventions to be able to break them and know why and how your breaking them and what effect thing has. |
| How does one develop the instinct of knowing when to press the shutter release button? For some people it takes practice, trail and error, but for some who are naturally talented it comes naturally.
Practice makes perfect everytime. |
| When should one use film, and when should one use digital? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
There isn't a rule to using digital in one instance and film in another. Digital is always easier and in today's world digital is the preferred in most cases.
Film will always have a nostalgic value. |
| Does photography have the recognition that it should have in contemporary art museums? Not enough.
The likes of Gregory Crewdson should be seen more and more! |
| Is there any particular technique that you could share? Don't be afraid to try new things. Learn as much as you can early on and never limit yourself to one style. Different styles can be applied for different events. |
| 
439 visits Whohub
Connar O'Keeffe
Birmingham, England
|
99700 interviews created
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