I have done an extensive interview with Deb, and this is the first part of 3 interviews I will publish on her.

This is the first Interview Feature out of three I am doing on an amazing artist who we all know as Deb Walker . Here is her animated icon which she made for herself Please click on it so you can visit her gallery and you will then see why I could not just do one Interview Feature with her.

You must know that when I do an Interview Feature on any artist or photographer I ask them to give me some examples of their work for their Interview Feature. I then go into their galleries and select more examples in order to give everyone a better idea of what the person is all about regarding their main intent in which they create.

I must first tell you that Deb and I have been friends for a very long time and when she gave me her examples I knew one Interview Feature was not going to work. The reason why is Deb is an extremely versatile artist and excels in each area she chooses to create in.
I immediately contacted her and told her I had to do more than one in order to do her any justice. She agreed with me that I had to do more than one in order to cover all of these various areas.

We all know Deb for being a great fractal artist. Most people do not realize that she is on the cutting edge of creating ground breaking fractals. Ground breaking is a term used in art which applies to a person who moves past the norm in one area of art and begins to break its art history boundary lines. When an artist does this they are moving into uncharted waters so to speak and discover more ways to push the area of art in which they work ahead of the norm.
Please click on this person's icon so you can see his feature on Deb this month in his journal. You will not be sorry you did because I have seen it and know you will enjoy it also.

I have chosen in this first of three Interview Features to cover Deb's expertise in Flower Photography. Please do not be alarmed by the numbers on the questions. The reason they are like this is because I gave Deb 2 different sets of questions which deal with photography and also art. She chose the ones which best apply to this first Interview Feature. I know you will enjoy seeing her beautiful photos and also learn how multifaceted Deb truly is.

PHOTOGRAPHY

8. Lets talk about photography. What do you like about it?
I love being 100% in control of how my capture will turn out. I love to take close-up shots the best and have been working on my own techniques. I capture what is beautiful to me. What my eye sees. I like capturing a single moment in time. The wind will never blow that way again, the leaves will never look the same way again, and ocean will never be as still or crash up against the rocks the same way. By my taking of a photograph, I immortalize that millisecond in time forever. I like the thought of that. Every capture is a unique, a one of a kind piece of art.

9. How do you get such wonderful close-up shots?
You are not going to believe this, but most of the time I am several feet away from my intended subject matter. I zoom in, take a deep breath, and move around slowly for the right angle to present itself. I am very short so shots above my head (which is nearly everything) is very difficult which if you have seen the rhodies blooming, it can make life very interesting. Today I was taking shots of a rhodie bush at least 8 feet high, and the blooms were up too high for me to reach so I had to zoom in. When you are almost a midget (just above 5 feet tall and barely over the state minimum to have to be in a booster seat...in a sports car), it makes it very difficult to get some shots. Closer to the ground is better, and jumping up does not work because it makes the camera jitter..

What I am trying to say is that there are some limitations or obstacles that are difficult to overcome at times.

What you do not know is that I love bugs! That's right. My neighbors think my cheese has slid off my cracker, or I am a couple of cans short of a six pack because I go around capturing photos of spiders, ants, flies, bees, and moths. I mean to say that they see me in the bushes, behind the building, peeping in the bushes looking at me like I am a weirdo or something, or a peeping tom, but to look that little critter in the eyes and snap that shot and hurry home, upload it and see what you captured is what it is all about. Even if the neighbors are ready to call the short bus for me and have me hauled away in a little white coat. The things you do just to get that capture!

My computer is just full of floral, and bug shots. My goal for this year is to get 1 awesome water drop shot, and one excellent bug shot looking at the critter head-on. My favorite bugs are the furry black bumblebees! It is just a tad bit intimidating when you are allergic to the sting. I am determined to get a frontal shot to see their beaty little s! I need to work on my landscapes however, but I will need to get another lens for that, and they are a little costly for me at the moment.

10. I noticed that you are now watermarking images. Do you have plans to continue to put them on your work?

Absolutely! I have had some of my work stolen in the past and sold so that someone else could make a profit. I want to profit from my work. Most watermarks can be removed digitally, but I figure if someone is going to steal my art, then they will have a lot of fun removing the watermark, and of course, if caught I will sue them! Every piece in my gallery is marked now. If it has a DA watermark, then at some point it was a print or going to be a print. If it has my scripted watermark, it is for everyone to use as wallpaper. If you will note, underneath every piece of work in my gallery, and on my front page is my copyright notice. It is there permanently! I have lost a lot of viewers because of the copyright, but have gained so many more in return. ss

It is a concern to me that so many artists are being ripped off. If you go to some art sites you will find loads and loads of art from DA. That is why I founded the RATF-Ripped Art Task Force, which is taking a little breather at the moment. We successfully removed several thousand pieces of artwork from sites that did not receive or ask for the permission of the artists. I am looking forward to opening back up at the end of the summer. This is of such great importance, I, in good conscience intend to make a dent in the off-site theft and does not matter how small.

11. Are there any other creative things you like to do besides photography?

I do a variety of things. I love to make fractals, and have been working hard on perfecting some of the techniques I use to make some of those marvelous images. I like to draw, and have been making little cartoons as of late. I play guitar and am a decent songwriter, and I love to cook!

12. what are your most favorite photographs you have taken & Why?

I think my most favorite shot is the one I took of Mt. Renier from an airplane,and the shots I took up in a hot air balloon.

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FLOWER PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURE