Hello Steve, or, due to my age (I’m 16), Mr. Huff would be more correctly:). But anyway, I’d like tell you about myself and show you a couple of shots I took when I was inspired by yours, Mr. Huff, and Chase Jarvis’ work. You too guys are wonderful, thanks a lot!
Well, let’s start. My name’s Illya Krasnoschok, I’m from Kyiv – the capital of Ukraine. It’s famous by Chernobyl (1986), but it is a beautiful country despite ex-membership in USSR. Well I started shooting and learning photography in 2006 with little Canon’s P&S, I have to say, that it is not so bad: it costed 120$ brand new and it still works. Than it was a period of SLR mania: longer lens – better lens:) And now I stopped down on the PEN ep1 (must say that with the kit, pancake and 2 battery’s it costed me 525$ – quite a good deal). And I have to admit that i really enjoy using it, there’s no need to talk about all benefits this camera has. For me, the main thing is that classy feelings.
Few weeks ago I won an IOS apps reviews competition, first prise – ipod touch 4g (white one). YEAHHHH!!!!
Ipod’s camera is not as good to be honest – less than one megapixel. But it is stimulating. “The best camera is the one with you” – remember? So it would be a great pleasure for me to show you a few pictures, shot and proceed on my new ipod!
All the best!!!
Illya
P.S. Sorry for my English
Thank all of you for your kind words. I really appreciate this. I wish i had opportunity to leave a personal reply to everyone, but unfortunately there are big problems with internet in the village i am travelling through now. But your ferdbacks are so kind and stimulating!
Illya
Nice images, good to look at, Very strong, very graphic. Best camera IS INDEED the one you have with you. These days almost any camera will produce a good file. It is the photographer who puts together the image. Well done.
(I wish my Russian was half as good as your English).
I agree – very stylish and classy shots Illya. Try to develop your talent and enjoy it!! I also think it’s lovely that the great people that use this site are so generous and warm in their responses!!!
It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer… Keep up the good work!
Hey Steve,
Just wanted to know if you ever recieved my entry for daily inspiration? Oh and nice pictures Illya. The last two pix are really classy 🙂
I love these Illya. I just gave my 5 year old son an old Sony P&S (circa 2007). He has it on Program mode and always has a part of his left index finger in the shot. He loves to shoot and I love seeing the world through his eyes.
PS – Your English is fine. Find a dutch friend as they speak the best English anyway.
Awesome and …. well, just awesome! Nice work. Don’t stop shooting!
Privet Illya, krasivoi fortki u teba, ya otchen rad ix vidit. I think you got it right, you where right to get that nice camera and you were right to try to post on this website. Now I suppose you should open your own gallery on Flickr.
And indeed Ukraine is a very nice country.
Pierre
Bravo, Illya, Bravo!
My 2 cents: Forget about which camera you have, just make sure you know every single bit of its personality, and shoot, shoot, shoot… (and keep us updated, keep posting). And remain consistent to your style!
P.
You got some really great black and white pictures here, my friend!
And you’re in a lovely country 🙂
Amazing shots!! I wish I had 1/4 of your talent
Very nice – good job!
I like your style. Thanks for sharing your work here.
ocen krassivaja raboota :o) prodavzdivaj …
For 16 these are damn impressive. Nice job, especially the first one. You have a good eye.
Well.
Interesting. Strong graphic images. Would love to see you go – back? – to b&w film!
Love those detail shots of the tie and the watch! Very cool, nice work.
You’re doing very well and these pics have a nice “film” look to them with good grain and strong contrast. This makes them stand out. Nice simple compositions that stimulate the mind. Just goes to show that even with a little toy and the right eye you can make a strong pic if you have talent. Great job.
The best camera is definitely the one you have on you, that has always been true. Thinking back over the years since photography school and all the cameras I’ve used, the most important thing was continually looking at everything, the light, how it falls on objects, shadows, negative space, the framing and always be shooting and critiquing yourself. Once you start developing a “point of view” and figuring out what direction your photographic vision is heading you’ll figure out what camera equipment to buy. You might discover you passion lays in shooting portraits in medium format with a cheap Rollei or shoot street with an inexpensive Nikon or if you can find one a 2nd hand Leica.
There are times when I wished I had a cheap digital camera or iPhone when I was young, so I could shoot endlessly (on the flip side, learning darkroom techniques proved invalueable in my career).
There’s nothing wrong with shooting with PS or iPods, just look at Spike Jonze, Mark Romaneck, Terry Richardson or even the greats like Moriyama and Araki, all of them shoot with a variety of low res, disposable cameras; the key is they’re shooting all the time. Keep on shooting, don’t sweat the gear too much. Save your money until you figure out where your passion lays and then get the camera that fits your shooting style and that you’ll enjoy shooting with.
Iilya, you’re off to a great start. Using what you had, these pix are better than a lot of others. You don’t need an expensive camera, you need an ‘eye’, and it looks like you’ve got it.
I hope you continue to enjoy taking pictures, because I enjoyed looking at them.
I agree 🙂
Just keep shooting and have fun with it. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as you are inspired to shoot. The best advice I can give you is to experiment with lighting and composition. Having a good understanding of light will have a huge impact on your photography. But I also believe that composition is the most important element in photography, because it’s something that we instantly see on a sub-conscious level. So yea, keep up the good work and have fun 🙂
Illya,
I think the camera that makes the best pictures is the one that is most fun to use. Neither of my adult kids (late 20’s) will use anything other than their iPhones (4S) – they are always with them, they take great pictures and videos (without having to learn anything about photography or photo processing), and the photos/videos are instantly shared. What could be ‘better’ than that?
Anyway, I like your first photo especially. And your English is fine.