1- Are you a professional photographer? Technically yes, I am, because I have been working as a freelance photographer for a local newspaper, and have been paid to shoot photos for websites, magazines, and corporate events.
2- Why street photography? I like the pace, challenge and difficulty of street photography, walking around exploring new locations and meeting new people, and attending to subtleties that most people simply overlook.
3- How would you describe your photography style? My photographs tend to depict quirky and humorous moments and people. Lately, I am trying to add more layers, include more movement or action, more effectively use light and shadows, and ensure the frame is filled as much as possible with interesting bits.
4- What makes a good picture from your point of view? What do you look for in an image? A good picture is one that I want to look at for a relatively long time, and more than once. It’s a picture that is memorable and that makes an impression on me. I like images that are unique, fresh, and creatively composed.
5- How do you educate yourself to take better photos? Practice practice practice.
6- Where in the world would you most like to photograph? The more I practice taking photographs and critically looking at my photographs, the more I learn. I also learn a lot from entering competitions, looking at photographs made by other street photographers, reading interviews with street photographers, and watching videos of street photographers in action. I’ve not yet attended a class or workshop and hope to do that in the near future. I would like to spend more taking photos in Mexico, Central America and South America. These locations tend to be very colorful, interesting, and well lit.
7- Who would you most like to photograph and what kind of pictures do you avoid to shoot? I prefer to shoot photos of “real” people and have no strong preference with respect to gender, age, wealth, or lifestyle. The photos I avoid shooting are the photos that I think most people will make.
8- Have you been confronted by someone whose photo you took on the street? What would be your advice for avoiding confrontation when doing Street Photography? Sure, but not too often. And in most cases I am able to deescalate the situation. I tell my fellow street photographers if they feel nervous or scared when taking a photo then they probably should not take the photo. Street photographers should take each photo thinking that they might be called out and confronted. Bottom line is to shoot photos ethically and while using common sense.
9- Your favourite street image of your own to date and why? My favorite street image is the one I have not yet taken.
10- Your favourite piece of equipment? I guess I would have to say my camera. That’s pretty much the only equipment I use.
11- What are your favorite settings (Aperture. Shutter Speed, ISO, White Balance, Focus, Manual/Auto, Image Format – RAW/JPEG) for Street Photography and why? I don’t have a favorite setting. The settings I use will depend on several factors and I choose the settings according to the situation in which I find myself. Having said that, I never shoot in Auto and rarely shoot in full Manual mode. Most of my photos were shot with Aperture or Shutter Speed priority and auto focus. I always shoot RAW.
12- Is photography art? Sure
13- Black And White or Colour? I tend to shoot in Color and will convert some photos to Black and White if requested by the “buyer” or if the photo looks better without color.
14-What are your thoughts on editing? I edit my photos and think some editing is necessary and helpful. I do not remove or move people and objects, dramatically change colors, add blur, or make extreme edits.
15- Why do you share to Progressive Street and who would you like to see showcased from Progressive Street? I share with Progressive Street because I enjoy having the visibility, receiving feedback and suggestions, and having an opportunity to meet and learn from other Street Photographers. I like to see Progressive Street showcase Street Photographers who I have not yet discovered.