Q. How did you get into photography/what is your background?
I first got into photography way back in the 1980`s with my first SLR a Olympus OM10 which I loved and took many pictures but I always found it frustrating that I couldn’t get or create the photos I wanted, by the late 80`s My kids came along and photography took a firm backseat but I always thought I would return to it.
Then about four years ago I started to notice that DSLR`s had started to come into my price range, so I took the plunge and haven’t look back since.
Looking back now it seems to me that the advantages of Digital was what I was waiting for, the ability to create the vision/image I had envisaged whether though lighting or software has been an inspiring journey so far.
Q. How would you describe your style of photography?
My style of photography is very fluid at the moment and I`ve come to the crossroads that most photographers face once they reach a certain level and the only way of moving forward is to specialize in a certain area. This is something I have decided to make a decision on this year. Hopefully something will jump up and bite my ass and it will make the decision easy.
Q. What equipment do you use?
At the moment I have a Nikon D300 and various lenses, strobes and equipment.
Q. Who/what has influenced your work?
I love the work of Joe Mcnally, his environmental portraits are the best around and his use of light is simply inspiring, David Hobby is one of the best teachers around and the day I spent at his seminar last year has had a big influence on the way I understand and use light.
Q. Do you have any ideas on how photography in Birmingham can be developed or ideas for events/projects?
Exhibition space is a great way to promote photographers and help develop ideas , make Birmingham a `hub` for photographers similar to the way Derby has.
A great event/project I heard about recently was a `photo marathon` held in Cardiff, photographers were given a specific time to get photos on different given themes or at least their interpretation anyway. From what I have seen it produced a lot of junk but it also produced some truly beautiful, inspiring and great photos.
Website: http://karlphoto.co.uk