"Camera otaku" ... interview with JON SIEGEL.

Jon is a creative director based out of Tokyo, Japan, running the creative agency Pikkles with his business partner Vitaly Dmitriev. He is an avid photographer who loves Japan and Japanese culture and hopes his photography will inspire others to visit this incredible country.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is my dear friend Nurul, we met after I moved to Singapore with my wife Waki who is taking her MBA course here. That night was our first evening out together, we were enjoying a drink and a game of cards outside a popular bar. Waki and Nurul were getting serious with the game while I sat back and enjoyed my drink. Nurul lit up and I couldn't resist, I had to take a shot. From my point of view, the bokeh my 50 produces played nicely with Nurul's polka-dot dress, and the colored lights from the bar framed her nicely. Nurul was a good sport about me taking a few photos, often when people notice me taking shots they start to post but Nurul kept her cool and that's how I got this shot. It's one of my favorites.

"Draw your ideas down!" ... interview with CATHLINE DICKENS.

Cathline Dickens is an eighteen year old surreal portrait photographer in Western New York. She is going to major in environmental studies in a college just outside New York City to reach her goal of her dream job - National Geographic or the World Wildlife Foundation. Her inspiration stems from novels, music, and movies. Each of her photographs tells a different story about her, and some usually dig deep into her soul if looked at in the right way. 

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photograph was actually apart of a Harry Potter series I did back around November of 2010. It was in commemoration of the Deathy Hallows release and to pay a little respect to a peice of my childhood. It was a self-portrait so the model was me and it look a lot of prepping to get the lighting right and the water to glow. This is a pensieve, you'd store memories in it and then you could look back at them whenever you wanted

"Some of my best images come from mistakes..." interview with MICHAEL PALACIOS.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

Last minute shoot for a local DJ. He wanted something simple, yet... eye popping. I was up for the challenge and shot in my backyard at night.

Interview with photographer and graphic designer JESSICA DALY.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is a portrait I made by projecting my own photograph onto myself. I was interested in experimenting with projection, and also creating a self portrait that conceptually spoke about my "inner" and "outer " life. In it, my presentational self, basically my face and body are representing the outer parts of me, and my photograph that I projected is representing my preferences and aesthetic interests, things that are equally a part of me, but not quite as much on display.

To create it I set up a digital projector and a tripod in a dark room and put my camera on a ten second timer. Then I ran back and forth between pressing the timer on the camera and standing in front of the projection. 

"Experiences create who you are..." interview with ALLISON NEWBOLD.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This portrait was taken at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fl in Mel's Diner. This shot was inspired by the 50s feel with a modern fashion twist. 

"Everything seems so much more interesting with a person in it."... interview with CARI ANN WAYMAN.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

Well, it's a self-portrait. I think self-portraits are so much easier to take for some reason, and i feel much more creative making a self-portrait. It's just a picture of myself with christmas lights. I wanted to see how they would shine through the flower fabric of my shirt.

Story behind the portrait of Questlove from The Roots... interview with HILARY SOL ALLEN.

1Q)Can you please tell us something about this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I was hired by The Roots to document their week of practices and album listening parties for the release of Rising Down. Throughout each day, I would pull members to the side to take their portrait. This was taken on the roof of Legacy Recording Studios in Time Square in New York City.

"Just keep things real"... interview with EMMA KATKA.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photo was taken in an abandoned trailer house I found exploring last autumn. It is a self-portrait. I do a lot of self-portrait work in the abandoned places I explore, mainly because I know exactly what I want to portray, and I'm usually alone or with someone who isn't comfortable modeling. 

"Listen to other people's advice!"... interview with MAYSA ASKAR.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is one of my best friends named Kristen. The last photoshoot we had was an Edie Sedgwick photoshoot in June 2010 and we thought it was time for a new one. We found this dark looking alley way by accident and immediately knew it was a great place to take photos. I took this photo by setting up the ISO to match the light, which was an ISO 240, kept the Aperture at 1.8 and constantly changed up the shutter speed until I liked the amount of light that was portrayed in the photo. I chose Kristen to shoot because she is one of the most photogenic people I know and every photo of her comes out great. 

"Find better models"... interview with AARON FEAVER.

Aaron is highly talented portrait photographer from Los Angeles.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I think this was the second time I'd shot this model, whom I'd found on Model Mayhem. She was the first "real" model I ever shot; real in the sense that she knew how to move around and pose to make a good photo, and she was very expressive. It was definitely a turning point for me, shooting her. I realized the difference between taking a photo of someone pretty and taking a photo of someone who really knows how to model.

Unsinn Photography... interview with GEOFFREY ASHLEY.

Geoffrey (USA) is a photographer with really unique style. He's interested in provocative and nude photos.

1) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This is an interesting choice of photograph for you to feature. I really love this image. But, I think it’s subtlety often gets it lost in the crowd of my more provocative work. 

This image is from a larger photo shoot with a model named Odette. She’s an artist, as well, and a fan of my work. And since I don’t pay models, being a fan of the work you’re creating with me is essential.

It’s a natural light shot. And it’s slightly out of focus because that’s what things look like when you’re in that close...like when you’re about to kiss somebody. At least that’s how I see the world. Do I need glasses?

As for the Hello Kitty bandage...the viewer can decide what that’s all about.

"People photographer"... interview with DABE ALAN.

Dabe (Portland, OR) is a great "people" photographer and he's also master of pictures of skateboarders... 

"My favorite thing in the world to shoot is skateboarding. I always go on stints (winter) where I don't get to shoot any but as soon as I get back into it I just think 'I LOVE this'. 

I've skated for something like 7 years or so now and I'm horrible. I'm involved with the sport enough to know all of it's ins and outs, I just can't pull it off like the people in my photographs do. Shooting skaters just allows me to participate without the commitment (not to mention the slams). Plus I love getting people pumped to try a trick by shooting it and sharing their triumph upon landing it.

If you're interesting in shooting skateboarding, there are a few pointers.

1) Back up, and work on your composition first and foremost. There are tons of skateboard photos and they would all look the same if the photographers shooting them didn't capitalize on their surroundings.

2) Learn frontside and backside by heart so you don't mess up lighting. If you're not positive, ask the skater what way they'll be facing at the apex of their trick.

3) Timing, timing, timing. Watch the trick a few times to spot the best time to snap the shot and try to catch it on every attempt."

Here's today's portrait and interview:

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

About 5 months ago, I moved from Canton, OH out to Portland, OR. I left behind all my friends and family to head to a place where I could surround myself with creatives and grow from it. My family was always asking to see some shots of my place, but I didn't wanna provide more than a iPhone shot until I had everything hung up and put away. This portrait marks the date I could finally relax in my place with nothing else to be done.

Family and child photographer... interview with ANNIE TAO.

Annie (San Francisco, USA) called herself a lifestyle photographer. She is famous for family and children photography. You may find some of her articles in Digital Photography School.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I love editorial images – images that tell a story.  Many of my favorite images were taken when people weren’t expecting to be photographed. 

I took this image at the end of a family photoshoot.  We were saying our goodbyes in the parking lot, and my clients were putting their kids in the car.  When I noticed Ian was being mischievous by climbing into the driver’s seat instead of his carseat, I knew this could be interesting, so I was ready to take the shot even while I was talking to Julie, Ian’s mom. 

This image was taken the moment Ian realized his mom spotted him!  In a matter of a couple seconds, I stepped back and composed the shot to capture Ian through the window and Julie in the reflection.   

"Once you can make someone feel safe, the world is yours to photograph."... interview with EMON HASSAN.

Enjoy story behind this portrait by Emon Hassan, who is freelance portrait and concert photographer based in NYC.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

I'm currently shooting a New York-based mystery webseries, The Third, and Jessalyn is a guest actor in the Pilot episode. This portrait was shot in front of St. Peter's Church in downtown Manhattan, just blocks from the former Twin Towers site. I wanted to get a couple of promotional stills for the site with Jessalyn in character. The sequence shot here appears in Ep. 2 of The Third.

Interview with addict photographer... THOMAS HAWK. 7Q.

I had a great chance to interview remarkable person of photography community- Thomas Hawk (San Francisco, USA) is a real addict photographer. His portfolio on flickr contains over 50,000 pictures and this number is growing quickly every day. His goal is to publish 1,000,000 pictures before he dies. 

Portrait we have here is a product of another interesting photography project by Thomas. Enjoy this interview!

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

 This photo is part of my $2 portrait series. I've taken over 100 of these now and offer to shoot portraits of people and pay them $2 whenever I'm asked for money. This was just some kid sitting on the street. His more specific story is in the description on the photo page that you linked.

Interview with photographer LAUREN LANKFORD. 7Q.

Lauren is a photographer from Columbus, Ohio. Let's hear something about this cool portrait.

1Q) Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This photo was taken at a park while hanging out. I had my camera and flash and we shot around and took some fun photos. I stood on some bleachers for this particular photo. 

MaP 7Q Interview with... IAN STANTON

Highly talented photographer, who really can see people in an unusual way. We have a great example of his film portrait work today:

1Q/ Can you please tell us something about this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This portrait is of my girlfriend. I saw the photo opportunity and looked around quickly for the closest camera. I grabbed a polaroid camera on the dresser behind me, sloppily framed the photograph, then snapped the picture. 

MaP 7Q Interview with... JEREMY SNELL

JEREMY SNELL (USA)

Young photographer with huge and really amazing photostream on flickr. 

He shared this great portrait with us:

1Q/ Can you please tell us something about this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This portrait was taking in Chinatown, Honolulu. My friend Brian and I were walking around playing with his new 5D markII and taking portraits of random people on the street. This particular lady was sitting on a stool by the road and starting commenting on our picture-making. She told me to take a photo of her, so I did. =)

MaP 7Q Interview with... NIC PERSINGER

I'm really happy to share very first 7Q MaP Interview with you! 7Q MaP will be a regular column in this blog. You'll find here short interviews with great photographers about their particular amazing portrait and more.

If you want to be featured here in 7Q MaP please post a link to amazing portrait you made to comments. I'll contact you in case your portrait will be good enough for being featured here in 7Q MaP.

Today we have a great portrait by NIC PERSINGER (USA):

1Q/ Can you please tell us the story behind this portrait? How you took it and why you choose to shoot this person?

This was taken while walking down 17th street, in DC, while I was in school. My style of shooting isn't very staged, so it was as simple as saying: stay there for a second and look at me. The person in this photograph is my girlfriend. She's always been my main subject of my portrait work, since she's always near and damn pretty in front of a lens. I remember when we were walking down 17th Street there was a detour on the sidewalk due to construction. The sunlight hitting the pavement through the scaffolding was beautiful. I noticed when walking through it all on Julianna's face. I stopped her and said, "let me take your picture." She paused, and I snapped one, but she thought for sure she blinked. I shot another one to make sure. Of course, when I processed the negatives, she had her eyes closed in the first shot. I like them both quite a bit.