{"id":451,"date":"2015-03-12T11:46:24","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T11:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/?p=451"},"modified":"2015-03-12T11:47:52","modified_gmt":"2015-03-12T11:47:52","slug":"jpegmini-interviews-a-photographer-with-a-photojurnalistic-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/jpegmini-interviews-a-photographer-with-a-photojurnalistic-style\/","title":{"rendered":"JPEGmini Interviews a Photographer With a Photojurnalistic Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know? According to legend, Phoenix gets its name from Cambridge<\/a>-educated pioneer Darrell Duppa<\/a>, who saw the ruins and prehistoric canals of the Hohokam and believed another civilization would rise from the ashes. Boy, it’s\u00a0been some rebirth!\u00a0Phoenix is home to the largest municipal park in North America. South Mountain Park and Preserve<\/a> covers more than 16,500 acres and has more than 50 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails.\u00a0It’s also quite popular\u00a0amongst\u00a0photographers.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo Credit: Amy Aletheia Cahill
Photo Optimized by JPEGmini Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We recently interviewed a Phoenix photographer who is also a close friend of JPEGmini’s. His name is\u00a0Jim Patterson<\/a>. Jim is a professor of business and information technology and online learning coordinator at Paradise Valley Community College<\/a> in Phoenix, Arizona. When he’s not busy teaching, you can see him with this Canon 5D Mark III.\u00a0His passion is photography and it can clearly be seen by the photos he has taken. We were so excited when he agreed to let us interview him.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/a><\/p>\n

How did you become a photographer? Can you walk me through that moment when you fell in love with photography?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona is in journalism. They made me take a photojournalism course, but what the heck did I need with that as I was already working as a radio newscaster! Fast forward to the early 2000\u2019s and my first digital camera, a 3.1 megapixel point and shoot from Kodak. WOW, no more film! That\u2019s about what lit a fire under me for digital photography. In fact, here\u2019s one I took with that camera so long ago. I call it \u201cFrankfort Morning\u201d and it was taken in Frankfort, Michigan. I stood on the dock and waited for the fog to lift.. .\u00a0taking a photo every few minutes.<\/p>\n

\"Frankfort<\/a><\/p>\n

What was your first camera and who gave it to you?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Oh easily a Kodak Instamatic from my parents. Remember the old flash bulbs? Maybe you don\u2019t remember, and that\u2019s ok too.<\/p>\n

\"kodak-instamatic\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What were your experiences with your first camera?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think much of it. Just snapshots, nothing more. It\u2019s not like I instantly fell in love with photography at that point. I was a radio guy from a young age. I started professionally when I was 16, so shooting photos for the radio wasn\u2019t on my radar screen!<\/p>\n

What type of photographer do you consider yourself? Why?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I can do posed photos, but prefer a more photojournalistic style. Here\u2019s an example of what I\u2019m talking about. I photograph the Cancer Society\u2019s \u201cRelay for Life\u201d that we host here at my college (Paradise Valley Community College, where I am a professor). There is a very solemn ceremony to remember those we\u2019ve lost and the survivors of cancer. There is literally NO LIGHT except for the candles. I set my Canon 5D Mark III to a very high ISO and started taking photos, not sure what I was going to get. I got this shot: http:\/\/fineartamerica.com\/featured\/jack-and-shoshannah-james-gordon-patterson.html I had NO IDEA they were next to me; that is my secretary Shoshannah and her husband and son! As a side note, I printed this out on 13 x 19 paper and presented it to her\u2026 and she said the cross on her husband\u2019s heart was significant to them because they found a spot on his lung.<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/a><\/p>\n

How do you get the subject of your photo in front of the camera the way you want?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If I can, I talk to them and just get in a conversation until people forget that I have a camera. We have to go through a period where I ask them not to pose. It\u2019s like when I was a radio reporter. I\u2019d talk to my subject about all kinds of things with the recorder on until they got used to it, then I\u2019d ask questions.<\/p>\n

How do you make a picture stand out from the rest?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Lots of ways. Is the subject in focus? Is it well lit? Is the background in or out of focus? Does it tell a story? Do you feel a sense of place? Do you feel some emotion?<\/p>\n

After you come home from shooting, what\u2019s your workflow like with your pictures? What steps do you take?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I get the photos off my card and on to a folder on my iMac desktop. Then I go through the photos quickly and get rid of obvious shots like photos of my feet or blurry photos. Then I import through Lightroom, my go to program. At that point, I look for global changes to make and sync up the rest. Then I edit normally.<\/p>\n

What locations\/subjects do you seek out when you travel with your camera?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My wife joins me on travel trips with a camera. I love taking candid shots of people and scenery. Here\u2019s an example from a trip I took to Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"Horses<\/a><\/p>\n

Is there a photographer who influenced you? If so, how?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

First guy that comes to mind is the first teacher I had at Santa Fe Photo Workshops: Paul Mobley<\/a>. He worked me like a dog and I loved it. Here are shots from the work I did with Paul<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Mean<\/a><\/p>\n

For those starting out in photography, and to the hobbyists, what advice would you give them?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What Paul Mobley told me, \u201cShut up and shoot.\u201d Shoot. Take bad photos. Digital is free! Take courses. Get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. I\u2019ve taken courses from the Santa Fe Photo Workshops, Canon, Arizona Highways Photo Workshops, Photoshop World in Las Vegas, and the West Coast School in San Diego. I also teach Photoshop here at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix along with periodic photo workshops.
\nWhat\u2019s the one thing you don\u2019t leave home without?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My iPhone 6-plus so I can quickly document what I\u2019m photographing and get it on social media. Paul Mobley taught me to take a loupe, especially shooting outside in Arizona. A towel. Ear plugs if I photograph a concert. By the way, Alan Hess was a wonderful inspiration for me at Photoshop World<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What type of a photographer are YOU? Would you like to be featured on our blog? Let us know by dropping us a line \u2013 Info@JPEGmini.com!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know? According to legend, Phoenix gets its name from Cambridge-educated pioneer Darrell Duppa, who saw the ruins and prehistoric canals of the Hohokam and believed another civilization would rise from the ashes. Boy, it’s\u00a0been some rebirth!\u00a0Phoenix is home to the largest municipal park in North America. South Mountain Park and Preserve covers more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photographer-interview","category-photography","category-photoshop"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jpegmini.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}