The Wednesday Artist Interviews have been on a slight hold for a while. It’s just a bit hard to find new people for every week. This week we have Jason Anderson stopping by doing an interview and sharing some of his thoughts!
Tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Jason Anderson and I fairly recently rediscovered photography (about 4 years ago) after a brief stint in my youth. With a career in Information Technology, part of my evolving set of skills has begun to include web design and administration. After several years of this, I thought that it might be fun to return to photography and use the shots as graphics on web designs. After several trial versions with slow digital point-and-shoots, I ultimately ponied up and got into the SLR bracket. The rest, as they say, is history.
Do you have any formal training/what is your background in art?
No formal training in photography as an art. I did take a few art classes bu found I couldn’t draw a straight line with a ruler so switched to music for my earlier creative outlet. Singing and piano were the bulk of my artistic expression through high school and college.
What equipment do you use?
I started with a Vivitar 110 film camera back in the early 80’s. After that, my brothers Pentax K1000se held quite a bit of fascination for me with all it’s buttons, levers, and gadgetry. When I re-entered the field 4 years ago, the growth spurt of digital had just begun so P&S cameras weren’t up to the task yet and serious shutter lag persisted. Wnating a faster shutter response, I decided to go the SLR route and dove in with the Rebel XT. For 4 years that was my mainstay, and I invested in glass and accessories. A few months ago I realized that I was just bumping up against the limitations of the XT too much and ponied up to the 40D. My lens collection includes the kit 18-55, a 70-200L (f4), and a 70mm Sigma Macro (f2.8), and a 50mm 1.8 (the nifty fifty). Other accessories include the ST-E2, a 550EX, and usual other things like tripods, light stands, umbrellas, CF cards and such. A wide angle lens will likely be my next big purchase.
Who is your biggest influence? Why?
Joe McNally. Not only is he the consummate perfectionist, but you can tell he’s the real deal. He doesn’t dress things up and believes whoeheartedly in the "open book" mentality of photography as a discipline. After many encounters with some who attempt to "safeguard their secrets", and don’t tell you anything you can use (or make you sign NDA’s), I like the appeal he has in his instruction, imagery, and just the whay he comports himself. Plus, he really is a good guy. A great example of this is his work with fire departments post 9/11.
Do you have any advice to aspiring artists?
Study the mechanics. Often.
Take lots of pictures. Often.
Keep your mind… open.
Do you have anything else you want to say?
I’d like to thank Erik for taking the time to talk to me, and I hope I was able to share some useful information with the readership.
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It was an honor to contribute – thanks for the invitation to do so. I may follow suit and start interviews myself – it’s a good idea for a blog, so you may get an interview request yourself in the not too distant future!