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>>> Darren Troy C, People Photo Challenge #4 winner
Darren Troy C won the people photo challenge #4: Reflections & people photo challenge #7: Hands. I asked him to answer a few questions, and this is what he told me:
Wow!! Thank you all soooo much! It does the soul some good to know that our work is admired by fellow photogs and others that enjoy the craft.
WHO ARE YOU? Officially, people that know me best call me Troy. I'm 40yrs old and was born in Charleston, SC and currently reside in Columbia, SC.
WHEN DID YOU JOIN DGRIN? WHICH FORUM(S) DO YOU FREQUENT MOST? I joined DGrin in July of '08. At first, I would have to say the forum I frequented the most would have been the Landscape section. As my interests and abilities have grown, the People and Wedding sections get an awful lot of attention now.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY? DID YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOGRAPHY TRAINING? My love of photography grew from being involved in the outdoors most of my life. I so admired the National Geographics as I was growing up. Some kids liked comics, I had stacks and stacks of those yellow magazines.
I haven't had any formal training, just an intense desire to create an image that's appealing...no matter the subject in front of the lens. Books can't teach desire and creativity, only foster the means of making those attributes work more positively.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU HAVE/USE? At my disposal is my trusty Nikon D300, a 50mm 1.4 prime, a 70-200mm 2.8, an extremely wide 12-24mm f4, and a 120-400mm telephoto. I have an sb800 for lighting and 2 light stands, one of which simply holds a 42" reflector.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING/SUBJECT/PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH? When it comes to my favorite "thing" to photograph I would have to be honest and say I really don't care what "it" is. People, Landscapes, Architecture, Commercial, Editorial, Conceptual, Stills, ....I really can't put my finger on a favorite. I just want to do good work...simple as that.
I definately am my own worst critic and work very hard to make sure it's just what I was seeing in my head. (It's crowded up there!) One of my favorite sayings is "What you see is NEVER as important as How you see!" Yep, that's right...that little voice is all my own!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO? I guess one of my all time favorite photographs would have to be the one that won this particular contest. I love silhouettes and this one by far has been one of my best.
WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU PHOTOGRAPHY WISE? WHAT'S THE ONE THING/ADVICE THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE OTHER'S? Some of the best advice I ever received was checking in to the plethera of info available over at strobist. Invaluable OC lighting info! Some of the best advice that I could pass along would be to shoot with your heart! Shoot with your mind! To often, MUCH TO OFTEN, we allow the technical mumbo-jumbo to interfere with creativity. I was once told that "she's on the wrong side of the frame" when referring to a fashion shoot I had done. Wrong side of the frame? Seriously? Didn't realize there was a "right" side. Cropping and composition are pinnacle to me. I don't let objectivity EVER rule over subjectivity! It's ok for an image to be "technically" sound...but if it's "terrifically" boring than what kind of noise is that going to make?
WHO/WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES IN PHOTOGRAPHY? My biggest influences deal with anyone that can move me with an image. I know that's broad but when something can speak without ever saying a word, that to me is very influential. Check out 1x.com...some of the most powerful creative camera work you'll ever witness!
SO WHAT ABOUT YOUR WINNING ENTRY? My winning entry is a shot of the outfitter I hunted with the 2nd week of January in the Outer Banks of NC. One of the duck decoys had somehow up-ended itself and Vic wanted to get it turned upright before shooting time started. As he hopped out of the boat to wade over to the decoys I immediately knew there was going to be one hell of an opportunity! The sun had barely made it's appearance that morning and because of the diffuse cloud cover, the colors were widespread. I turned my ISO down as well as underexposed by at least a stop and a half...possibly more. I snapped off 3 shots, all seemingly identical. I think it will always remain one of my favorites.
Again, thank you all so very much for the compliments!
If you want to see more of Darren's work, go to his website: http://DarrenTroyCphotography.com/
Comments? questions? post them here!
For more info on the people photo challenges, go here. Why not participate yourself?!?!
Wow!! Thank you all soooo much! It does the soul some good to know that our work is admired by fellow photogs and others that enjoy the craft.
WHO ARE YOU? Officially, people that know me best call me Troy. I'm 40yrs old and was born in Charleston, SC and currently reside in Columbia, SC.
WHEN DID YOU JOIN DGRIN? WHICH FORUM(S) DO YOU FREQUENT MOST? I joined DGrin in July of '08. At first, I would have to say the forum I frequented the most would have been the Landscape section. As my interests and abilities have grown, the People and Wedding sections get an awful lot of attention now.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY? DID YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOGRAPHY TRAINING? My love of photography grew from being involved in the outdoors most of my life. I so admired the National Geographics as I was growing up. Some kids liked comics, I had stacks and stacks of those yellow magazines.
I haven't had any formal training, just an intense desire to create an image that's appealing...no matter the subject in front of the lens. Books can't teach desire and creativity, only foster the means of making those attributes work more positively.WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU HAVE/USE? At my disposal is my trusty Nikon D300, a 50mm 1.4 prime, a 70-200mm 2.8, an extremely wide 12-24mm f4, and a 120-400mm telephoto. I have an sb800 for lighting and 2 light stands, one of which simply holds a 42" reflector.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING/SUBJECT/PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH? When it comes to my favorite "thing" to photograph I would have to be honest and say I really don't care what "it" is. People, Landscapes, Architecture, Commercial, Editorial, Conceptual, Stills, ....I really can't put my finger on a favorite. I just want to do good work...simple as that.
I definately am my own worst critic and work very hard to make sure it's just what I was seeing in my head. (It's crowded up there!
) One of my favorite sayings is "What you see is NEVER as important as How you see!" Yep, that's right...that little voice is all my own! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO? I guess one of my all time favorite photographs would have to be the one that won this particular contest. I love silhouettes and this one by far has been one of my best.
WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU PHOTOGRAPHY WISE? WHAT'S THE ONE THING/ADVICE THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE OTHER'S? Some of the best advice I ever received was checking in to the plethera of info available over at strobist. Invaluable OC lighting info! Some of the best advice that I could pass along would be to shoot with your heart! Shoot with your mind! To often, MUCH TO OFTEN, we allow the technical mumbo-jumbo to interfere with creativity. I was once told that "she's on the wrong side of the frame" when referring to a fashion shoot I had done. Wrong side of the frame? Seriously? Didn't realize there was a "right" side. Cropping and composition are pinnacle to me. I don't let objectivity EVER rule over subjectivity! It's ok for an image to be "technically" sound...but if it's "terrifically" boring than what kind of noise is that going to make?
WHO/WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES IN PHOTOGRAPHY? My biggest influences deal with anyone that can move me with an image. I know that's broad but when something can speak without ever saying a word, that to me is very influential. Check out 1x.com...some of the most powerful creative camera work you'll ever witness!
SO WHAT ABOUT YOUR WINNING ENTRY? My winning entry is a shot of the outfitter I hunted with the 2nd week of January in the Outer Banks of NC. One of the duck decoys had somehow up-ended itself and Vic wanted to get it turned upright before shooting time started. As he hopped out of the boat to wade over to the decoys I immediately knew there was going to be one hell of an opportunity! The sun had barely made it's appearance that morning and because of the diffuse cloud cover, the colors were widespread. I turned my ISO down as well as underexposed by at least a stop and a half...possibly more. I snapped off 3 shots, all seemingly identical. I think it will always remain one of my favorites.
Again, thank you all so very much for the compliments!
If you want to see more of Darren's work, go to his website: http://DarrenTroyCphotography.com/
Comments? questions? post them here!
For more info on the people photo challenges, go here. Why not participate yourself?!?!
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Comments
Kelly
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Congratulations on your win! I really like how you tied a wonderful 'People' shot with a superb 'Landscape' photo that has a little 'Sport', in the mix.
Wonderful.
Beatiful shot and enjoyed the interview. Really agree with a lot of your opinions on photography. Look forward to seeing more of your stuff down the road.
Spread the love! Go comment on something!