ArtLimited Interview
April 19, 2008
No, I’ve not been interviewed by anyone but there is an interview section on the art site, Art Limited, that you can fill in yourself. It asks some interesting questions and I thought I’d post the questions and my answers here for you:
When and how do you start to create?
If I’m taking a nature or landscape shot then it all depends on the weather and the light. I always check the weather and if it’s going to be a bright day I’m up before dark the following morning and out the door before sunrise. Then it’s down to finding where best to exploit the fantastic light that time of the day gives you and capturing that spot best. For other types of shots there’s no real when but how. So how do I start my creation? Mostly it’s from getting ideas from other photographs or from reading the latest camera magazines which include some great tutorials for you to try and learn from.
Do you create as a professionnal or for your own?
For my own, though creating as a professional is the long-term plan - hey beats the hell out of desk jobs. 
At the moment it’s a hobby but I’m learning and improving all the time and hope to one day make photography my profession. Either way I thoroughly enjoy it and can’t see that stopping or changing.
How do you learn and work your skill?
I’m currently self-taught and still have lots to learn. So it’s just crawling around the Net for useful articles, subscriptions to photography or Photoshop magazines, chatting on relevant forums to get advice and critiques, browsing other photography to get ideas and the like. The Internet is a massive resource and there are so many useful sites for photography now, you’re basically spoilt for choice. Also magazines (at least in the UK) are in plentiful supply. I tend to read mags that concentrate on photography technique rather than hardware reviews, etc. Most mags also cover Photoshop quite heavily too so they are another great resource to learn from.
Beyond this is down to money, I have plans to take at least one Open College of Arts photography course but they are several £100s each and are a long way off for me at the moment.
What do you like in this art?
For me it’s to see the World in a different light. Now I’m a photographer, everything and anything becomes interesting and a potential photo subject. It’s just down to imagine and interpretation of the subject. For my landscape, nature and wildlife shots it’s a release. You get away from the madness of the busy city and all the people and the crowds, and you get to see beautiful natural things and breathe the wonderful fresh air in a nice calm environment. Bliss. 
What are your favourite subject(s)?
Landscape, nature and animals. But that’s purely because they are easy to access where I live. We have lots of scenery that is in walking distance plus I have a very posey dog who loves his picture taken. So these genres are my main interests at the moment.
But basically I’ll take a photograph of anything in any genre if I get the chance. So perhaps all-things-nature is my favourite but it’s certainly not my exclusive genre.
How do you prepare a creation work?
I wish I could.
Creating a scene for a landscape is obviously impossible. What you see is what you get. What I try and do is judge the weather and the light. If it’s cloudy or raining then most landscape shots are out of the window. In that case it’s back to the house for some macro shots or perhaps the dog if it’s not going through his near-24 hours adrenaline rush phase
For my other genres it’s probably the same answer. The subject is already there. What you are in control of, though, is the time of the day (e.g. the light), the spot to take the shot (e.g. the angle and the composition) and what look you want from your camera. This is down to scouting the area and finding an interesting place then repeatedly visiting the same place over and over at different times of the day, at different times of the year under different weather conditions. I discover when I do this I find new compositions and new angles for shots. It’s a great way to learn your skill.
What are your prefered moment(s) when you create?
Usually, the moment I see the shot, e.g. the sunrise coming up behind the trees or the dog in an interesting pose. And the moment I’ve completely finished the shot too, i.e. once it’s come out of Photoshop. Seeing the final picture… it’s a good moment.
What your most representative creations? (links)
I’ve pinpointed just one for the moment and it’s this shot of my dog Kaz at sunrise:
http://squashyfrog.co.uk/2008/03/06/kaz-sunrise
It combines landscape and animal genres and also includes a bit of post production. This is also one shot that I’ve asked a lot of help on and feel it’s probably one of my best. It is also my first published photograph, of which I’m very proud.
What are you trying to share via your art?
Pretty simple really - the beauty of nature and it’s animals. If you’ve lived in the city most of your life you tend to forget or ignore the nature that’s outside it or hidden in its cracks. But it’s the interestingness of the small things that you pass by without a glance that I try and share.
Who are artists that fascinate or give you inpsiration? (links)
To answer this question head over to my list of favourite photographers here:
http://squashyfrog.co.uk/info/favourite-photographers
What equipment and/or technic do you use?
I’ve used a Nikon D50 digital SLR for over a year but have recently ‘upgraded’ to a Nikon D300. The next natural step is the D3 or D3X but that’s after a very nice pay day. To go into a bit more detail I have a ‘medium-sized’ collection of various lenses and filters. I have plenty of accessories that the standard photographer *must* have. But no flash studio kit which would be great!
Technic, well I’m still refining that but for landscape shots it’s down to getting out as much as possible and finding places to shoot. I’m lucky that I have lots of fields and nature around me so I go for long walks and note the potential spots for a shoot. Then I mainly go out for sunrise and try and capture the scenery with the wonderful light. A technic to capture animals like my dog, er, well I’ve not found one. It’s just a matter of taking a 1000 shots and getting lucky.
How and why your work as changed since you started?
Well the quality has increased that’s for sure. When I started I hadn’t a clue what I was doing. I had this nice flash camera (well I thought so at the time) and was just snapping away without a care in the World. Since then I’ve learnt to find the spot to shoot from, compose the shot correctly or to my liking, set-up the camera right and then to improve the image in Photoshop properly. It’s still work-in-progress but I can clearly see I’m getting better and will continue to strive to improve.
What does the Internet media give you?
Access. Access to a whole host of information, access to people who I can ask for help and learn from, access to other photography where I get inspiration and ideas from and access to viewers of my work.
If you’re talking about the digital media (instead of film) then I know no different. Since I’ve been taking pictures I’ve always had a digital camera. What the digital media gives me is a bit of space to make mistakes without cost and to potentially correct mistakes made when taking the shot at the time. Being able to manipulate and play with the image digitally is a bonus too and it’s all good fun to create ‘digital art’ from a photo.
What are you expecting from Art Limited and/or other members?
Nothing. If I expect something and don’t get it then I’ll be disappointed. If I don’t expect anything and get something then I’ll feel so much better. But I hope people enjoy my photography and help me along the way.
What are your plans for future?
Learn, learn, learn. There is so much to learn it’s almost overwhelming but it’s got to be done if you want to be a professional and that’s my target. I will continue to teach myself until I (maybe) can afford a course in photography and will continue to get out and photograph. Also, learning from others is a big help, they are my mentors.
Do you have anything else to say?
Hmmm, nah.
.kol tregaskes.photography site: squashyfrog.com
.photography blog: blog.squashyfrog.com
.flickr photostream: flickr.com/photos/koltregaskes
.deviantart gallery: koltregaskes.deviantart.com
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