As time has gone by, we've actually had the opportunity to meet in person, which just added to my opinion of her talent, her spirit and her enthusiasm.
I sent her some questions and here are her personal responses:
When did you first get interested
in photography? When I was a
child…reluctantly. My father is a photog
(35mm) and was always dragging us with him hiking, climbing, caving and he always
had his camera with him. I used to get SO
annoyed that he would stop every 10 minutes to leave the hiking trail because
he spotted a bit of fungus he just had to take a picture of (RE-ally, fungus?). Then came the fuss (or what seemed like fuss
when I was 6 yrs old) of his getting set up for the shot! Oh, how I used to rage inwardly. Now, I’m dragging my husband off the trail
every ten minutes for exactly the same reason!
Does my dad ever laugh at that now!
What kind of camera was your first
and what do you use now? I had a funny little boxy
camera when I was 12, I can’t even remember what it was, but I know I loved
it. Then I had a Polaroid that I loved
because you could see the results in a few minutes. I had a Minolta 35mm when I was in my 20’s,
but I was more interested in art then, painting, woodworking.
Now I use a Canon EOS Rebel T2i (18mp); I also have a Pentax Asahi Spotmatic
35mm with a 200mm lens which I love. My point and shoot is a Fujifilm Finepix
S1500 (10 mp) – which I also love. I used to take it everywhere, though I don’t
use it as much nowadays. It takes
awesome pics!
What, in your opinion, are the
advantages and disadvantages between ‘point and shoot’ and ‘DSLR’? The obvious
advantage of a point and shoot for me is the weight and size and the fact I can
stuff it in a waist pouch and carry it.
It takes beautiful pics, but the worst part for me is the focusing (be
it AF or MF or the AF/AE lock) if I’m trying to photograph a spider in a web
and there is (for eg.) lots of green grass in the background, it’s a fight to
get it to focus on the spider! You think
you have the focus (locked or not) and then, it loses it right to the
background! Arrgh! Therein lies the problem, you can’t change
what it is…a point and shoot.
The worst part of a DSLR is the amount of
‘stuff’ you need to cart around for a day of shooting. I need macro lens, wide angle lens and telephoto lens,hood, filters,
batteries, cards, etc, etc. The pack
gets bigger every year. But I love a
DSLR to be able to fine tune your settings, or use the AV (aperture priority,
for ex.) if you need to. My point and
shoot has an AP…but with a DSLR, it really works. LOL As soon as I got my first
DSLR, I could focus on that same spider the first time I tried…Hallelujah! I love the same things as everyone else, I
think, the ability to shoot in RAW/JPEG; create interesting shots and have your
DSLR help you do that by taking sharper pictures with more depth: so many
options for creativity! The ability to
be able to print your pics at very large sizes without losing resolution is
wonderful. I could go on, but…
What type of pictures do you tend
to shoot the most? I’m
a nature nut…though I do love to shoot animals and infrequently people. I tend toward rustic, historical buildings
and objects of pioneer life, the simple life…
What type of art, photography etc. do
you have in your own home? I love colour! I tend
towards an eclectic mix of photography (often my own, so I can rotate it
seasonally); along with folk art (some of it mine). I am drawn to fall and winter art; whimsical
art and wildlife paintings, particularly by Canadian artists and
photographers. I won’t start listing
them or we’ll be here all day! Go Canada
What is one tip you’ve learned to
improve your photography? One I love…Use your telephoto as a macro! It’s
harder than it sounds, but it’s great as I love to photograph bees and wasps.
When you do portrait work, what is
your biggest challenge? I don’t do portraits as a rule, but I am
called upon at various functions to do it anyway, with good results! Lighting first; I get that worked out as soon
as I arrive. I prefer to take portraits outdoors, preferably on an overcast day
(or in the shade). The next hardest part
is just getting everyone to FOCUS and not make faces! I really respect anyone that can do that for
a living!
What type of photography is more
difficult for you? I have to try them all first…
Is there a particular photo you
just haven’t managed to shoot yet, but you really would like to get?
The Alps …ah, yes…the Alps
on a misty morning! In the meantime, I’ll
settle for another trip to the Rockies !
Who influenced your love of photography? Both my parents…my dad (the photographer),
but also my mom, Joan Patterson, was a great inspiration of mine for both art
and being an artist. My Grandmother,
Alice Steeves, said, don’t listen to anyone who tells you can’t do anything…GO AND DO IT! Awesome advice!
Name one photographer you admire
living or dead and why.
Freeman Patterson – the quintessential Canadian Nature Photographer (and
writer): I remember seeing his photos as a child and thinking…’WOW…that’s so
beautiful….how did he do that?’ My
father loves his work!
Which shot, up until now, are you
most proud of? Hmm, good question. I do
love my ‘Eye To Eye’ (dragonfly), it really stirs up conversation wherever I go
– one of my best selling prints (to date)…but honestly, there is about 20 shots
I am proud of!
One tip you could give a relatively
new photographer…Take lots of pics, lots and lots and be critical of your
own work. When you’re first starting
out…you take pictures of any and everything (then you want to sell them all). Be ruthless, pare it down, and find the
subject within the scene…bring it in close; cut out the clutter. One professor
used to say…ask yourself…is that just a nice picture of a kitchen…or does it
say something, tell a story…even better, he said…would YOU personally buy it…if
you wouldn’t buy it, don’t keep it! Wow,
that was a good one! It’s hard to be
critical of your own work, but do it anyway!
How do you use social media to grow
your photography business…FB for starters; its growing slowly but
surely. I have an Etsy website and I
will expand from there. I don’t dare
start twitter, because I will surely forget to tweet…I feel I spend far too
much time on the computer and not enough outdoors taking photos. Still it’s part of the bus. so I am learning. Computers are not my strong suit; how’s that
for funny (cue the laughter). I don’t have an iphone, which is heresy these
days. Haha! Who knows, I may just do it
in the future…and then I can tweet a pic from the Alps ?
What shot has eluded you so far? An owl!
What is your ultimate goal as a
photographer? To become the GO TO photog for The Nature of
Things, Canadian Geographic and all other environmental organizations and
magazines. Hey if you’re going to
dream…dream! Also, I’d like to really
meld the social media and online work with my outdoor activities and become a
nature photog everyone wants a photo from!
What awards or acknowledgements
have you received thus far, if any?
Only a horticulture award! Does
that count? So far, no photography awards,
but my dad called me the other week and said one of the winter pics I sent
him…was absolutely PERFECT! OMG , I nearly dropped in my tracks! High praise indeed! Dear old dad – he has an excellent eye! He’s also a valuable critic for me…
I’ve had wonderful feedback from customers
and shoppers at the craft shows I attend (as well as through my website). My work is selling steadily at the stores its
in and gaining momentum…that is very sweet!
To me, that is what it’s all about…if the public likes and in some cases
loves my work, I’ve done what I set out to do: bring a little taste of nature
into someone’s life.
I would like to thank Jeannette for both her patience and sense of humor trying to get this blogpost finished. You can find her on Facebook as Finchfield Photography or check out her Etsy shop at:
