The month of October brings an interview with one of the sites multi-talented members. He consistently produces quality images to all three main genres to the site (photography, illustration and photoart)
Let me introduce you to JimT.
Where do you live ?
I live in the upper part of South Carolina, around 60 miles from the mountains a place where I spend time hiking and trout fishing.
Age?
I am 57 years old.
You seem to be 57 years young to me Jim. You always seem to be on the go and experimenting with your art. I wish I had your energy.
Are you married Jim any kids?
I have been happily married to an art and art history teacher for 22 years. We do not have kids but have 2 cats, a dog, a rabbit and 3 fish. We keep the wild birds fed well and they reward us with photo opportunities.
Has your wife’s artistic side had an influence in your own work?
My wife is my biggest critic, she has a masters degree in art education and has been teaching for 22 years. She knows how to motivate. We met in a college art class. she made her second visit to Italy (Florence and Rome) this summer to study the architecture and history. I spent 22 months in Vietnam in the late 60's early 70's and have not wanted to travel abroad since.
Your occupation?
I was a picture framer/designer for twenty seven years. Ten of which I owned my own business.
What type of design was part of your job?
I decided to become a picture framer after finding out how much it cost to frame a piece. that seemed to be where some dollars could be made. After closing my business I went to work framing/designing shadowbox frames for a textile import company, this involved arranging antique clothing and materials from the Fareast to be sold to interior decorators.
Jim you are a regular contributor to the three main sections of the site (photography, illustration and photoart). So let’s go through each section one at a time.
Photography:
What is your favourite subject to shoot?
Birds and insects are my favorites to shoot as straight photography.
You consistently produce high quality insect macro and distance shots of birds, could you please tell us about your setup and the equipment that you use?
Both are a challenge as the camera that I use is only a 2mp Sony mvc-fd200.It works great as I shoot in "auto" mode most all the time, actually I have two of them, keeping one attached to one of my telescopes for bird and night sky shots.
Shooting distance shots with a camera attached to a telescope is called "digi-scoping", a telescope eyepiece is required, also an adaptor that connects the camera and eyepiece to the scope. Details and parts needed can be found at http://www.scopetronix.com I have 3 scopes, a Meade etx125ec computerized 5"scope for astronomy, a Pentax pf80ed spotting scope and a Astel Lomo 70mm make for longer distance bird shots.
What was your first camera and any other camera’s you had over the years?
We own several cameras from SLR’s to movie cameras. My wife also has a photo club at her school, so we purchased several SLR’s and a lens assortment so that each kid has a go at it. Pentax k1000 is my favorite. We have a trunk full of antique cameras, my first being the "brownie".
Have any photographers influenced you and why?
Not influenced so much by photographers as I started using a camera mostly to help with my artwork or candid photos of my many camping and fishing trips. I admire the earlier photographers since it took so much effort to achieve a nice image, Ansel Adams for example.
What is your favourite photo to date that you have taken?
It would be hard to choose a favorite photo that I have taken. I always have the desire to modify or "artsie" them up too much. Photoshop keeps me at the computer a lot these days since I retired to my home to teach drawing classes there, free-lance work, and sell my artwork and prints at local galleries and my website http://www.jimctaylor.com
What is your most difficult image to shoot and why?
"people" photos are the hardest for me. Lighting, pose and framing are more than I can think about at one time. Insects and birds are more cooperative, plus, they do not want you to remove the "wrinkles" and "warts" as people do.
Do you use PS to edit your images, what are your thoughts about using PS to edit your images ? Is it a good thing or bad?
Photoshop is the greatest thing that has interested me lately. I think it is fine to manipulate a photo in any manner to get an effect, a so-so image can turn into a "wow" image sometimes. Often I get a great butterfly image but the background is boring so I cut and paste him on a neat flower image that I also have taken. I always use my own stock images and do not borrow. Adding shadows with photoshop, also gives a more "on site" look.
Let us move on to Illustration and talk about your painting and drawings. We have seen several wonderful pieces from you Jim. I would happily have a few hanging on the walls in my home.
Illustration:
When did you start painting and what age?
I have been interested in painting since I was born. I was always trying to stay with-in the lines on my earliest kids coloring books. I won my first ribbon in the second grade, all through school and a few years in college and draftsman school, I made high grades (wish I could say that about all of my classes.)
You seem to have several styles of painting, could you explain the artist/painting styles that you use and why?
Van Gogh has always been my favorite artist, however, I try all styles. The pointilistic style seems to be the favorite of my admirers, it is very tedious work taking about an hour to complete one square inch.
What is the longest you have spent working on a painting?
I think the longest time it took to complete a piece was 2 1/2 months, This was "falling leaves and raindrops". I keep several pieces and styles going at the same time so Ii do not get too crazy trying to finish one.
What is your favourite painting that you have painted and why?
Salsa at Sunset is one of my most colourful and most memorable due to all the veggies we harvested that particular summer. I really like Falling Leaves and Raindrops as well. It’s a drawing of our historic neighbourhood in the fall. Also very colourful.
You mentioned previously that you now teach drawing classes, it must feel good to see an individuals work improve under your teaching. Do you enjoy teaching, is it rewarding?
Teaching is great fun as long as you have really interested students. It is nice to see young people go from drawing their favorite cartoon character to lifelike perspective drawings.
Sometimes when the bureaucracy wants to make budget-cuts in our schools for the arts, they should remember, "we know a lot about the world's forgotten civilizations only because of the art they left us
Let us move on to your last genre that you submit images to on the site, lets talk about Photoart.
Photoart:
Recently we have seen more photoart coming from you Jim, I particularly liked the poster images of the cardinalbirds, took me a while to realise it was the cardinal image used over and over. You seem to be looking for different ways to utilise your images, is this, the case?
I have been doing a lot of poster images lately, again using only a 2mp camera, you cannot get a crisp postersize image so I pick those crisp images that I do have and join them in photoshop. I enjoy the challenge of using a 2mp camera and getting the crisp, clean lines that I use. It would be so much easier and faster with more pixels.
What programs do you use for photoart?
I currently use photoshop 6 and use every tool available.
Have you been trained in PS or are you self-taught?
Self-taught. Over the last several years, I’ve taught myself how to use this program. I’ll be looking at other programs when I feel I’ve mastered this one.
What is your favourite photoart image that you have made to date?
I enjoy the textured pieces, baskets manipulated, cat images …that sort of thing. Very interesting to see fur, feathers, wings and wicker up close and personal. Makes a person take notice of their surroundings. Very much like Georgia O’keeffe did in her paintings.
You seem to have settled into photoart very well, what are your thoughts on computer manipulation of photographs ?
I stay with one or two subjects or series of subjects I have exhausted the possibilities, then I move on to something else. Pulling up my older photos and using them in different ways is the most fun. I like the idea of illusion, digital cameras has given me that. I have also been manipulating family photos, placing great grandmother in the background with daughters, or children in the foreground. Looks a bit nostalgic, almost as if they are really in the photo together but obviously the great grandmother has long been deceased. There is one of these examples on my web site and I do these for the public if they send me photos of their families they want shown together. Sometimes the photos get a bit spooky, but you can start to see family resemblances when fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers are all standing side by side, or at least manipulated to appear that way. I do charge for this as it takes many hours to pull this off.
Which is your favourite genre and why?
Picking my favorite genre is like asking which Bob Dylan song is my favorite.
LOL, On that note I think it is time to finish this interview. I have enjoyed learning more about you Jim, I look forward to seeing more of your images, regardless of which medium you use. Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed. Keep up the great work.
Do you have any final thoughts or comments for us, Jim?
I enjoy Zee’s web site. It gives me an opportunity to see what others are doing and compare it to my own work. It inspires me. Hope some of my work may inspire someone else as well.
