Currently Browsing: Top Stories
Picture Perfect
Photo Credit: Rachel Fox
.
Written by Rachel Fox
Eric Evans is obsessed with photography. For those who know him (let’s face it) it’s pretty much his passion. For those of you who don’t know Eric directly, you may have seen his pictures around the school or at least on this website. But what you probably don’t know is that Eric, a junior here at M-A, won third place in a photo contest in the well-known magazine Popular Photography. That definitely gives him something to brag about.
R: How do you feel about winning this international contest?
E: I’m really happy, but actually I’m still kind of in awe. Overall I’m feeling pretty accomplished.
R: Is this your first big win?
E: I hadn’t entered contests for quite a while before this photo, might have even been a year or so. So, when I finished this photo off I thought it had gotten pretty good results on Flickr, people seemed to like it a lot, and I thought “Well, what’s the harm in trying it out?” and it worked out pretty well.
R: Have you won any other contests?
E: I was a runner up in a college photography contest, but it wasn’t very big at all- pretty small stuff. This was really my big break though.
R: How long did it take you to set up your picture?
E: It didn’t actually take that long. I was pretty frustrated towards the end; I was just saying, “Why can’t I get this to look the way I want it to?” But I took a step back, took another look, rearranged some things, changed the lighting and it all came together.
R: How long how have you been doing photography? What got you interested in it?
E: I’ve been doing photography since 7th grade. I didn’t do much photography freshman year, but I got back into it a lot sophomore year. But what really got me into it was probably the thrill of developing my own film in the darkroom.
R: What do you mostly like to photograph?
E: I don’t really have a preference. I like to shoot a variety of things, so that I don’t get caught up in like a state of mind. Shooting different things lets me branch out, and have interest in everything so I don’t get bored.
R: Do you generally prefer film or digital?
E: They both have separate purposes, and a lot of the time, time constraints make digital a much better option. Money constraints make digital a much better option as well, because developing costs are pretty wild. And I don’t own my own darkroom. [laughs] Film has its place- it definitely does. There’s a certain look to film that digital hasn’t gotten yet. So there are pluses and minuses but overall I prefer digital. You do lose something when you aren’t going through the entire development process of your own film though- that’s really something special. I didn’t treasure that enough, printing my own film, I mean.
R: How do you feel about Photoshop?
E: I don’t do that much of it, and when I do it’s for making posters or just light touch ups and adjustments. But right now I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom, too, which I’ve found very popular. It pretty much saves me the trouble of going into Photoshop. It’s like iPhoto on steroids.
R: What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?
E: Keep shooting, and try new things. Don’t get stuck in a groove where you’re only doing one thing, where you’re only doing a certain style. I would definitely say that if you’re shooting a lot, and trying different things- even if they don’t work- trying them and perfecting them and finding out what you like, as well as keeping your options open, is my best advice. As long as you’re clicking that shutter, every time you get a little better.
To see more of Eric’s work go to: www.flickr.com/menloeric
Email This Story
Print This Story
Loading ...
Photo credit Leah Worthington
WEEKLY CAPTION CONTEST:
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Congrats Eric!
We are all so proud of you and can’t wait to see more successful photographs!
[Reply]