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NEW FEATURING CONCEPT - EDITION II

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~MatthewXavier

" Experimenting And Maturing As An Artist "

My name is Matt Lowe, 17, and I live in Cape Town, South Africa. My first contact with an art form was music, from early on, playing the guitar, piano, violin, cello and clarinet, which soon threw me into the creative world, and I quickly became interested in all things art related. I began photography 2 years ago, with a Canon S2IS and a Konica TCX, but now I use a Nikon D70s and a Ricoh KR-10m, and study Photography as an extra subject at my school, as well as applied arts such as graphic design and sketching, but photography has always remained my first love. I'm very experimental with photography, and I'm always looking for new concepts and subjects to play with, although finding someone patient enough to model for me is a bit tricky! My inspirations come from the mundane, average subjects to direct inspiration from music, and while some photographs are planned, others are purely bursts of being trigger-happy in unusual places such as those I've traveled to in Africa, yet all photographs I take I try to depict in such a way as to show how I feel towards the subject or concept of the photograph. DeviantArt has helped me to improve my style, which is constantly changing, as well as drawing inspiration from artists on DA which I admire. I'm constantly learning as my views change while I grow as a person and photographer. Photography for me is as much a release of emotion as it is to tosh out, cry or feel truly excited by something, and I definitely plan on taking it further.










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~mybittersweetness

" I Don't Believe In Chance "

I live for art. I've always liked to steal the camera from home, take it to school and take some shots of my schoolmates. But I think that the moment I was sure this is what I want to do was around the second year of high school. My parents supported me and bought me a digital camera, a Sony CyberShot that I still have and use it from time to time. I started taking photos of everything I'd come across and so I experienced the joy of capturing moments and transmitting concepts and ideas. This was not all happiness and joy. I've always felt DeviantArt didn't provide me with the feedback I needed. But slowly, I began to accept the idea and just tried to shoot more and more. I made friends through this passion of mine and I'm really happy that art can bound people regardless distances and races. Now I'm a student, hopefully majoring in Photography, Film and Media. My parents bought me my first camera on film, a Minolta x-370. I'm abusing it and I hope one day I'll have the experience, courage and self-esteem to call myself a photographer. Of course all this was not only rewarding. I've had my frustrations, and I still have some. I love taking artistic nude photos and there was a time when I was focusing on that, being the photographer and the model in the same time. People here appreciated what I did, and I was happy, but I always had the impression they only payed attention to the nude category. I still don`t know what to think. As now I use film, I didn't have the chance to take anymore nude photos. I can't find any models. That's why people can find in my photographs many feminine accents. I also tend to take photography at a personal level. Now it's not just about image. It's about what I feel, about my feelings, my experiences, my ideas and personality. I put a lot of love in what I do and almost every photo that I post has its own story, and who wants to see my work with a more personal meaning can access my photoblog - [link] . My priority now is to buy a pro digital camera and try to make my work known by all means. Thanks, mybittersweetness.










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*pedroinacio

" Searching For Emotion And Beauty "

I'm Pedro Inácio, I'm 43 years old and I live in Ericeira - Portugal. My love for all kinds of images began very early. My mom said that when I was only one year old or so, I used to watch television for hours without a pause... At the age of 32 I got my first camera, a Nikon FM2, and I made very few photos. The reason for that is that I didn't have a darkroom, I wasn't able to control the final image so I left my analogue camera to rest (my last roll is dated from 1998). Last year, with a Canon 300D, I started with digital photography, I'm learning how to use the camera and got started on digital editing. I was pleased with the results so I decided to make photography "for real", in the beginning of this year I bought a Canon 5D, a tripod and a printer, an Epson 3800, and now I have full control of the entire process, from making the photo to the final print, and I'm very happy with the results. Concerning the subjects of my work, I must say that I love long exposure shots, specially of marine landscapes, but at the same time I really enjoy the Icarus project and the CBL series (both of them are still growing), so I really don't know where all this will be leading me. To me art is emotion so I will continue to photograph anything that provokes some emotion to me, and I hope that my photos can transmit what I feel. My final thoughts go to the DA community, it's fantastic to watch the work of so many talented artists that really are inspiring me. I want to say thanks to all of them. Kind regards, Pedro Inácio.










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~proverbialcheese

" Photography Is Stealing And Lying .... "

Why? unless you are one of those super uptight pretentious types you realize a camera never captures exactly what you saw at that moment. Yet in the same respect it magically steals the light that was there in front of your eyes and saves it for all time! I have always had an artistic bent to me. My mother taught me to draw at the age of three and all the margins of my school notes were full of sketches and doodles. It wasn't until my teens that I was introduced to photography by a highschool teacher. She took time explaining how to use manual camera gear and introduced me to photoshop and the traditional darkroom. I started out with a moldy (quite literally) Yashica rangefinder a family friend gave me and did some decent shots at a local skatepark. I later got my hands on my first SLR. All told I have been shooting for about ten years and am as passionate about photography as ever!
Photography is my escape my outlet for my introverted side (I can be the life of the party or the strong silent type it all depends) to get away from everything and everyone and just explore with my camera. I love to try new techniques and approaches all the time and find that the many talented photographers here on dA have been a muse for me. I enjoy getting feedback especially well balanced critiques and usually check out people who visit my page so feel free to give me feedback on my work.









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~taranewell

" Catastrophe And The Cure "

I’m an eighteen-year-old girl from Kansas, just trying to find some light. Art, in its various forms, has always been a refuge for me. As a child I never wanted to be an astronaut or a teacher; the first I can recall is announcing I was going to be a graphic designer for basketball courts [here my father’s athletic influence is very apparent]. Over the years, short stories, colored pencils, feathers and glue continued to dominate my time. During my first few weeks in high school, my design and drawing teachers took an interest in me. That was my first twinge of confidence and therefore pursuance of the art world. But I was never quite convinced of any possession of talent, and strayed from creating. It didn’t take long to fall to a dark world of destruction, isolation, and various addictions, seeking anything to satiate or numb my lack of self-worth. During the six months of healing, I found my interest in art spark once again. I began craving creation and surrounded myself in words and film and charcoal. Art was illumination, in any form: drawing, painting, writing, designing or photography. I am drawn to art that emits that sense of peace that I lacked for so long. To me, my photos display either that same peace, or that familiar internal struggle that makes up humanity. It has only been a year now since I was set out on my own again, and in September I am moving across the country for college. I am hoping to keep everything illuminated through creation. It took me a long time to muster up the courage to put my stuff out there, and I am still in shock of the positive reaction and feedback I have received since joining DA. I thank you all for your support, especially ShanaArielle and Wodanislav, and for holding me up to the light.









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~JMoura

" An Eternal Learner "

Hi, I'm Jairon, 20 years old. I live in Teresina, a small city in the northeast of Brazil, where the heat is emitted much more from the people's hearts than from the Sun, although it's always shining strongly. I'm a medicine student who loves photography. By the way, these are the two things I'm sure I'll be living with for the rest of my life. I never had any photography lessons, except for those I take from DA every day. All I know about photography, I learnt from reading DA pages and putting my eye in front of the viewfinder. This is the reason why I can't leave DA anymore: learning. I wanna learn how to use the light correctly, how to choose the shutterspeeds and ISO values, how to keep the friends closer, how to say "I love" in other idioms... I'm not a genius, but I think I have some talent for digital imaging and other computer issues. What I really like is to take shots from everything around me, but specially from nature. Besides taking them, I love it when people say one picture of mine is good enough for filling up their hearts or minds with something useful. Nowadays, I use a tiny Olympus, but I hope to put my hands on an SLR one day. I don't want to be popular, I just want to be good. A good photographer, a good physician, a good friend. I'm still not there, but I'll try to do my best. So, go ahead, watch my pictures, make a nice comment, help me to improve my skills or simply say Hello.










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=ineb

" Documentarist Living In A Dream "

Photography has always been a part of my life. After highschool I was confused, did a few years of computer science in grad school, one year in the army. In 2004 I started photographing and learning. I've worked two summers at a newspaper as a press photographer and done some freelance work mostly in Finland but also in Canada. In the fall of 2007 I will continue my studies at a Collage where in four years time I will get my bachelor of arts in photography. I love photographing people even though I think it's the hardest. Contrast is something I always have to have in my imagery, if something lacks pure white or pure black then it looks horrible to me. A lot of color, strong lines, cock and balls, the finger. Charged photos. I'm mostly doing the kind of work I want and like to do. I feel as though I am not ready to do assignments. Sometimes I can see some progress in my work, and sometimes it feels like im standing still. I enjoy shooting shows and gigs, from huge festival stages to small underground venues, doesn't really matter cause it's just a blast. Almost all my assignments I shoot digitally, which really speeds up the workflow. But with my own projects I use film. I still have my freezer filled with 35mm b/w film which I don't use that much anymore since I bought a medium format body. I'd say im a documentarist and a storyteller. For inspiration I turn to music, film and stories. I'm very much interested in other peoples work, but sometimes places like deviantart are just too overwhelming, there is too much good and too much bad. Looking for points and meanings in images is something I like to do, I wish more people would really try to analyze photos here on dA. My favourite photographers are Yousuf Karsh, Sebastio Salgado, David LaChapelle and many many others.









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*BitterGrapes

" The Guy From Down The Street "

My first creative outlet was singing. Mama said she heard me sing my first words at 6 months and almost had a heart attack! No matter what you see here, know that music has always been my first love and greatest motivation. Different folks know me for different things. If you were to run across someone who hadn't seen me in 10 years, they'd know me as a singer or guitarist or music producer. Someone who hasn't seen me in 7 or 8 years, would probably identify me as a written and spoken-word poet attached to acoustic guitar. One who hasn't crossed paths with me in 5 years would know me as a graphic designer. And now, I can be seen walking around with a camera pointing it at people and stuff. People who are in my small circle know me as one who lives to create. My creative tools are writing pen, voice, graphics software, guitar, camera, recording equipment, words, piano and 5 and a half senses. On deviantART you'll find me snapping pictures, manipulating photos and writing poems. I'm a midwesterner who began in Indianapolis, continued in St. Louis and now finds myself in Chicago. My parents were/are teachers, poets, singers, ministers and musicians. They were active in the Civil Rights Movement. I am the child of those things. Creative expression is my way of telling my own story and the stories of the unsung. It also keeps me sane. We all have common threads that connect us. Thus, I hope in some ways you can see a part of yourself reflected in my work. If you happen to see me at the bus stop or in the supermarket or while you're walking, stop and introduce yourself. We can share something good to drink and a smile or two.









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=mrcool256

" Making The Ordinary Look Extraordinary "

It all started as a child for me, when my mother’s love for photography and creative arts fueled a passion in me to see what all the fuss was about. I experimented throughout childhood with different arts but never really found my niche. It wasn’t until a high school photography class that I initially took simply for the easy A, that my eyes were opened to the wonderful art of photography. Flash forward 3 years, and you’d see me purchasing my first digital camera... a modest 4.1 mega pixel Kodak. Weeks later I would make that fateful click by pressing “join” to become a member of Deviantart. As the weeks and months went by I slowly began to develop as a photographer and artist, through practice and through the amazing mentoring provided by the great friendships I was making on this site. A year ago I made the purchase that would change it all, in purchasing my first Digital SLR camera; a Nikon D70s. Slowly learning and teaching myself how to shoot manually has been a fun, challenging, but wonderful ride, but I finally feel like my camera is starting to feel natural in my hands. I am still learning everyday and I look forward to seeing where my photography will take me as an artist. Most recently I have developed a love for infrared photography, and with practice and creativity I hope to continue producing infrared shots that people enjoy and find visually interesting. The wonderful thing about photography is being able to capture a frozen moment in time, preserved forever with the click of a button... and in the fast paced world we live in; that is a beautiful thing, which I am happy to be a part of.









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*lux69aeterna

" Natural Beauty: No Purpose But Goal ... "

Hello everyone, I’m Sébastien and i live in Oostende, Belgium. In 2004 I started to be interested in photography as I had bought a digital camera. I started to experiment and thought about combining my studies (a Master in Tourism) with photography. My plan was to show the most beautiful places in the world over 10 years. While I’m not abroad I try to photograph famous places in Belgium. A good photograph for me must have something more than the usual: lighting, colour, focus or an interesting angle. My purpose is to be at the right moment at the right place with the equipment I need. Most of my shots ain’t planned, but for nightshots I try to be prepared to deliver the best. I come back at specific places if the result wasn't good, or come back in another season if I need the sun coming from another direction. The last aspect of my “style” is to use the minimum of post production to show the viewer what I’ve seen in a natural way. In the future I might experiment more, but there are some rules I always consider: symmetry, a straight horizon and a natural look. Although rules are made to be broken… Greetings, Sébastien.