Bernskiold Media

Monday Interview: Dave Seeram/PhotographyBB

  

It’s a new Monday again with a full week of work ahead of us. Now that is always a good time to ponder into the minds of a fellow artist a bit. This week we have Dave Seeram, photographer and graphic artist who is running the free online magazine, PhotographyBB!

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Greetings! I’m Dave Seeram, the Editor and Publisher of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine, and digital photography enthusiast residing in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. I’m also the administrator and owner of the PhotographyBB website and Discussion Forums.  I originally started the PhotographyBB site back in October of 2006 strictly as a digital photography forum geared towards beginners. I’d seen a lot of digital photography forums out there, but the majority of them were catering to intermediate and advanced photographers, and I hadn’t really seen a forum for those who are just getting into digital photography. So, I decided to start my own, and it’s snowballed into a lively and friendly discussion forum, a photography blog, news site, and most recently the PhotographyBB Online Magazine.

I’ve been doing digital photography now for several years, however I didn’t get my first digital SLR camera until December of 2006 and since then I’ve been learning it inside and out. I’d have to say that I’ve always been more of a Photoshopper and software guy, but I’m starting to find a good balance between the two.

One of my most recent related achievements was being published in the March 2008 edition of the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, published by the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists. In the journal I co-authored an article with my father (an expert professor in the field of medical imaging who was awarded the Fellowship from the CAMRT in 2000) on using Photoshop for Image Postprocessing in Digital Radiology. It was a highly rewarding experience which I am most proud of.

What are your background in art?

I’ve always been into the arts since I was very young. It started with music, but even as a young child I was always fascinated with photography, CD cover artwork, movie poster artwork, and photography in print. I’ve been shooting digital for years, but it wasn’t until 2006 that I got my first digital SLR camera, and since then I’ve been learning it inside and out. I really am more of a "Photoshop guy" than anything else though. I absolutely love digital image editing and the artwork that can be created by digitally manipulating a photograph. I never did have the skill of being able to draw or paint, but with Photoshop I have found there are truly no limits. However, as a result when it comes to photography, I do tend to think "Photoshop first" as opposed to getting the ideal in-camera shot; a habit which I am starting to break out of now!

I have over 11 years of formal schooling, along with self-training and research in Photoshop, graphic design, and typography, through which I have acquired an extensive knowledge of Photoshop and image manipulation. Last year, I developed my own Photoshop digital illustration technique, which I turned into a popular Photoshop Action. For a more detailed look, check out the PhotographyBB Actions page (http://www.photographybb.com/actions) at the Dave Seeram Illustration Action.

What equipment do you use yourself?

Currently, my arsenal of digital photography tools includes my Pentax K10D camera, Pentax 16-45mm and 50-200mm lenses, a Canon SD630 point and shooter, a Pentax Optio 555, and a Manfrotto tripod. On the software side, I use Photoshop CS3, Adobe Bridge, Photoshop Lightroom, Photomatix, and countless plugins I’ve accumulated over the years.

What inspired you to start your own magazine?

I started out by writing Photoshop tutorials for my forums initially, which received a great response from the members there. From that, I was asked to do a more in depth tutorial for the folks who run the PBase Magazine (http://www.pbase.com/magazine). I had such a great time writing for them (and I assume the enjoyed my writing) and I became a regular contributing writer for PBase Magazine.

I started to receive a lot of positive feedback and comments on my articles with PBase, and I felt that an online magazine would be a really valuable edition to the PhotographyBB website. Having a fairly strong background in graphic design and page layouts, I decided to launch the first issue of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine back in February 2008, with the help of some highly talented and devoted contributing authors. All of the writers for the PhotographyBB Online Magazine volunteer their time, knowledge, and experience in helping to create the magazine, which has been a huge success! Although I am the editor and publisher, I could not have done it without the great team of writers behind me, and they have my eternal thanks for all of their hard work.

The magazine has always been targeted towards beginners to digital SLR photography, as I had found there weren’t many "how-to" articles for the beginner out there. As we go through issue to issue, we will be evolving along with the experience levels of our readers, growing together.

What is most important with the magazine?

For me, the single most important thing for the magazine is good content. I am very discerning when it comes to the content we provide the readers. As you may have seen, there are several regular columns which will be in each and every issue, such as the Before the Digital Era, Photography Around the World, Photoshop Tutorials, and Spotlight on a Member (of PhotographyBB). Additionally you will find each and every issue has other thought provoking and photography related articles, such as the "Photography as Fine Art" in our most recent issue, or "The Responsible Photographer" in our March issue.

It’s my goal to provide our readers with a taste of all sides of photography within the magazine. Nowdays, there are so many considerations for the new digital photographer, and it’s my hope that the magazine will teach and inspire both new and experienced photographers to keep doing what they love – Photography!

Is there anything else you would like to tell us or add?

I’d really like to thank Erik Bernskiold for giving me the opportunity to do this interview for his website. Also, if you would like to learn more about the PhotographyBB website or chat with me online, you can find me on my forums daily at: http://www.photographybb.com/forum

I am always open to questions, lending assistance, or chatting with any like-minded photography folks out there. Happy Photographing!