Featured photographer: Stephan Conrad

Stephan Conrad is a street photographer from the Lower Saxony, Germany. He is the very first street photographer we will feature here in Shutterbugs Hub. Let's get to know more about him.




1. Firstly, tell us a little something about yourself.

My name is Stephan Conrad. I was born in 1973 in Nordhorn. Nordhorn is a nice little town in the Lower Saxony Germany not far away from the Netherlands.

2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing this?

I can´t remember when I started taking photos. As a child I had a lot of pocket cameras and the quality of the pics was not really good. My first "better" Camera was a Fuji HS20EXR bought in 2011. That was the beginning. The photography-virus infected me.

3. What camera equipment do you use to shoot? 

My favorite camera at the moment is a Canon 650D with lenses for every Situation ( EF 35mm, 50mm, 17-85mm, 70-300mm, EFS18-55mm). A Canon Speedlite 430EXII, different filters, remote control ,etc. I also use a Fuji S100FS. It´s one of the best bridge camera that you can buy for little money

4.What are your favorite subjects to shoot? And why?

At the moment I spent most of my time for street photography. It fascinates me, to take pics of unknown persons or situations. That is the truest way to show faces, how they really are. 




5. What software are you using to process your photos?Adobe Photoshop CS6, nothing else.

6. Can you show us some of your most favorite work and tell us a little bit of something about them?

These at the moment are three of my favorite and latest pics. No comment from me, I hope the pics telling you enough.











7. Lastly, if we want to see more of your work, where are you posting them and how can we contact you?

You can email me at stephanconrad@arcor.de or check out my Facebook Page.

Thank you

Stephan Conrad

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Stephan Conrad from Nordhorn, we are very glad you agreed to be featured here in Shutterbugs hub. We hope to see more of your work here someday. Thank you very much.

New here? Please check all our featured photographers here. 

And check out our other topics here. 

Cheers!

Featured photographer: Naser Eid

Our featured photographer today came all the way from the State of Qatar. He loves to shoot mostly landscapes and portraits.

 I know this guy for quite a long time now, I met him at the Fujifilm HS20EXR page. Over the years I am watching his photographs, and they're getting better and better.

Since he came all the way from the State of Qatar, let's not waste any more of his time and let's start asking him some questions.








1.First, tell us something about yourself.

So my name is Naser Eid, of Jordan Nationality and been living in the State of Qatar for the past 15 years. I'm an Accounting Management student at Qatar University.

2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing it?

My actual first step into professional photography was around 5 years ago. I had a video camera in my car, as I was about to do an interview and was waiting in my car around sunset time for my evening lecture. Then I saw a view that was so beautiful. So I grabbed my camera and took this picture.




From there on, my friends have been encouraging me to be more involved into photography.




3. What camera and equipment you use to shoot?

I first started with; video camera, standard nikon coolpix digital camera..then I moved into the DSLR world as I took a photography class. Started with canon 400d, sony alpha 200, 100, 300, moving to the Fujifilm HS20exr and finally with a canon t4i 650D.




4. What are your favorite subjects and why?

My Favorite subject are Landscapes because with landscapes you have still subjects and the equipment used are very basic. But with time, I am evolving to like portrait photography since it requires less movements from different locations, the shots can be endless and a huge field for creativity.




5.What software are you using to process your photos?

I still love using this Picmonkey website because it's basic and I mainly play with exposures and lighting but as I moved to portraits, Photoshop became my main source.



6.Can you show us some of your favorite works and tell us a little something about it?

This is my favorite Landscape shot.




This picture is what boosted my gallery, I was going out photo hunting with the canon 400D and I decided to have a seat on the bus stop bench. the Paint on the bench was still new and had a bit of shine in it, so I decided to try and see what happens when I leave the camera on the bench, adjust the angle and press the shutter and BAM! It helped me win my first photography contest.

My Favorite indoor high-speed picture.




The effort I put to this one is HUGE since I was working by myself and was only using the built in flash of my Fujifilm HS20 and almost 2 packets of balloons.



Favorite Portrait:



This is my favorite portrait because I believe that everything just went 100% from the pose, to the angle, framing, lighting and texture.

7.Lastly, if we want to see more of your work where can we check it out and how do we contact you?


Finally, you can view my work on my Facebook page Nasor-3eid-Photography , Pixoto Profile or even at my Flickr.

You can always add me on my personal Facebook Account. 

You can also send me emails at nasor3eid@gmail.com

Thank you.

Naser Eid

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Wow, thank you very much for your time Naser. I am very glad to feature you here. I hope your experience and photos will inspire more aspiring photographers. 

There you go. Another great photographer as our guest.

For those who wants to be our guest here too, please contact me. 

Also, please check out our other featured photographers at the topic section. 

Thank you.

Alex

Featured photographer Q&A: Aditya Bhardwaj

Our guest photographer today is based in Chandigarh, India. He is a hobbyist who just love to take photographs of nature. He will prove to us that everyone can enjoy photography without spending a lot of money. Let's now start asking him some questions.






1. Firstly, tell us a little something about yourself.

My name is Aditya Bhardwaj. I am from Chandigarh, India. Right now I'm just about to complete my studies.I'm pursuing Management Studies.




2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing this?

I started photography in 2011. Earlier, I was not at all interested in taking pictures, but later on I found out that I can be good at this too. I'm not taking any kind of studying in this field, so I just keep on practicing it and trying to be good at it.

3. What camera and equipment do you use to shoot?

I'm using Fujifilm HS20EXR Bridge Camera and a couple of filters and a Tripod.



4.What are your favorite subjects to shoot? And why?

If you see my work then you can easily guess that I'm into nature photography. Everything emerges from nature that is why it keeps on attracting me. I love it's colors, it's simplicity as well as it's complications, I love taking photos of green things and stuff . . . . Another thing I am interested in are photos of old buildings. I hardly took portraits. 

5. What software are you using to process your photos?

I use software like Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Lightroom 4.7 , picasa and Photomatrix pro for HDR.



6. Can you show us some of your favorite works and tell us a little bit of something about them?


Photo#1


I took this photo from the walking path of Sukhna Lake which is the place of attraction for tourists . This is the end most point of the lake where you get to see beautiful reflections of green bushes and the sky . It was a beautiful day so how could i miss going to that place. And yes I did get wet that day.



Photo#2


This 2nd picture I took at my place only . It was a random picture for me but photography is not about taking photos of good things only but it is all about making things look good. So, I decided to process this picture and this is the result. It's not a Honey Bee but just another specie of a bee. I had to apply HDR to get more details in this picture.




Photo#3


This picture is of an old Catholic church which is located in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. It is a small town not too far from my place. This church was built in a shape of a cross by the Britishers in 1877. Now this church is known as the Anglican Church.




7. Lastly, if we want to see more of your work, where are you posting them and how can we contact you?

People can contact me at adianshu2006@gmail.com
And you can see my work on my Facebook photography Page Aditya Bhardwaj Photography.

Thank you very much.

Aditya Bhardwaj

END

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Thank you Aditya for giving us your time. You proved to us that everybody can enjoy photography without robbing the cash registers. As a student and as a self taught enthusiast of photography, I hope you can inspire a lot of people to join our bandwagon and enjoy photography too. We hope to someday feature your photographs again.


Please check out other featured photographers:
Alex
Lewis Mann

For those enthusiast, amateurs and pros that wants to be featured here please send me a message.




<<-- previous Alone and playing with my toys

Featured Photographer Q&A: Lewis Mann

Our featured photographer today is a man with a vast experience in photography, who have been shooting since 1959, and is currently living in Florida. His work is very unique and I'm glad that he gave us some of his time. So, let's start asking him...



click image to enlarge
I shot this in March of 2012 with my Nikon D3100 and Nikkor 18-55mm zoom (both since sold). It is made up of two images. The background is a 7 exposure HDR image of the Alachua, FL City Hall made during the blue hour (after sunset). About 1 hour earlier I stood in front of the camera holding the remote shutter  release and took a self-portrait. In processing I masked myself out and merged my image onto the HDR background.(Lewis Mann)




Photographer Q&A:


1. Please tell us a little something about yourself.

My name is Lewis Mann. I live in Alachua, Florida USA. I began life in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My parents moved us out of the city and into the suburbs when I was 7 years old. So, when asked I say that I am from Natick, MA. I took my first picture around 1959 using my parent’s Polaroid camera. I was hooked on photography, but didn't get serious about it until college.




2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing this?

I bought my first SLR camera in 1967 while attending college. I was a staff photographer for the college (University of Miami) student newspaper and yearbook. I was also photo editor of the university yearbook. After college I ran the university photo center and shot freelance for a while. Then life happened and I set the cameras aside until late 2011. That is when I bought my first DSLR, built a “digital darkroom” and began shooting again.




3. What equipment do you use to shoot?

Nikon D7100 DSLR
Nikkor AF S DX 10-24mm zoom
Nikkor AF S DX 18-200mm zoom
Nikkor AF S DX 55-300mm zoom
Nikon SB700 Speedlight
Promote Control (Promote Systems, Inc.) (for high exposure count HDR & time-lapse)
Manfroto Tripod
Nodal Ninja M1L panorama head




4. What are your favorite subjects to shoot and why?

When I started out in the late ‘60s it was all about “street photography,” although there was no name for it back then. The term “candid” seemed to best apply. Now, some 40+ years later I shoot HDR (High Dynamic Range) landscapes, old buildings, equipment; anything I find interesting here in rural North Florida. Today, a great deal of my work utilizes a tripod.

Why do I shoot mostly static objects like landscapes and buildings? Because I am surrounded by such things. I live in a mostly rural part of Florida covered with farms, cattle ranches and pasture land. It is quintessential small town America.

Having said that, I have been thinking about trying some “street” photography once again. I’ll probably wait for cooler weather for that though.




5. What software are you using to process your photos?

Lightroom
Photomatix Pro
Photoshop Elements 11
Topaz Plugin Filters



6. Can you show us your most favorite work and tell us a little bit of something about it?

I don’t have a favorite. But, recently I’ve been working with a processing technique that makes an HDR image look more like an oil painting. I have attached a low resolution version below. This is a 3 exposure HDR image made with my D7100 using the Nikkor 18-200mm zoom. After processing this image in my usual manner I added one more filter (layer) that I created to simulate oil painting.



click image to enlarge




7. Lastly, if we want to see more of your work, where can we see them and how do we contact you?


I have selected images and social interaction at my Facebook account: Theeyesofmann
And nearly 700 images at my flickr account here.
My commercial site where museum quality prints with or without framing or mounting can be purchased at Lewis Mann Digital Photography website.

                                                              >>END<<

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Thank you very much for your time Lewis. Your HDR work is very unique and your experience in photography is vast, I hope  you'll inspire other photographers visiting this blog. I also hope we hear more inputs from you here in the future, especially with your expertise in HDR photography. 

Alex

Photographer Q&A: Photographers around the world.

I decided to feature different photographers from around the world, both pros and amateurs like myself. I believe this will give photographers the opportunity to showcase their work and widen their audience. For those who wants to be featured here, please don`t hesitate to contact me at my email address. Pros and amateurs are both welcome to join and post here.

I will do this using Q&A style. I will start it myself, hoping others will follow.

Photographer Q&A

1. Firstly, tell us a little something about yourself.

Hi, my name is Alex. I am a photography enthusiast based in Bangkok, Thailand. I am originally from Philippines but I moved to Bangkok because of work.


2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing this?

I started as a self taught photographer and recently got my self certified in digital photography. I have been learning and shooting for about two years now.


3.What equipment  do you use to shoot?

I own a Fujifilm HS20EXR bridge camera and a Nikon D3100 with its kit lens (18-55) and a 35mm 1.8G prime lens. I also own two Yongnou strobes,which I am using as an off camera lights. I also have a few filters that I use with me sometimes. And of course, a tripod.

Edited: Recently acquired a Fujifilm X100.

4.What are your favorite subjects to shoot? And why?

I love to take environmental portraits and landscapes simply because I love to meet a lot of people
and I love to travel and immerse myself in nature.


5. What software do you use to process your photos?

I am mainly using Photoshop CS6 for my post processing. Sometimes I only use any photo editing software available if I only need to re-size or crop my photos.


6. Can you show us your most favorite work and tell us a little bit of something about it?

Here's a photo of my wife I took in a park in Bangkok. I have been learning portraits photography lately and I consider this as one of my first good photo. I know it is not that much, but as an amateur trying to learn, this is an accomplishment for me.

click image to enlarge



7. Lastly, if we want to see more of your work, where are you posting them and how can we contact you?

I am currently just posting my photos on my Facebook account Alex Salde Fotos. You can also contact me through my email asalde5182@gmail.com


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There you go. I hope to receive entries from other enthusiasts and pros alike. Please feel free to contact me.

Thank you.

Alex