Q: Please share with us a little about yourself.

A: I'm 32, and live in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. I'm married, and have a 3 month-old daughter. I work on banking software, which is as unexciting as it sounds. Photography is my fun hobby, and a way to exercise the other side of my brain.


Q: When and how did you get interested in photography and more importantly the nude female form as art?

A: I've always enjoyed taking pictures, and have had a camera of kind or another since I was very young. After finishing university, I got a bit more serious about taking more pictures and actually improving my photography. Working with a figure model was always something I wanted to try, and I was fortunate enough to find an experienced local model to work with for my first shoot. That turned out to be a great experience, and everything has just kept building from there.


Q: “Photoshop” by © Adobe Systems Incorporated has the great benefit of having their program’s name coined and integrated into our language, like band-aids and Q-tips. But what does photoshopping mean to you?

A: Photoshop is the modern darkroom. On steroids. Photoshop can have negative connotations, but I think the end image and its impact on the viewer is what is important in art, and the steps taken to get there only matter inasmuch they manifest themselves in the image. Some people get hung up on how an image is made -- but I think the value of real art is independent of its process. Understanding the process can be helpful in learning what techniques may be at your disposal as an artist, but that's it. That said, the huge amount of power in Photoshop means it is easy to go overboard when editing. "Less is more", and "just because you *can*, doesn't mean you *should*" are two things I try to keep in mind when editing my work.


Q: You seem to have taken close to a year break from posting regularly on dA, why did you leave and what caused you to come back?

A: I was pretty disenfranchised with dA after jark's ousting. I vote with my wallet, so I removed my prints, and I am no longer a paid subscriber. There is some amazing art on dA, and I find much inspiration here, so I never stopped visiting. I was busy in the fall putting my book together, and then with the birth of my daughter. Doing a few large waves of submissions seemed like a good way to share a lot of the work over that year. I also find it interesting to see what, out of a group of images, gets faved and commented on. I tend not to editorialise my work since I find the unprompted reactions and interpretations the most interesting.


Q: You are quite prolific in your photography, posting hundreds of beautiful images since your return to dA at the beginning of the year, what drives your photography passion?

A: It's a bunch of things. The shoots themselves are almost always really fun, and I've worked with some awesome people. Seeing an idea through the creative process is always rewarding, and nothing is more satisfying than being able to "wow" myself with a new image.


Q: Your new book, “Lacunal” volume #1 [link] Can you please tell us a little about the pre-production of your book, any obstacles you had to overcome? And do you also have some advice for anyone out there who plans on publishing a photography book?

A: I had investigated self-publishing a while ago, but even the cheap options were prohibitively expensive. I then began to investigate some print-on-demand options like Lulu.com and Blurb.com. I made up small test books so I could check the quality, and Blurb was amazing, which made the choice really easy. After that, selecting the final images was the hard part -- once that was done, final editing and dropping the images into the book was easier than I expected. As for advice: Technology and publishers have finally made it possible that even those on a shoestring budget can produce a really professional book, your only limitation will be what you can create to put in it.


Q: From your website [link] you mentioned the themes you work with “Focus and its ability to direct attention, near-abstraction, figure/form, and implied/ambiguous/multiple meanings” can you please talk about how you developed your style of photography, and how you choose and develop a theme.

A: Development of a style is a hard thing to describe, as it evolves slowly over a period of time. Close-up and shallow focus photography was something that original did because of my early home studio environment (hot lights and a small space). I've got a big studio space now and strobes, but I still always try to keep what I learned about focus and near-abstraction in mind. As I've shared my work and got comments on it, I've found that the viewer's reaction can say a lot about the viewer, and that's the point of ambiguous art. Ambiguity in art is dangerous, though, as it does rely on engaging the viewer... without that engagement, the meaning and purpose is lost, and the piece will probably be forgettable. If it works, though, then I think you've created something that will stay with the viewer for a long time. Themes can come from all over the place; the challenge is to recognize an idea play around with it. I try to keep a notebook with me at all times.






Q: Do you have any personal goals that you want accomplish in your photography career in the near future?

A: This spring should see the second book come out, which will have a "motion" theme to it. I think the next one after that will be centered on studio nudes, though the exact theme (if there is one more specific than that) hasn't been nailed down yet. I've also started painting a bit. I've consciously made the choice to not to have to try to make money at photography, since I want to keep it fun and as stress-free as possible.


Q: How and where to you draw the line between fine nudes and erotic porn?

A: I've seen a common answer to questions like this is that "it's in the intent", but I'm not sure that's always true. I think part of it is also in how the viewer sees it, and you can't control that. Images can be made to elicit a certain response, but not everyone responds the way that the artist intended, and that's why the line is fuzzy. I'd define good fine art nude photography as imagery of the human form that exhibits technical excellence as well as strong composition and design. Erotic porn is meant to elicit a sexual response. But the two are not mutually exclusive, and there are certainly lots of images that fall into both categories. Add to that the range in interpretations on what all those qualities can exactly mean, and you have a very fuzzy line. And, like all good ambiguous things, where an individual draws the line on something can tell you a fair bit about them.


Q: Tell us about some of the different types of model personalities you’ve work with?

A: I try to work with people that I think I'll get along with. I've ended up friends with many of the models I've worked with because they very often end up to be cool, fun, and interesting people. My favourite thing to see, though, is someone who is willing drop their inhibitions long enough to *try* something new or different. I love being a part of that moment, and when great images result as a record of it, it's all the more wonderful.


Q: Do you have something you say to models before a shoot? Ie: prepared speech.

A: Not so much a prepared speech, but I always makes sure the model is comfortable, doesn't have any questions, and has a clear idea of what we're going to shoot. I've usually talked with or emailed the model in advance of the shoot a fair bit, so we've already discussed the types of things we're going to shoot and hopefully got most of the questions out of the way.


Q: How do you keep models interested, during long photo shoots?

A: Music, chit-chat, breaks. Making conversation while shooting is probably the most helpful, and I've found it's much better, in the long run, to lose a few minutes while talking. I also try to keep an eye out for cues that the model is getting tired or bored, and pace switching stuff around and taking breaks based on that.


Q: For someone just starting out shooting nudes, can you give them your single best advice?

A: Hmmm... I can boil it down to a couple things, I think. For your first few shoots, a good, experienced model is well worth their fee, as someone who is knowledgeable and helpful in front of the camera will make for a better session. Model comfort and safety is paramount, which means you have to be comfortable with them bringing a friend/chaperone along. Don't put the model on the spot with surprise suggestions, talk about what you want to shoot in advance. Be professional, and remember that the model is putting a lot of trust in you and deserves your respect. Have fun.


Q: Do you have any plans to shoot in other parts of the world? if so, where?

A: Not at the moment -- with the new baby, I'm not planning on any traveling for a while.


Q: What is your favorite thing about dA?

A: It could very well be the greatest collection of artistic talent on the planet. Sometimes the signal-to-noise ratio is overwhelming, but there seems to me no end to the amount of wonderful art and amazing artists.


Q. Do you think your nude work is erotic?

A: I think I certainly have a few somewhat erotic-type images in my portfolio, but on the whole, I wouldn’t consider my work erotic. I think some people will see pretty much all nudes as falling into the erotic category, but I think that’s more indicative of the viewer’s prudishness than anything else.



~AlexWilson did this interview with the *thenudeinsider community.