Blog on Photoblogs

So here’s the first in the series of what I hope becomes a monthly photoblogger profile on Blog On Photoblogs.

I couldn’t have thought of a better start to the series by getting to ask David Nightingale of Chromasia fame.  I have been following David’s incredible work on his blog for quite sometime now, and always get inspired by his ever expanding body of work.

I hope you enjoy the info, if you have any suggestions on bloggers or questions you would like to see, please feel free to let me know. 

BOPB: How’d you get your start in photography, and when did you’re photography get more serious?

DN: I first became interested in photography as a child but didn’t take it seriously until my early twenties, at which point I was either printing my own black and white photographs or shooting colour transparencies. At this point though it was strictly a hobby and over the coming years I gradually took less and less photographs and ended up selling all my equipment. My interest was rekindled in 2003 when my wife bought me a point and shoot digital camera. I soon upgraded to a better model, then to a DSLR, after which I added more lenses, and so it went on. In 2004 I set up chromasia and have attempted to post an image a day ever since. I haven’t always managed it, but to date there are 1346 images on the site so I haven’t missed too many days.

I got my first commercial break in 2005 when the Arts Council commissioned me to shoot a series of portraits documenting the ethnic and cultural diversity in the North West of England, and at this point we set up chromasia as a limited company.

BOPB: What was your first camera? What camera are you currently using?

DN: My first ‘serious’ camera was a Canon A-1, which was a great camera at the time. My current cameras include a 1Ds Mark II and a 5D.

BOPB: What’s in your camera bag right now? What’s the one piece of gear that you can’t do without?

DN: I don’t often take all my kit out with me, unless it’s a big commercial shoot, but when I do I take the following:

Cameras
Canon 1Ds Mark II
Canon 5D

Lenses
EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
EF 35mm f/1.4L USM
EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
EF 135mm f/2.8 soft focus
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Other stuff
Speedlite 580EX and 580EX II
Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
TC-80N3 timer remote control
Gitzo GT3540LS tripod
Really Right Stuff BH-55 PCL ball head
WhiBal™ grey cards
Lee Filter system (ND Grads, polarizer, etc)
And: light stands, reflectors, spirit levels, monopod, and a load of other bits and pieces.

When I’m out shooting pictures for the blog though I normally take the 1Ds Mark II, one lens, and the tripod. If I had to pick one piece of equipment that I couldn’t do without I’d have to say that it would be my tripod.

BOPB: The name of your blog is quite unique, how did you come up with it?

DN: I wanted a unique name that had something to do with either light or colour, so spent a few hours ploughing through the Shorter Oxford Dictionary until I found chromasia: it’s a suffix that means colour.

BOPB: Are there any photographers/artists out there that influence your work?

My all-time favourite photographer is Ansel Adams, as much for his technical expertise as his aesthetic ability to capture the beauty and grandeur of our environment, but there are numerous other photographers I admire - some well known, some less so. It’s difficult to single any out, as my interest tends to vary depending on the sort of material I’m shooting at the time, but one person I’m particularly interested in at the moment is Loretta Lux as I’m currently thinking about how I shoot portraits, particularly of my children.

BOPB: I think that one of the things that sets your blog apart from others is the post-processing of your images. Did you take courses or are you self taught?

I’m self taught though have read numerous books and magazines on post-production. Mostly though, I’ve worked out how to do things for myself and now publish my own tutorials:

Chromasia Photoshop Tutorials

BOPB: What’s the one piece of software that you find to be essential?

DN: Other than Photoshop I’d have to say that the piece of software I use most often is Noise Ninja. Often, my images are manipulated quite extensively, which increases the amount of latent noise in an image, so it’s essential to me to have some way of removing that noise without degrading the image.

BOPB: Other then your own, what’s your favourite photoblog out there, and why?

DN: I don’t have a particular favourite, but the ones I tend to return to most often are the ones that tell a sustained story. For example, I really enjoy visiting Kathleen Connally’s ‘A walk in Durham Township, Pennsylvania’ because she presents an ongoing and developing narrative of her life, fellow inhabitants, and the animals and scenery of Durham Township. It isn’t a place I’ve ever visited it, but through her eyes I know feel as though I know it.

BOPB: The subject matter on your site varies widely from portraiture, to seascape. How did you develop such a wide ranging style?

DN: As much as anything else I think that this is a consequence of deciding to post an image a day; i.e. I soon discovered that getting enough decent shots to post an image each day means that you have to shoot anything and everything. I’m also very lucky to live in a photogenic part of the UK and to have six children, none of whom mind being photographed.

BOPB: If you were to give one piece of advice to a photographer considering starting a photoblog what would it be?

DN: To think about why they want to do it. For example, if they’re interested in being part of a photographic community then they might be better off posting on Flickr, or setting up a hosted photoblog on shutterchance or pixyblog; i.e. becoming a part of a pre-existing community. On the other hand, if they’re hoping to use it as a stepping stone towards a professional career, then they would probably be better off setting up an independent photoblog.

BOPB: Is there a single resource – either book or web-site – that you couldn’t do without?

DN: I’ve thought about this question and there really isn’t a book or website I could single out. I frequently read equipment review sites (e.g. fredmiranda.com and dpreview.com), browse numerous photography sites and photoblogs, read various books and magazines on post-production, and so on.

BOPB: Where do you see your blog in the next 3-5 years?

DN: In some ways I hope that it stays much as it is now – an image-a-day journey, documenting my environment, my family and the work I’m doing at the time. That said, the internet is changing, particularly in terms of Web 2.0 initiatives, so I suspect that chromasia will evolve too.

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