ERIK ALMAS : LIGHT & LAND

 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER PROFILE


ERIK ALMAS  left Norway in 1984 to learning PHOTOGRAPHY IN San Francisco. AND HE'S There!  HE Discloses TO DANIEL LEZANO  HOW HIS EDUCATION AND MASTERY OF  LIGHT HAS Brought To Some Effective Career as Professional photographer in ADVERTISING.
First time I came to San Francisco 17 years ago to learn photography. Then I asissted for several years before turning Professional Photographer near to 10 years ago. I have been here such a long time which I now consider San Francisco is my home abroad, although I actually do visit Norway two times annually.

“The realm of advertising in the United States and Norway is extremely different. There, you need to shoot various things every single day to outlive. I visited a buddy's Studio eventually and that he was shooting salami, and the very next day it had been fashion. In america, you are able to focus on the one factor you like which you're proficient at.

“I believe studying here provided the right Begin in photography, mainly because of 2 or 3 instructors as opposed to the actual course. They inspired me greatly and trained me a lot. I learned from darkroom to presenting 5x4in large-format cameras, and it was trained a lot about lighting, too. Photoshop seemed to be introduced at the start of my course - l've used every form of Photoshop because it was released! But, most importantly else, it had been the interest and dedication of 1 teacher that formed everything for me personally. She trained me that, instead of take pictures, I ought to create them. She helped me consider exactly what a picture is, things i wanted it to state and just what I needed to place in it. As the college trained me using equipment, additionally, it demonstrated me the significance of vision and creativeness for effective photography.

“Without doubt, for me personally, the important thing step to being a good digital photographer is seeing light or being able to control and manipulate it. It isn't the gear you utilize or just how you're with Photoshop, it's much more about inserting your personality to your images, adding light, feeling, flavour and colour as you would like so that it is.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER PROFILE
"When l'm on location, I almost solely shoot morning hours and late mid-day. This is where it begins for me personally.

I additionally pay special focus on the color palettes within the scene. Will I would like it to be awesome blue in tone or warm yellow, for instance? That's among the first a few things I request myself and. if shooting commissioned work, my clients.

"If anybody is searching to discover lighting within the landscape, I usually suggest that they try out an easy study assignment. To get this done, they ought to go to a location and put their camera on the tripod, by having an interval timer taking photos every two minutes. As the camera does this, just watch the landscape and find out the way the light changes during the period of your day. Later, evaluate the images and find out what you are attracted to: would you such as the crisper light or even the much softer effect? Would you like the scene lit in the front or backlit? Would you such as the cooler light before sunrise or even the warm light of sunset? You need to explore all this and find out what you are drawn to.

“I possess a wide and varied camera outfit which includes two digital camera models. I personally use a medium-format Contax 645 and numerous contacts varying from wide to telephoto, even though the wide-position 45mm lens is virtually always around the front. I in addition have a system based on canon's Eos 550d-1DS Mklll. I frequently make use of the two together. Sometimes I shoot the backdrop using the Contax, since I feel I'm able to look lower into its finder and meticulously. 

Basically have somebody running with the landscape, or I wish to use autofocus and shoot faster frames, I personally use canon's and include that element in to the backdrop which I just shot using the Contax. That's how it's been the past few years. Up to then, I did previously make use of a large-format Linhof 5x4in sheet film camera to shoot the backdrop - the Arizona landscape behind the Mohawk was adopted 5x4in film. Never imagined I'd change, however I did. However, I actually do miss the slow procedure that was involved with shooting having a large-format camera.



"Shooting environment portraits allows me enjoy a couple of the best photo taking disciplines. I really like shooting landscapes as it is quiet, contemplative and galvanizing. I really like portraits for that interaction with individuals and just what that provides me. I additionally enjoy shooting fashion stuff as possible push limitations popular greater than with every other type of photography. While l'm mainly a marketing digital photographer, I've found shooting editorial is one thing that fuels my advertising work.

"I virtually do my own Photoshop retouching, especially on personal projects. With commercial projects, like the underwater image, I usually place the large pieces together first and add my flavour and feeling and colour towards the image, then hands it to someone eise to complete the pixel-by-pixel cleaning. I've found increasingly more that I'd rather not sit while watching Computer - rather, I usually spend a few hrs to produce a look, explain what l'd like after which transfer.

I've not a problem using Photoshop: for me personally, it's another photo taking tool. The ultimate image may be the hero and just how I recieve there does not matter. The folks which are purists are photography enthusiasts in mind, however i feel that i'm much more of a picture-maker than the usual picture-taker. Previously, every film had its very own qualities and you'd select a film according to factors such as contrast and colour Saturation, then use filters to change colours further. Within the darkroom, you can further enhance it and add personality into it. It is extremely different with digital, because the camera's image processor produces images based by itself information, so when processing the look on the Computer, it's another impersonal group of information again. There's nobody searching in the image - it's completely lacking of human personality, to say you cannot use Photoshop to create a number of that back is shortsighted. Photoshop may be the digital darkroom and allows you enforce your personality in to the image.
“I always think photography enthusiasts should discover who they really are and just what subject material they are attracted to because they will be more motivated to take better pictures this way. Once they have carried this out, they ought to determine what type of light they are drawn to. Mixing both will assist them develop their very own style and vision. I believe that, to become a decent digital photographer, you have to be interested in the planet and wish to take pictures. Many people say they would like to be considered a digital photographer. try not to take many pictures. There needs to be considered a volume in image making to ensure that the items you are attracted towards to come to light. All of us feel the same stages: in the past we shoot a little of all things, from toilets to Street signs to whatever.

You need to undergo all of this and exercise what you're attracted to. Knowing, you are able to fine-tune your photography to ensure that you are great in the one factor you've centered on. This is exactly what I had been trained at college also it set the fundamentals of my career up to now, therefore it is a strategy which i know can be effective.” To determine much more of Erik's work,  visit

Related Posts

ERIK ALMAS : LIGHT & LAND
4/ 5
Oleh