Blog on Photoblogs

Well, I am finally getting back into the groove of things after a couple of very busy weeks, and I can’t think of a better way to kick things off with a profile of the amazing photographic work of Austin Mann.  When I came across Austin’s work for the first time, I knew that I needed to profile him on the site.  I am sure that you’ll find the insight Austin provides extremely helpful.

BOPB: When did you first discover photography and at what point in time did it become a more serious endeavor?
Austin: My dad was a photographer so I kind of grew up around cameras but I didn’t really get into until the first semester of my sophomore year in college (about two and a half years ago.) I got my hands on a 70-200 f/2.8L in exchange for selling some equipment for a professional photographer on eBay, a very generous exchange on his part, and that’s all I shot with for about a year. I got hooked my Spring semester of my sophomore year and next thing I knew God had me in Africa on a missions trip shooting over there.

BOPB: What was your first camera, and what are you currently using?
Austin:The first camera that was my very own I got for high school graduation and it was Canon’s first flag ship DSLR, the Canon D30 (3.25MP.) I got it used and years after its initial release but it was a great camera.  From the start, I really liked the long night exposures and can remember how disappointed I was with the noise in the images… Now I shoot with a Canon 1Ds Mark III and it blows me away on every level, including noise. I can have my set ISO set all the way up to 800 before I even can see any noise at all… and as far as long exposures go, I shot a 70 minute exposure last time I was in Africa of the stars and I could barely see any noise in the image at all… an amazing piece of technology.

BOPB: What’s the one piece of equipment in your bag that you couldn’t live without?
Austin: My RocketAir! I use it to blow off and clean all my equipment, not just externally but also internally as well. It does an excellent job cleaning sensors and any surface of equipment that you want to avoid scratches.

BOPB: If you were able to give one single piece of advice to a photographer who is considering starting their own photoblog, what would it be?
Austin: Maintain your own style — shoot for what YOU want to shoot for. After starting a photoblog, it’s easy to start catering to the photoblog viewing crowd and conform to another style. It’s important to stay strong to you are passionate about and to stick to the style of art you want to produce, even if what your shooting isn’t boosting your page loads or publicity.

BOPB: What has been the most effective method of attracting new visitors to your photoblog?
Austin: I have listed myself on VFXY and coolphotoblogs but for one reason or another it has never seemed to take off at either site. I think a lot of my hits are just from word of mouth and I also get messages from time to time from people that have found my business card in the local coffee shop.

BOPB: Do you collect stats on visitors to your photoblog, and if so, what tool do you use to collect these stats?
Austin: My host is GoDaddy and I use their traffic facts for general visitor information on my host (austinmann.com) and any domains on it, which include my blog. For specific blog tracking, I use the Image-Stats addon in PixelPost, I think it works great.

BOPB: Would you mind telling us about one photoblogger who you feel really stands out from the crowd and why?
Austin: I really enjoy the photo blog of Miles over at http://mute.rigent.com/. His imagery isn’t super-processed like some photo blog and offers a unique perspective on not only every day slice-of-life kinds of images but also beautiful landscapes.

BOPB: Great mind things alike, check out my interview with Mute’s Miles Storey.

BOPB: Mind telling us a little bit about your current workflow?
Austin: I shot in RAW and Small JPEG and I have four SanDisk Extreme III 8 GB cards and a 5D as my secondary with two SanDisk Extreme III 4 GB cards. When I’m traveling, I always try to dump my images to my MacBook Air at the end of the night and back them up on one of my 160GB LaCie Rugged drives. That way I can clear the cards and be ready for another full day of shooting.

BOPB: I always like to ask my guests about the future of photography, where do you see the future of photography?
Austin: The future of photography is a tricky one. With the massive distribution of digital cameras that do everything for you, photography has already changed radically in the last few years. I think it will grow more and more difficult for professional photographers to set themselves apart from the rest as equipment continues to get smarter which equalizes everyone.

BOPB: Do you see a point in time where you will be selling your work online, or do you see your photoblog as more of just a creative outlet?
Austin: I actually do sell my work online. I used a service called Zenfolio and have been thrilled with not only it’s simple and easy-to-use interface but also it’s outstanding print labs, both in print quality and speed.

BOPB: Finally, where do you see your photoblog in say 3-5 years?
Austin: I’ve had my photo blog for just over 2 years now and its roughly the same as it was when I started it. I just strive to create imagery that directs glory to my Creator and I think that will always stay the same. The only thing I’d really like to see change is is increased visitor count and more traffic.

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