Skateboarding, Art and Music are so intertwined. These disciplines were the staple of my youth and still the fabric of my life. If you’ve ever picked up a skateboard magazine there’s a good chance you have seen J. Grant Brittain’s work.

Grant’s photography always pushed the envelope. He has a style of capturing the moment but also a unique way of placing you on location. His skateboard photographs are more than skateboard pictures – they’re fine art. To say that I’m a fan of his work is an understatement.

I asked Grant if he could answer a couple of random questions for my Photographer Interview Series and he graciously accepted. This interview was done via email and re-posted without edits. We discuss his infamous Chris Miller polecam photo, digital photography and workflow plus where he finds inspiration.

How did you get the idea to use the polecam at Upland to shoot Chris Miller? (click here to see the photograph)
Miller told me not too long ago he thought of the pole cam idea, I thought
I did. A surf photog had used one in the water, that’s where the idea came from.

Can you describe the equipment set up? A Nikon FM2 with 16mm fisheye on an adjustable tripod head mounted on a monopod and a squeeze bulb shutter release coiling down the pole.

How do you feel about film vs. digital? That old argument is dead, it’s a non-issue in photography circles.

Was the transition to digital difficult? Switching was easy, it’s just another tool in the paint box. Photoshop is the digi darkroom. I love them both, however you can’t do a magazine in 2010 without digital, you’d go out of business both as a magazine and as a photog.

Can you describe your digital workflow? I just put everything in folders. I use Bridge a bit.

If you had to give a beginning photographer one tip to last his whole career - what would that be? Perseverance, just stick with it. If you love it, keep doing it. The money or fame will follow.

What photographers inspire you? The Masters, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Walker Evans, Ralph Gibson, Keith Carter, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, etc. The skatephotogs of the 70s that came before me, Warren Bolster, Glen Friedman, Jim Goodrich, Ted Terrebonne, Craig Stecyk and James Cassimus. I learned by looking at their photos in the mags. I also get inspired by my peers.

What projects are you currently working on? Just doing The Skateboard Mag with (Dave) Swift, Atiba (Jefferson) and the others, we’re working on our 75th issue. I am the Production Manager and Director of Photography and a co-owner, so I have my fingers in everything running a business. Personally, just shooting the skate photos I really want to, mellow shoots, no cops. I’m also working on a portrait project.

I want to thank Grant for taking the time to do this interview. It’s an honor to have someone that I look up to do the first interview for this series.

Do you have any favorite J. Grant Brittain photographs? Leave a comment with any thoughts about this interview or suggestions for interviews in the future…

(*please note all attached images are © J. Grant Brittain)

If you asked me what are the three most important things a beginner photographer should know – I’d say “Know your equipment, know your settings & trust your instincts.”

Sounds simple enough, right? Let’s explore these three photo tips for beginners…

1. Know Your Equipment : When I say know your equipment I don’t necessarily mean spend hours reading the manual that came with your digital camera or with your latest lens. Reading the user manual is always a good start but sometimes I think it leads to more questions than answers. There are a lot of really good camera field guides published for whatever camera you own. (example of after market camera guide) So now that you are familiar with the basic operations of your camera and how it operates – it’s time to go and shoot photos and put your new knowledge into use. Figure out which of your lenses are better for the different photo subjects you are interested in and how they react in the different light situations. You know the stuff that NO book will ever be able to teach you. I am a big believer in going out into the field and learning by doing.

2. Know Your Settings: For every photo situation I embark on I have a mental log (started out on a notepad) of my baseline settings. These are my starting point for ISO, Aperture and Shutter speeds. With that being said they change from time to time depending on lighting conditions and other variables but I always start at my baseline. Experiment with different settings in various conditions, review the image (the most powerful part of digital photography in my opinion), make adjustments and do it all over again. As you become a more seasoned photographer you’ll develop your own preferences for settings and what enables you to make great photographs.

3. Trust Your Instincts: Sounds easy but this is where many beginner photographers stumble. Just because you read something in a field guide or in an article someone like Scott Bourne writes doesn’t mean it’s an absolute. If you develop a strong sense of the first two tips this one will eventually come naturally. If it’s a dark day out and you think ISO 200 will be better than ISO 400 – give it a shot. If you think 1/125 will get you a better photo than 1/60 – do it. Prove or disprove your own theories. There are times when I photograph concerts and I only have a split second to capture an image so I rely solely on my instincts. Trust me, as you develop into a photographer with your own style and sense of surroundings this will fee natural – but in the beginning it will be a struggle. John Coltrane had a saying about music theory that applies well to photography, “Know the theory, know the scales but when it comes time to play – just play!”

This is just the tip of the iceberg and the building blocks to developing into a photographer that makes great photos. If you had to give a beginning photographer a couple of tips what would they be? Post a comment below and share some of your knowledge…

There are moments when I am shooting photos that I lose track of  my surroundings. Let me clarify, sometimes I am so engaged with my photo subject that I don’t realize who or what is around me at that moment. A couple of weeks ago my brother Kevin came to town. Just like every other visitor Kev came to Arizona with a list of things that he wanted to do and see but I didn’t expect landscape photo shoots to be one of them.

Kevin and I took to the road and headed to the Four Peaks Mountains and a couple days later Kevin, Kristina and myself went to Sedona. Two great locations in Arizona for landscape photography.

After our photo trips back at the house in Tempe we sat down to compare images. Kevin surprised me with a couple of magnificent photos of me taking what I consider key landscape photographs for my portfolio. How cool is that! Now I have photographs of me taking some of my favorite photos.

Check out more of Kevin’s photos on his Flickr page by clicking here – Thanks Kevin it was great having you visit and it was a lot of fun shooting photos with you.

Here is a recap of my Concert Photography 101 series and links to older posts. Music and photography are my two biggest passions – no wonder I am so passionate about music photography.

Getting Started taking Concert Photos: The equipment needed to produce quality live music photos (click for post)
Basic Camera Settings for Concert Photos: I discuss my baseline camera settings for concerts. Also, discussed is ISO and various lenses. (click for post)
Photo Credentials: This was no doubt the most anticipated part of the Concert Photography Series. What is needed before you request photo credentials. (click for post)

What am I missing? Please let me know what else you want to know about taking Concert Photos. I am willing to post and share whatever knowledge I have – so please post a comment with questions or suggestions.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Webisode TWO of my FOCUS series. This webisode highlights a self portrait I took at Papago Park in Phoenix, AZ.

If you have a photo that you would like featured on FOCUS please contact me a via Email

To view my complete photography portfolio please visit www.grtaylor2photo.com

In the first two parts of my Concert Photography 101 Series (Getting Started & Basic Camera Settings) we discussed the basics of Concert Photography. I have received numerous emails asking how do you get your equipment into the venue.

[In my opinion concert venues have a skewed idea of the professional camera. Locally, venues define a professional camera as a camera with detachable lenses. Ridiculous, but that's another post for another day.]

There are many photo friendly venues here in the Phoenix area. Before you attempt to take photos from the photo pit start at the bar / nightclub level. Talk to the band and get their permission and then fire away.  Hone your chops and get really good at taking music photographs. It will save you a lot of frustration, headache and disappointment.

Once you feel confident about you photography skills I would try to align myself with a local publication (either print or online.) If you are successful at aligning yourself with the press – you will have no problems getting photo passes and most of the time you will not even have to make the request. Make sure you honor any commitments you make regarding deadlines – if you lose credibility with the photo editor you will not be sent out to cover an event again.

Freelancing is a little different. Before you contact a band’s publicist (HINT HINT – who to contact for credentials) make sure you have a professional portfolio. A professional presence will increase, but not guarantee your chances of gaining access to the photo pit. I spent a lot of time developing my website (through Photoshelter) to the have necessary online portfolio presence. (www.grtaylor2photo.com)

If all else fails – ask someone at the venue. Try and go back by the buses and ask to speak to the tour manager. There is a slight chance he may override the venue rules and allow you inside to photograph the show from the crowd. This situation may not be ideal but it’s better than not getting a chance to shoot the show.

Recap of Tips For Photo Credentials

1. Make sure you have the portfolio to back up your request
2. Align yourself with a local publication
3. Get creative – ask the the tour manager the night of the show
4. Honor all deadlines and commitments
5. Have fun – you may have the best seats in the house for at least three songs

Did I leave anything out? Let me know how you have been successful gaining access to photograph concerts?

To view my complete photography portfolio please visit www.grtaylor2photo.com

G. Love & Special Sauce brought their A-Game to The Marquee Theater in Tempe last night. Their set of laid back funky blues with the hip-hop flow kept the crowd dancing all night.

G. looked like he was having a great time and gave a shout out to our Phoenix Suns (the band attended the Suns vs. Blazers game the previous evening) before breaking into “Shooting Hoops”. (Click for a video of G. Love’s “Shooting Hoops” Video)

As a photographer this was not a difficult shoot. During my allotted three song limit G.  stayed seated with some decent lighting. The stage was back light in reds and blues (I hate red stage lights) with a spotlight that shined intermittently on him. For most of the shoot I stayed with the settings of f.2.8 – 4.0 at 1/60 with my ISO set at 800. (See my previous Concert Photography 101 Post for general settings.)

It was another night when as concert photographer you need to expect the unexpected. G. Love’s publicist left me off the guest list and I had to rely on the emails I had on my iPhone to make the tour manager (who was super cool and professional) feel comfortable in giving me the proper credentials.

All in all great show, G. Love’s tour management were extremely professional and the I was stoked to have had the opportunity to photograph the show.

(SIDE Note: If you are standing in the front row at the rail and I am getting ready to shoot photos in the pit, please feel free to ask me any photography related questions BUT I will not give you my camera so you can take a picture of me at the show. I know that I am there and my work will document me being there. Believe it or not I am asked that at every concert I photograph.)

In my last post I touched on my use of Social Media as a tool to get my work out to the public. The next day I read a great blog post by Valeria Maltoni discussing how she participates in Social Media. (Complete article can be found on Valeria’s blog by clicking here) She wrote:

“You cannot be expected to know what my settings are on each network. If I don’t give you a reference point, you will likely use your own settings as context. It’s not fair to you, nor it is to me.”

I wanted to step back a moment and outline the five Social Media Networks that I use and let everyone know what to expect from me. Outline My Rules of Engagement in Social Media.

FACEBOOK: I have two facebook pages. I use one for photography and the other is personal. My Facebook Photography page is an outlet for me to interact with people who have questions or want to know a little more about me. Also like my blog, I try to highlight other artists, photographers and musicians. It’s a quick easy way for me to push out messages or to post a quick link to a photograph I just shot. My personal Facebook page is a place where I do whatever I want to do and the people I know have come to expect that of me.

TWITTER: My username on twitter is @grtaylor2 and it is the place where my messaging is the most inconsistent. I will push out shortlinks to my photos, my blogposts, my friends blogposts or my tweets will be conversational in nature. Sometimes, I will tweet something that I find amusing and sometimes I will tweet about someone who is making me crazy. The main themes for my tweets are: photography, music, marketing topics, current events and issues relevant to my city – Tempe, AZ. I try hard to add value with most of my tweets to my followers but I admit sometimes I do tweet the inane. If you follow me on Twitter please let me know if my tweets ever get too inane and I become “That Guy”.

(TWITTER Update 3/19: I like the #followfriday thing. Over the time I have used twitter I have started to follow many people who were recommended through the #followfriday phenomenon. My #ff policy is to push out only one follow friday tweet per week.  All recommendations will be from one vertical or with like interests. This way I feel like I am adding value to the conversation and to the folks who follow me.)

YOUTUBE: The videos I post on my blog are hosted on YouTube – I use this network mostly as a media library. If you subscribe to my You Tube Channel you should expect music videos, my FOCUS web series and maybe some travel stuff. I tend to not get very personal on YouTube. And of course I do love watching funny videos on YouTube- so if you know of any great one please send me a link. (Here is a link to my favorite)

FLICKR: I post my non contracted photography to Flickr. My photography typically falls in the categories of: Concert Photography, Landscape Photography and Portrait Photography (there is some architectural photography mixed in but that’s not the norm for me.) I brand almost all of my photos and I post them under the creative commons license. If you want to use any of my work for non commercial purposes please feel free to – just properly attribute the photo. I try to foster collaboration as much as possible and for that reason I make all of my EXIF properties public. Please comment with questions etc.

That pretty much covers My Personal Rules of Engagement For Social Media. I want to interact with everyone as much as possible but I wanted to let you know what your getting into. Please know that I will not be offended if at any time you decide to unsubscribe to my blog or stop following me on Twitter. (NOTE: I am an eternal optimist so please don’t expect a lot of Doom & Gloom from me.)

In a nutshell, my use of Social Media focuses on: making connections, helping others make connections, learning and staying informed. How are you using Social Media or maybe more importantly why are you using Social Media? Leave a comment, leave a question – let’s discuss…

Let me clarify…how do you get your photos viewed? Do you care about it?

I take photographs because I like capturing an image or moments. I’ve never been concerned about art for commercial sake but I do like people viewing my work. I’ve never had an exhibit (though I do have one planned) and I’ve never been in any photography shows but I have had my photos seen by the public. How? Through the use of Social Media.

I am a bit of a Social Media nerd…there I said it. Through various Social Media efforts I have had people whom I admire and respect view, critique, hate and/or compliment my work. I post photos to Flickr, tweet about them and I have my Flickr stream automatically update my personal Facebook page. To me as someone who is making a name for myself these are very powerful tools.

I guess I could have taken a more conventional route – I could have called a curator for photo exhibits and submitted my work. But why? The power of social media allows me to interact with people who in many cases I don’t even know their real name – but  value their feedback. Social Media has allowed me to “push” out my photographs to people in my virtual network and have them tell their circles about my work. Real people and many times to people I haven’t even met. The power of Social Media is amazing when put to proper use...

My Question To You…

Is Social Media an important tool for you to get your work seen? Do you care if no one ever sees your work? Is this a topic worth exploring here – Social Media and The Photographer?

To view my complete photography portfolio please visit www.grtaylor2photo.com

I bet whatever skill level a photographer you consider yourself you probably didn’t start there. Right? How did you get to your level?

I am the first person to critique myself as a photographer and say that I am not the most technical. I studied marketing in college and not photography/fine art. My photo education has been one of taking pictures, asking for critique and trial and error. After that took me to an artistic plateau I needed something else – I wanted to get better. I wanted people to view my photos and consider them art rather than snapshots. (Every day I set out to take photos I keep that thought in mind – “Make ART!”)

The next level of growth happened when I started asking other photographers questions and started collaborating.

I learned to place high value on collaboration over competition in art and photography. It’s how I’ve been able to grow as a photographer and acquire new skills. Here are three ways I like to collaborate with other photographers:

PHOTO WALKS: Go out and make some photographs other people. Talk about what you see – discuss settings, technique, composition and anything else. Watch how the other photographers work and periodically view their images. (Just yesterday I went on a photo journey to Four Peaks with my brother. We talked about photography and whatever else came to mind.) Scott Kelby has initiated an annual photo walk which takes place in cities all ove the country – this is a great place to start.

DIGITAL PHOTO FORUMS: I subscribe to many photo blogs and photo newsletters. This is a great place to see what other photographers are doing and to hear about their photo adventures etc. My favorite website is Digital Photography School. DPS is broken into three sections – Tips & Tutorials, Cameras & Equipment and Post Production. I value this site as an important resource to interact with other photogs through comments and get critique of my work.

PHOTO PROPERTIES & EXIF SETTINGS: This is a great way to learn about making photographs. EXIF is a technical standard for storing information about each photo that you take with your digital camera. EXIF information is automatically captured in each photo file when you take each picture, and includes the date and time the photo was taken, the manufacturer and model name of the camera taking the picture, as well as a plethora of other useful information about your camera’s aperture setting, shutter speed, focal length, metering mode, and ISO speed. One of the brilliant things about FLICKR (and other photosharing sites) is that you can make your EXIF data public. (Click here to see the settings for the above photo.) Whenever I see a photo I really like I always see if the EXIF data is available. This level of transparency is a huge help to others and it’s why I share the data of every photo I post to Flickr.

This is just a short list of three ways to learn from other photographers. There are so many more ways but these three are the ones that helped me grow as a photographer and take things to the next level. When you help someone grow only good can come out of it.

How did you learn your photography skills? Do you have any favorite ways to collaborate with other photographers? How do you feel about transparency? Please leave a comment and let’s get a dialogue going. Thanks for reading.