Time to Update
Time to update here, it’s been way too long. The goal is to write here daily so keep an eye out and make sure you sign up for our RSS and submit. We’ll be doing tips on setting up a photoblog soon, so keep an eye out for that.
Sam Javanrouh [daily dose of imagery]
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sam Javanrouh about his photoblog and photography. Here’s a few of the questions we had for Sam.
Are you a self-taught photographer or did you have a mentor?
I’m self thought for the most part, but my father is a cinematographer so I saw a lot of different cameras and have been to film sets so that helped a lot too.
What did you do to teach yourself?
I read a lot of books and try to read as much online too, but I think the most important thing is looking at photos and movies. I love going to bookstores and flipping through photo books or go through my own collection of books from my favorite photographers as much as I can. I think I learned from cinematographers more than any book.
What should someone look for in a mentor?
That’s a tough question for me. I didn’t have one mentor really, my sources of inspiration have always been a collective list of people, and the list grows daily. I guess it’s the work that really touches you, not necessarily a person.
Once you’ve taken an photograph you like, what next?
One my favorite photographers Ansel Adams once said: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” That pretty much sums up my process of image making. When I press the shutter only half of the work is done. When I look through the viewfinder, I see what the photograph will look like but the camera almost always fails to capture what I saw. The rest is in post processing, where I try to bring back the feeling of the moment as much as I can.
What do you do when you feel uninspired?
It depends. Sometimes I pick up my camera and start walking around downtown. I might watch a movie or read a book. I also really enjoy going to a bookstore and spend hours going through magazines and books.
What made you decide to start a photoblog?
In the beginning it was about sharing my photos with friends, but very quickly it became much more. It is a constant challenge to create a worthy image on a daily basis. Sometimes you fail and sometimes you succeed but it’s a great way to better your skills and vision.
Do you have any general advice to upcoming photographers?
I think nothing makes a better photographer than taking photos. Take and make as much photographs as you can. Try to carry your camera everywhere so you’re on the hunt for a picture at all times. With digital photography these days there is really no excuse not to practice is someone is really into it.
–end–
Have a photographer you think we should interview? or have a question you think we should ask? email me and let me know! samirb@pictpicture.com, and don’t forget to check out the pictures on PictPicture.com
I’m back!
I’m back from Germany. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and I got a few really good shots in between the beer drinking.
An update on what was happening while I was gone; we finalized a few upcoming features. One of which I’m really excited about, we’re working on a way so you can upload your images directly from your photoblog just by typing in the page URL. So look forward to that coming soon.
Tomorrow morning I’ll be posting a short interview I did with Sam Javanrouh of [daily dose of imagery].
Munich, Germany
I’m sure some of you know that I’ll be flying to Munich, Germany this weekend and be there for a week. I’ll be dusting off the camera and taking lots of photographs! So hopefully, I get some good prints to post on PictPicture.com.
Once I get back we’ll be starting a new series on this blog where I’ll interview a few of the top photobloggers.
Cool Laptop Pictures / New Laptop
Once again I’m here late at the office and I was mashing away at my laptop and I realized how badly I would love to have one of those MacBook Air’s. Well anyway that lead to me procrastinating more (which is why I tend to be here till all hours of the night) and I found some really cool pictures of laptops on the web.
I’ll start adding them to PictPicture.com so you can vote on the ones you really like!
1: If only I had the MacBook Air, I’d do this to my laptop now:
2: Looks like someone else has been having a busy night:
3. It’s alive!
4. I see your hand!
5. You can’t hide from me:
6. Culture is Not a Crime:
Don’t forget to check out PictPicture.com so you can vote on these awesome pictures and more.
Where they came from:
Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5, Image 6.
Suggestions?!
We’re working everyday to bring you new features and we’ll have some new stuff soon! I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to release it.
Here’s the big problem though, we’ve run out of ideas for later! I blame the office drinking for the sudden brain freeze but we figured we’d just ask you! You’re the community, what feature do you want to see on PictPicture.com?
Leave a comment or IM us at PoliKnowCom. We’re also working on an irc server, stay tuned for updates on that.
New Blog!
Hey guys
Lots of new stuff has been happening over here at PictPicture.com. We’ve got a new blog and some pretty cool updates to the site.
I’m sure many of you already noticed but the site should load a lot faster, and we have fixed the issues with the image uploader. If you have any question or problems please contact us so we can fix them right away, you can even leave a comment here!
Keep an eye out for more updates and more new features we’re working hard everyday to make sure you have everything you could want in a photography ranking site like ours.
Got comments, suggestions, want a feature? Let us know, and we’ll make sure we can incorporate it into the site!