Web Profiles

"Digital imaging is not about pixels, it's about pictures..."--interview on CompulsiveCreative.com

What makes us photographers? Is it an urge to capture that elusive "decisive moment," to freeze a point in time forever, or just to record history as it unfolds in front of our lenses? This month you'll take a journey with a few people who have traveled halfway round the world to discover their love of photography, while others find it only after it's been lost. Join me in this voyage.

Ex Racer Snaps Shutter
Paul Shippey is a former professional race driver from South Africa who has turned his attention to photography and journalism. It was Shippey who interviewed Halle Berry for FHM's cover story on the actress. (Lucky guy!) His clean-looking website (www.paulshippey.com) focuses on a mixture of his writing talents as well as photography skills, but you may be surprised to learn there are no pictures of cars--racing or otherwise. Instead the Gallery contains color images that reflect an appreciation of his new home in the US, celebrating the American landscape in bold colors. His only concession to his former career is the candid portrait of race driver Tomas Scheckter at the Indy 500. The last time I visited, the Photojournalism section combined his photographs and interview with a young Air Force B1 bomber pilot. And the What's New section contained colorful images of the Pacific Northwest, but not much else. Shippey explained that the site is still under construction.

Déjà Vu All Over Again
If the name Kevin Swan sounds familiar it's because his wedding site (www.kevinswan.com) was featured last year. It turns out I like his alternative photography website (www.altography.com) even more. What's impressive is that he is responsible for the eye-catching design of both sites. This site shows the subtle power of Macromedia Flash (www.macromedia.com) to communicate by showing that the medium is indeed the message. After a fast-paced opening that shows lots of styles of photographs from landscape to fashion to sports, you can click on "balloons" (hey, that's what they look like to me) to see the Folks, Spots, and Stuff galleries.
Spots contains spots revealing letters that when moused over reveal pairs of color and monochrome images of architecture and landscapes that vary in impact from n-i-c-e to wow! Folks has portraits that cover the same gamut of emotions. Stuff features thought-provoking images of bugs, snakes, and, well, stuff. The star of this site is Swan the designer who has managed to wrap his clever images around a spectacularly fun interface.

Interview With The Umpire
OK, so just because I photographed a Seattle Mariners' game that doesn't make me an umpire. The quote at the top is from an interview that appears on CompulsiveCreative.com (www.compulsive creative.com/interview.php?intid=16) and is about what goes on inside my head (if anything) when I'm writing a book.
In a moment of unbridled nepotism, I invite you to visit my wife Mary's website (www.maryfarace.com) that is currently under construction. She has been on a 10-year hiatus from photography and her recent experience as a breast cancer survivor has given her a new appreciation of life and life's images.