Interview #2.
I first became aware of the talents of Mick on PhotoPhlow around the middle of 2008. Since then I am happy to say he has become a great mate who is more than happy to help out his antipodean friend with helpful advice and a terrific sense of humour. If he lived in Australia, there is every chance his nickname would be Blue. There are 16 very interesting facts here on his Flickr stream. He should stay away from VCRs and alarm clocks. His latest B&W film photography is inspiring.
Onto the interview.
Firstly, the standard opener, can you tell us a bit about yourself. Things like age, job, where you live etc.
I’m an old thirty-six based in Los Angeles, California USA. I’m a digital media product manager who’s looking for work. Anyone with a social media site would do well to hire me.
What started you out in photography and how long have you been into photography seriously?
I took photography courses in both high-school and college, but didn’t learn a thing and it didn’t really take. In my late 20s I dated a wonderful photographer and I got my first digital camera then, an Olympus 1.3mp wonder, for a trip we took to Alaska. It was a D-460Z. I got it from one of those shady NYC vendors they tell you never to order from. I got lucky. The place I got it from got shut down soon after, That should have been a sign, right? I’m still not to a point where I’d say I was into photography seriously. I love it more than anything, though. When I get a Leica, then we can say I’m serious.
But, perhaps you might like to know about my first SLR. On a nameless weekday in 2005, I wandered, on my lunch hour, to a North Country Camera in Escondido, CA with my buddy Greg. They had the first ever digital rebel on display. It was $999. The fellow at the counter popped it on and handed it to me. I had no clue in the world what to do with it. I looked through the finder as if that would tell me anything. I was less than clueless about any of it. I looked at it blankly. I said, Oh this is nice. I was gonna leave, but Greg lobbied me hard. He gave me the old “you only live once” line. He was the devil on my shoulder. I caved and plopped down my credit card. The charge was denied because my credit card company didn’t believe I’d really get it either. I had to call them and convince them I was for real. That should have been a sign, too, right??
I first met you on photoPhlow. You are well regarded in the main photoPhlow chatroom. It has certainly helped me in my photography and blog making. Has it changed the way you look at photography, and if so, how?
I can’t believe you don’t remember our first encounter at that warehouse party in Canberra. I know we were drunk, but….
Seriously, the wonderful personalities I’ve been lucky to encounter in Photophlow have influenced me immensely. Indeed, I never would have guessed I’d take up film photography, and now it’s all I like. I am inspired by some great people and buoyed partly by their skill, but mostly by their spirit and kindness.
What do you find challenging in photography? And what comes easily?
Taking pictures is easy. Taking good pictures is also easy. Identifying the good ones is hard. Getting over the fear of photographing people is also very difficult. I am wrestling with the moral calculus of it. What do you take from someone when you steal their photograph?
What lens cant you do with out? And what is your favourite camera?
All lenses are disposable. I wish someone had told me that in the beginning. It’s the lighting that is the key. My favorite camera was the Canonet QL17, until it was stolen. That had a surprisingly hard effect on me. I felt I was making amazing progress with it. I recently received a new one through the kindness of a Phlower. I am oerwhelmed by magnitude of the gesture, and I hope I can regain my symbiosis with this new member of my family – the Canonet.2, Revenge of 35mm!
Is there a style of photography you don’t enjoy?
I don’t enjoy kidsploitation! Using these innocents to create photos and then share with the world can be a little creepy. Perhaps some of these children photos should be kept among friends and family. But, it’s also possible I’m just jealous. For some reason I also don’t like pictures of big beefy guys in small speedo suits. But, it’s again possible I’m just jealous.
When taking a photo, what do you concentrate on mostly? Composition, lighting, focus?
I generally want to look for what the light is doing. Focus should be unconscious at this pont. Composition is almost unconscious as well, though mine needs some improvement. The light is one thing that is never immediately obvious, and it will make or break the photo. Interesting light can overcome a flawed subject. A great composition can be worthless if the light is wrong.
You have recently jumped into film photography. How did that start and what do you enjoy about it?
I started because of what I saw from some of my favorite photographers. What I like about film is how it teaches you to think ahead. By the time you click the shutter, some very important decisions have already been made — more than with a digital camera. With digital photography, those decisions with me were made much much more haphazardly. I got some excellent photos through luck and brute force. With film, every part of the photographic process seems to make more sense to me. I hope that it can help my digital work eventually. It will be a search for balance, a search for discipline, a search for glory! .
Apart from photography and music, what do you enjoy doing?
I like strapping on the boots and heading up hills or small innocent mountains. It’s hard to find spaces without a lot of people where I am. I like to read non-fiction, entry-level physics, and philosophy. I also love going to a baseball game, or sometimes even better lounging in a late-summer evening with a game on the radio.
What is the best photography advice you have been given, and what best life advice?
‘If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” War photographer Robert Capa said that and I really understand what he was saying. Of course, he died when he got close enough to a landmine. The most relevant life advice I’ve ever been given was by my mate in cllege when he told me. “No matter how bad it is, it’s just going to get worse.” As perverse as that sounds, it’s always helped me to focus on the present.
You have 3 shots left to take. You can go anywhere and meet any one. What do you photograph?
For #3, I’d photograph Bruce Sprinsteen alone on stage with his telecaster, in a small packed venue. There would be a good number of other photogs jostling with me, but I’d get the best angle. There would be a lot of sweat and earplugs involved.
For #2 I’d take a portrait of Raymond Smullyan, the writer/thinker who has most infuenced my life. It would be him in the midst of stacks of books, dusty and unending.
Finally #1, I’d photograph my brother in his element, on the job at the Bronx Zoo.
Who are 3 other Flickr members who you admire, and why?
There are too many to mention. I hate to answer this for the ones I’d leave out. But, in no particular order
Radonich Aleksandra, for her flawless portraits of Serbian life.
A Different Perspective, for his uncanny industrial details. What an eye on this guy.
WatermelonSugar, for her tales of the American road to the past.
When you grow up, what do you want to be? Or who would you like to be?
I think I’m well-qualified to be a bikini inspector. I think I have the eye for it.
LomoStrobo, is it the next huge thing in photography?
Oh! No, no, not at all, the next thing? No. I don’t think the world is ready for it yet. Though, certainly I’ll be recognized thirty years after my death. Eventually, eventually, I’ll be considered a genius. But, not any time soon.
And lastly, a quick fire 5 questions. Just tell us what
springs into your head when you hear these words.
Strobist.
— Genius!
Bokeh.
— Is it Wednesday??
Film.
— Skin
f/1.2.
— Good for bokeh?
Lomo.
— Oh no!
Many thanks to Mick for taking the time to do this interview. I hope you found it as interesting as I did.