>>> indiegirl, the interview
Indiegirl participated in the People Photo Challenge #11: Shallow.
WHO ARE YOU? Hi! I'm Jesse Michener, also known as indiegirl around dgrin-land.
Arches National Park
WHEN DID YOU JOIN DGRIN? Looks like I joined in Sept. of 2006. Must have been right after I joined Smugmug. I really started participating during the LPS challenges but left for a long while as I got sucked into an alternate universe called, "spirit-sapping-non-profit-administration hell." After getting downsized twice in three years, I gave the proverbial finger to Working For The Man and decided to get over myself already and do what I should have/could have done all along: photography.
Grand Canyon National Park
WHICH FORUM(S) DO YOU FREQUENT MOST? I'm learning the ropes with the Sharp Shooter challenges, I like People, Street and PJ as well as Mind Your Own Business. I browse nearly every forum at least once a week. I realize participating is the best way to learn, so I'm participating as much as I can intelligently do so. I also participate unintelligently every now and then, just to keep y'all on your toes.
Bride Wink
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY? I got started by being born. I'm the daughter of a pro photog and my grandpa was an avid hobbist. I've been around the craft my entire life. I began shooting at an early age and bought my first film SLR with three lenses when I was 16. Nudes were always on our walls and because of this, I had two kind of friends as a kid: those who were allowed to come over and those who were not.
Hands
DID YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOGRAPHY TRAINING? I took classes in high school, and although this sounds lame, I had a fantastic teacher. He really inspired me and taught us well. We learned old skool film processing for b/w and color and I was asked to document our senior year for our class of 900 kids. I had a $500 budget for film and processing. I shot everything on slides and had a gas doing it.
My father has always been my best teacher and biggest critic/supporter. He teaches in LA and runs a successful solo studio. We talk at least three times a week. I can't over-express how much this connection has shaped me and gifted me with both inspiration and information.
I have a monthly subscription to Kelby online training and LOVE their tutorial videos. Best deal, ever, for online training (from photography to software). I try to watch at least two per week.
My dad
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU HAVE/USE?
EOS 7D Digital
EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS
Manfrotto 190XDB Tripod Legs and grip-action ballhead
Speedlite 580EX II
Photoshop 5, Lightroom 3, Indesign 5 and Illustrator 4
PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Printer
The square shots are from a show I’m doing now:
Lou
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING/SUBJECT/PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH? From my website, "I’m a lover of capturing life as it unfolds and seeking out details which tell a story. Poses and formal pictures have their place, but what really gets me going is telling a story with pictures. That's what I like to call Life. Photographed. Life. Photographed. is about finding the sacred in extra-ordinary days as well as everyday life. It's an approach to photography which highlights the rehearsed as well as candid moments in life, much like a journalist telling a story with images."
brothers
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO? Are you serious? Why don't you just ask me who my favorite child is, or which tooth I like best. I'll tell you the recipe for my favorite photo:
People (real life * emotion) = brilliance.
sisters
WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU PHOTOGRAPHY WISE? Being good with people is as important as taking good pictures.
People like me and it shows in my work. I have a professional demeanor which puts folks at ease, which gets better images and tells a better story.
WHAT'S THE ONE THING/ADVICE THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE OTHER'S? A former friend of mine (we broke up shortly after this little story happened) said to me once, "Well, I just bought my first $1000 lens and took that weekend workshop by "famous photographer," so now I can officially call myself a photographer now. I resisted the urge to punch her just then. I nearly did when she f-up a job I hired her to do because she used a $1000 lens instead of the RIGHT lens.
Good equipment is nothing in the hands of a douche.
WHO/WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES IN PHOTOGRAPHY? If I talk about my dad anymore you might think I have some sort of complex, so I'll move onward.
Eleanor
As a kid, I'd pour over Diane Arbus' work. Her stuff in asylums with people with Down's Syndrome both haunted and thrilled me. I realized images weren't always pretty but they sure as hell could move you. Later, I fell in love with Avedon. His celebrity work juxtaposed with his more intimate, gritty stuff just slays me. Of course Annie Leibovitz is on my list. My dad asked her to marry him once. They were talking and he was joking, of course. He has this shot of her taking a picture of him taking a picture of her, dueling-style. Love it. Jay Maisel is great. Love his sensibility and practical advice on the Kelby training vids.
SO WHAT ABOUT YOUR ENTRY? It's my Zoe-girl playing around with a hyperactive faucet on our recent road trip. We were having lunch at a park. I was cranky with my husband about something, so I went over to where the action was happenin'. Much laughter and faucet-rain showers ensued. I made her flick the stream of water with her tongue several times and she got pretty wet. My husband got cranky with me. You know, the usual.
If you want to see more of Jesse's work, go to her website: http://jessemichener.com/. Comments? questions? post them here!
For more info on the people photo challenges, go here.
WHO ARE YOU? Hi! I'm Jesse Michener, also known as indiegirl around dgrin-land.
Arches National Park
WHEN DID YOU JOIN DGRIN? Looks like I joined in Sept. of 2006. Must have been right after I joined Smugmug. I really started participating during the LPS challenges but left for a long while as I got sucked into an alternate universe called, "spirit-sapping-non-profit-administration hell." After getting downsized twice in three years, I gave the proverbial finger to Working For The Man and decided to get over myself already and do what I should have/could have done all along: photography.
Grand Canyon National Park
WHICH FORUM(S) DO YOU FREQUENT MOST? I'm learning the ropes with the Sharp Shooter challenges, I like People, Street and PJ as well as Mind Your Own Business. I browse nearly every forum at least once a week. I realize participating is the best way to learn, so I'm participating as much as I can intelligently do so. I also participate unintelligently every now and then, just to keep y'all on your toes.
Bride Wink
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY? I got started by being born. I'm the daughter of a pro photog and my grandpa was an avid hobbist. I've been around the craft my entire life. I began shooting at an early age and bought my first film SLR with three lenses when I was 16. Nudes were always on our walls and because of this, I had two kind of friends as a kid: those who were allowed to come over and those who were not.
Hands
DID YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOGRAPHY TRAINING? I took classes in high school, and although this sounds lame, I had a fantastic teacher. He really inspired me and taught us well. We learned old skool film processing for b/w and color and I was asked to document our senior year for our class of 900 kids. I had a $500 budget for film and processing. I shot everything on slides and had a gas doing it.
My father has always been my best teacher and biggest critic/supporter. He teaches in LA and runs a successful solo studio. We talk at least three times a week. I can't over-express how much this connection has shaped me and gifted me with both inspiration and information.
I have a monthly subscription to Kelby online training and LOVE their tutorial videos. Best deal, ever, for online training (from photography to software). I try to watch at least two per week.
My dad
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU HAVE/USE?
EOS 7D Digital
EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS
Manfrotto 190XDB Tripod Legs and grip-action ballhead
Speedlite 580EX II
Photoshop 5, Lightroom 3, Indesign 5 and Illustrator 4
PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Inkjet Printer
The square shots are from a show I’m doing now:
Lou
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING/SUBJECT/PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH? From my website, "I’m a lover of capturing life as it unfolds and seeking out details which tell a story. Poses and formal pictures have their place, but what really gets me going is telling a story with pictures. That's what I like to call Life. Photographed. Life. Photographed. is about finding the sacred in extra-ordinary days as well as everyday life. It's an approach to photography which highlights the rehearsed as well as candid moments in life, much like a journalist telling a story with images."
brothers
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO? Are you serious? Why don't you just ask me who my favorite child is, or which tooth I like best. I'll tell you the recipe for my favorite photo:
People (real life * emotion) = brilliance.
sisters
WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU PHOTOGRAPHY WISE? Being good with people is as important as taking good pictures.
People like me and it shows in my work. I have a professional demeanor which puts folks at ease, which gets better images and tells a better story.
WHAT'S THE ONE THING/ADVICE THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE OTHER'S? A former friend of mine (we broke up shortly after this little story happened) said to me once, "Well, I just bought my first $1000 lens and took that weekend workshop by "famous photographer," so now I can officially call myself a photographer now. I resisted the urge to punch her just then. I nearly did when she f-up a job I hired her to do because she used a $1000 lens instead of the RIGHT lens.
Good equipment is nothing in the hands of a douche.
WHO/WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES IN PHOTOGRAPHY? If I talk about my dad anymore you might think I have some sort of complex, so I'll move onward.
Eleanor
As a kid, I'd pour over Diane Arbus' work. Her stuff in asylums with people with Down's Syndrome both haunted and thrilled me. I realized images weren't always pretty but they sure as hell could move you. Later, I fell in love with Avedon. His celebrity work juxtaposed with his more intimate, gritty stuff just slays me. Of course Annie Leibovitz is on my list. My dad asked her to marry him once. They were talking and he was joking, of course. He has this shot of her taking a picture of him taking a picture of her, dueling-style. Love it. Jay Maisel is great. Love his sensibility and practical advice on the Kelby training vids.
SO WHAT ABOUT YOUR ENTRY? It's my Zoe-girl playing around with a hyperactive faucet on our recent road trip. We were having lunch at a park. I was cranky with my husband about something, so I went over to where the action was happenin'. Much laughter and faucet-rain showers ensued. I made her flick the stream of water with her tongue several times and she got pretty wet. My husband got cranky with me. You know, the usual.
If you want to see more of Jesse's work, go to her website: http://jessemichener.com/. Comments? questions? post them here!
For more info on the people photo challenges, go here.
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Comments
Nice to know more about you Jesse, great style and attitude!
Who is wise? He who learns from everyone.
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Cool interview and nice shots!
Ha! If you ask my dad, he'll tell you that anyone who feels strongly about it doesn't know what they are talking about because they're both fine cameras.
The answer is because I started with a Canon and he started with a Nikon and neither of us has ever felt compelled to switch. Pretty boring.
It does suck when he has extra of something and can't pass it along.
Nice to know more about you.
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