PhotographyBanzai.com

A friend is writing up an English composition paper about photographers. She wanted people to answer a list of questions related to that. I decided to write up responses for her instead of doing an interview. That should be easier for her and it gave me something to post on here. Here are the questions and my responses. Reflection photo at an Anime Central convention. Question: How many years have you been a photographer (or counted yourself as one)? Around 2002, so approximately 18 years. Question: Would you call yourself an amateur, a hobbyist, or a professional photographer? Hobbyist Question: Are you self-taught or do you have school/formal training? How long did it take before you were confident in your skill? Self-taught, mostly from online sources and learning by doing. I’d say it took around 7 years to have a solid foundation of knowledge and practice. Question: What do you feel makes a professional photographer? Someone that can financially support the majority of their life w...

I just noticed on Pentax Forums that Nikon allegedly posted this message: A photographer is only as good as the equipment he uses, and a good lens is essential to taking good pictures! Do any of our Facebook fans use any of the NIKKOR lenses? Which is your favorite and what types of situations do you use it for? Basically implying that photographers are only good if they are sporting expensive Nikon SLR equipment. Everyone and their brother who thinks their a photographer will take offense to that statement because they think everything about producing a quality image is up to the photographer and always use the debating point that the great photographer can use a Holga or some other junk camera to produce amazing works of art. Now, I don’t really disagree with saying it’s the photographer, however… I think both sides of the argument are full of BS. The smart and skilled photographer will get the best gear they can manage. Things like control, ease of use (ergonomics), rendering qu...

I’m a fan of something called Anime (Japanese Animation). While many people in western cultures feel that animation is only for children, in Japan they have broadened the scope of animated films and videos. A large section of Anime is geared toward adult audiences. FLAG What brings me to this topic today is an Anime called “Flag,” which I just recently picked up. It’s a 13 episode series on 4 DVDs about photographers and field reporters. For more information visit the Wikipedia entry as well as the licenser in the USA store page . Here is a short clip someone put up on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FotdsMagoV8 The series is primarily in a documentary style, where a large percentage of the scenes are shot first-person in either of the two main character’s points of view. The primary character is a young female who has taken steps to expand her photography by getting into the thick of a foreign conflict. She creates a captivating image of a sect’s flag that becomes a sy...