Q.  You are an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop.  Does this play a major role in how you take and work with your photos?  And since there has always been controversy over digitally manipulated photographs, could you tell us your thoughts around the subject?

A.  No, the key for me was not Photoshop or the Photoshop training, but becoming truly passionate about how I approach a subject, portrait, or situation.  That's the thing that works for photographing, and it’s what I have for teaching photography, too. 

The controversy about manipulated photographs goes back even before 1839 when Daguerre made photography practical, through those hundreds of years when the camera obscura was used by painters.  Today, I think photographers can and should have boundaries in which altering the image is not done.  For example, photography schools should teach the ethics of photojournalism--an area where we can trust that press photographs have not been altered.  For advertising and stock, it is called "art", not manipulation. 

We tend to think that photographs are reality.  Not so.  They are a slice, a reflection, a glimpse of how one photographer sees, and are totally subjective.  When I was President of the Denver Photo Society club, my way to adapting to the digital image manipulation controversy was to set up areas for creative digital art--our club then was made up of film photographers passionate about film artists who called their product straight photography, and digital folk like myself who called it digital imaging.  I thought it was important for each group to compete where they could express their strengths.  For example, I started an area of competition where nature photographers could place their entries in competition with other, un-manipulated images that were not sharpened, cropped or enhanced.  

Photography has rarely develop standards for manipulated images, but news photographers might have to do so now.  We must become better at describing what changes we make to the image, so the general public can know what they are.  This is important both for news photographers and artists.  Right now, as photographers, we must pay more attention to the subject and why we are photographing, because we're way over-focused on the digital how-to part of the process.  We need to focus more on the subject matter, on the character of the photographer and on becoming better human beings, because the camera points both ways.

Q.  When you look at your current photographs, how have they changed from your early years in photography—style, design, subjects…?

A.  I hope more of them are in focus (laughing)!  I'm more relaxed in my portrait style, put more emphasis on good lighting and on the relationship I have with the people I photograph.  Currently, I photograph some subjects that require extended dynamic range (HDR), so I try to have the image appear "natural"--by the standards of 2010, anyway.  I'm traveling continually now, so my travel images are more purposeful.  I still do scenic photography, but I hope with a slightly better sense of composition and light.

Q.  What were some of the major turning points throughout your career?

A.  Living abroad--I lived in Japan, Sweden and the Bahamas.  While in Japan (as a teenager), I did ceramics and photography and for the first time, met living artists who worked full time on their art.  That was inspiring.

Back in the US, a turning point was managing a digital portrait studio in my home, which helped me learn a little about workflow, customer service, and pro portrait lighting.  Teaching digital photography at the college level was a turning point too, because the joy of doing that spurred me to teach online for Apogee Photo Magazine.  

Q.  You are an adventure photographer and writer and you literally live on a boat, so I would say that life for you would be a daily adventure.  How did this decision come about and what keeps you living this life style?  Is it the ultimate in play and adventure all rolled into one?

A.  Living and cruising on a catamaran was a turning point (laughs).  When the boat isn’t rocking, some of the pictures are sharp (more laughter).  Seriously though, you said adventure, and yes, sailing full time is a day to day adventure.  Sailing gives you the opportunity to photograph in good light.  We pixel addicts are always talking about great light, and from the deck of sailboat there is great light all around everyday because the boat is open to the horizon 360 degrees.  You wake up, go on deck and there is luminous light from cloud and ocean all around.

Taking pictures can be an adventure anywhere you live.  It's what you personally make it.  You can see with new eyes anywhere, because that's inside of you.

Copyright © Jim Austin 2010.  All rights reserved.

Alligator Country
 

My move to the Salty Paws, a sailing catamaran, evolved slowly about fifteen years ago, and it's opened up a world of adventure photography.  Selling my land home and the car and moving to live aboard a 40-foot long boat changed how I live and how I see, so it changed how I make pictures too.  On a boat you are not hooked up to the power grid, so for instance, I can't use a microwave oven because all the boat's power comes from solar and wind and a microwave wastes too much energy.  I don't watch TV anymore, partly because I'd have to burn carbon based fuel for the power, and also because the real show outside, in the light of the sea, is so much more fascinating to me.

I'm more aware of weather, safety, and navigating to new locations.  Things happen at sea that are terrifying one day and blissful the next--just like on land, but on land your home doesn't move around with the wind and waves.

Living between four walls in a city, I had a romantic view of boating life.  The reality of living aboard is that, for photography, logistics are just as important as any global workflow, but the variables of wind, storms, and weather take some practice to get used to.  It’s always changing, and because your home is always moving in elements beyond your control, it makes you a lot more aware of weather.  It helps me to think of adjusting my sails instead of trying to control the wind.