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Photographer Interview: Adam King

If you’re a landscape photographer, it helps to live in a gorgeous part of the world – like Adam King in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

I’m always a sucker for mountains, especially the Rockies, so it was great to learn about Adam’s work.

Where are you and what do you do?

I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I’m currently a second year student at Macewan University, taking my Bachelor of Science, hoping one day to get a job in the computer science field! All that aside, I also have a pretty serious artistic side that I like to express mainly through photography nowadays.

How did you get started in photography?

I remember taking my first photograph at the age of 8. I was in Drumheller with my family which is located in the Southern Alberta Badlands. This is an area which is known for its rich fossil deposits and important dinosaur related discoveries. Badlands are landscapes that are intricately eroded, steeply sloped, and largely devoid of vegetation. This area was so new and different to me I remember wanting to capture every little detail about the trip while we were there.

My family eventually noticed how much interest I had in photography and let me take some photos that trip. When we finally got the photos back from the local drugstore, I was given the photos that I had taken in a little scrapbook, which I still have to this day. I must’ve looked through them all a couple dozen times alone that first day. Ever since then, I’ve been interested in documenting and recreating important trips and events in my life through photography.

What do you like about your photography?

I guess what I like most about my photography is being able to return to a certain point in my life through a collection of photos. Getting back into the mindset of 13 year old me, for example, and figuring out why the subject of the photo was important to me is something I find myself doing often while looking at old photos. On a more superficial level, I feel really fortunate to live so close to the Rockies and share them with the world.

You live in very photo-worthy part of the world. Where do you get inspiration for your style/ideas?

I gather inspiration everywhere I can. My time in the National Parks of Alberta are usually spent just walking around (or hiking the side of a mountain) with one or two friends and taking photos of whatever I come across. One of my biggest inspirations when I first joined Tumblr a couple years ago was man-and-camera.com. I really felt the artistic approach behind his work, and it really motivated me to attempt to recreate something similar with my own perspective. Other than that, there definitely isn’t a shortage of great Alberta-based photographers out there to follow.

I notice you do a lot of your landscape work in portrait orientation, which is not typical. Is there a method behind your technique?

I honestly lean towards it out of instinct nowadays. My preference for portrait orientation is definitely heavily influenced by my high school communication technology teacher. He was an outspoken advocate of experimentation with your art and remembering that you can turn the camera on its side and shoot that way too. Since then I find it easier to create interesting compositions with the added vertical space.

What kinds of themes do you explore with your work?

Documenting nature in all of its forms. Mostly landscapes of Alberta and British Columbia, however I am going to be posting some shots from my trip to London a couple years ago. Fitting an overarching theme isn’t something I’ve really thought too much about. I just find myself always drawn back to nature.

Something I want to do in the upcoming year is diversify a little bit and try out some portrait work. I feel like learning the nuances of a different theme and bringing those ideas into your photography can be really beneficial.

Any upcoming projects or shoots you’re working on?

As I mentioned above, I definitely want to try some portraits and see how I can integrate that in with my current focus. I also just started as a volunteer at @lensblr-network, helping the team find the best in original photography here on Tumblr. I couldn’t be more excited at this opportunity to broaden my artistic eye and share the best this site has to offer with such a wide audience. It’s a really great feeling finding someone that is more than deserving of recognition for their work and having a hand in facilitating that for them. I’ve already found at least a dozen of artists that I’ve really fallen in love with since starting that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have found!

Follow @adm-kng here on Tumblr for more of Adam’s work, or catch his stuff on his Flickr account. 

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Nicole Cure

Artists In Jackson: Nicole Cure

“I don’t like to be pushy with my art. If they want to come look, they can come look and bring their own viewpoint.”

Call Nicole Cure a natural. She never studied art, never felt like she worked hard at it, and even took a 10-year creative hiatus when her kids were born.

“I never worked hard at it. I was just born with a natural talent,” she says.

That talent is paying off now that Nicole runs a drawing and interior design business out of her home studio. She named the studio Ardis J Studio after her grandmother, Ardis Jane, from whom she inherited some of her artistic ability. 

That natural talent does not mean Nicole doesn’t work hard on her sketches. She often spends 10 to 20 hours on each piece. 

Her customers are now asking for more and more of her custom pieces and original work.

“It’s been fun and crazy busy,” Nicole says. “And I have more work than I thought I’d ever get.”

She says word of mouth is what works. After trying the art show scene for a few years, Nicole found it to be a slog, even if she got a custom job or two. Now, she’s called it quits on art shows, and her workload is still doing just fine.

Nicole works in her small studio in Hanover, which she built a few years ago as her kids went off to school. She found her basement studio cramped, and her handy father-in-law built it in no time flat. Nicole’s studio hosts little tots drawing lessons during the summer, where she teaches basic drawing techniques to first through seventh graders.

“It’s a blast,” she says. “You can usually tell within the first session if the child has a natural ability.”

For her work, Nicole draws inspiration from the world around her: kids, family, animals, and the rural setting. Customers ask her for lots of animal drawings, like horses and dogs.

“I think I’ve done every breed of dog 10 times,” Nicole says.

To experiment, Nicole dabbles in other creative projects, like furniture and interior design. The furniture thing came about because she likes to make her own pieces.

“I would rather not pay top dollar for anything. Furniture is really fun to me,” Nicole says. “I garage sale like bonkers. I love it – it’s a total addiction.”

In fact, if she were to do it over again, Nicole would concentrate on interior design work. She does a few projects here and there, using a style she calls “modern shabby chic,” but she really wants to redo an entire house.

“I use crazy colors. I just have an eye for it,” she says. “Like, my kitchen’s a bright teal. People wake up when they go in.”

Nicole’s kids have an eye for art, too, she says. Two may be better than she ever was. Take her oldest daughter, who draws all the time. Nicole calls her “phenomenal.”

Maybe there’s an art gene in there after all. Take a look around Nicole’s studio, and you will see four pieces hanging up created by her kids. 

“I’ll never take them down,” she says.

Buy the Artists In Jackson book | Ardis J Studio on Facebook

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Some Advice (Not From Me)

Artists In Jackson

In sharing my Artists In Jackson project, I reached out to some artists for feedback. What did they think? What can I do differently next time?

One artist in particular – raised in Jackson, went on to great success – gave me some really great advice. For one, he was worried about me producing a book. “Nobody buys books,” he wrote, “not even if you price them at $10 a piece.”

He, however, knew how to sell books. Case in point: a $500 book, limited to 50 editions, and he sold out of his print run in just a few weeks. This artist offered an experience, not just a book. It became a pride point to own one of his books.

“The book was only a bonus and personal brag piece to tell their friends the damn book cost $500,” he said. “It’s the experience, not the money.”

His experience was, he only printed 50 of them, and he included a personal sketch inside each one.

You can’t rely on friends and family to support your art, he told me. And people in the community who say they support the arts? They’re mostly fibbing. Few back up their support with actual dollars.

Some of this I wished I had heard before I started the project, though I doubt that would’ve dissuaded me. I wanted to make a quality book for people to buy, and I felt like I had enough of an audience to sell a decent amount.

Aside from the book, my main motivation was to brag about the artistic talent in Jackson, and to get to know some local artists. Take economics out of it, and I feel like my project was very successful.

Put economics back in, and I think the advice I received was pretty spot-on. My “experience” was a limited run of books signed by me, with a free eBook download and dibs on info like extra editions and events. I could do a lot more to up the “experience” level.

I don’t think that a high price tag would go over well in the community, however. Jackson is a pretty cheapskate kind of town.

Granted, this artist has a huge following, and sells work for thousands of dollars. He works on a totally different level than this local photographer with a super local project.

But for future projects, his advice is worthwhile.

Thanks Dominic!

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Albion Circa 1995

Albion, circa 1995

One of the great parts about my day job is working with talented students on fun projects, like our recently-launched Albion 1995 throwback video.

The idea? What Albion College was like in 1995, told through music and technology.

The team did an amazing job starring in this thing, grabbing vintage (”vintage” – oy, I remember 1995!) clothing, and being good sports. For my part, it was all shot on an iPhone 5S, often using the VHS Camcorder app for the ‘95 scenes.

Check out the full video.

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Low-End Photography: Canon 5D Classic

Taking something like low-end photography (much like low-end computing) seriously involves using classic gear to get your artistic goals accomplished.

The “classic” part is the key. It’s not enough to use any old retro digital camera. It still has to work well and produce good files.

That’s why I ended up grabbing a Canon 5D (mark I, natch) a few months ago off of fredmiranda.com. Many would agree that it’s a classic camera: sturdy, innovative at release, and capable of producing beautiful photos.

It’s also my first foray into the world of full-frame digital photography. My Canon Rebel T1i has done me well these past four years, but I’m prepping myself for a Canon 6D purchase this summer. Before I take that plunge, I wanted to test out a full frame camera, so I went shopping for a 5D.

It has not disappointed. It’s built like a tank, it produces sharp, beautiful photo files, and it’s not that much bigger or heavier than my T1i. And the reach! Those EF lenses are at their best when they showcase their maximum focal length.

What doesn’t it do? It doesn’t do movies. Or HDR (thank goodness). Or double exposures. Or even Auto ISO. The Canon 5D is closer to a photographer’s camera – purely focused on photography – that just about anything released these days. All you can do is make photos with it.

Grab a CF card (still available) and a card reader, and Lightroom has access to everything the 5D produces. In that way, it’s as relevant today as it was when it was released almost a decade ago.

No, the ISO isn’t as bump-able as today’s Mark III version. And the file size is smaller. But I share my photos mainly online, with a few 8×10″ prints here and there, and for those reasons the classic 5D is good enough. And I’m not alone – some of my favorite photographers working today still use the 5D (with one lens!).

I also saved a bunch of money on a full-frame camera.

Eventually the thing will wear out. The 100k shutter lifespan is quickly approaching. Even when it does die, I imagine I’ll have taken lots of photos with it. It will serve me well in, what, a few years? Maybe more?

It’s a low-end approach to photography: buy a classic camera that’s in good shape, save some money, and enjoy the benefits of Good Enough.

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US-12 Yard Sale

Dean-o
Chickens!
George and Abe
Furious
What Now My Love?

Imagine it: 180 miles of LPs, kids clothes, and missing-piece puzzles.

That’s the US-12 Yard Sale – a giant bargain bin stretching across southern Michigan.

We typically check out the local section, stretching from Clinton and Saline in the East to Allen (Antique Capital!) in the West. The tough part isn’t the driving – it’s the figuring out which yard/garage sale is worth stopping at.

This past year, I had no complaints: I picked up a Canonet in fantastic condition for $5 in Jonesville. Everything beyond that was gravy.

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Kodak Ektar 100

Kodak Ektar 100

Had my first roll of Kodak Ektar 100 printed, and boy, talk about some touchy film.

Or I should say, touchy camera (my Canonet) and film combo. Lots of underexposures, crushed blacks, and double exposures (like the one above) in the roll.

It’s a bummer when the photos you’re looking forward to seeing come out botched. But that’s the magic of film, right?

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