Focus On.....Placebo!

Dragan

Okay, so this is the first "Focus On...." thread. Consider it the Beta. Right now we have no real idea of rules or structure. I have come up with a couple of questions for our victim and outlined them below. Give them a chance to answer what is here and then ask your own questions. Don't venture into huge debate, give other people a chance to ask any questions and if there are question ahead of yours then give the person time to answer them all before posting more. Right now it's pretty free flow, i have done my best with the questions i have come up with so please feel free to ask your own more interesting ones. Right, on to the main event!

Placebo, please just run down this list of questions answering as you see fit.


We might as well just deal with the painful stuff first. How are you dealing with the loss of your 40d? Any choice words for the kinds of people who go around stealing cameras?

From having spent a good bit of time looking at your Flickr you seem to really enjoy and have a large flare for photographing people. You also do a great job of operating outside the normal limits that people impose, conciously or otherwise, on portraiture. Would this be your main love in photography or is there something else that you are hiding from us all?

You are pretty damn honest on your Flickr, and i am thinking very specifically of this do you find it hard to seperate yourself as a person from the photograph when deciding to put up shots like that?

This is a great shot. One of my favourites from your Flickr. For those of us not in the know do you mind running through how you got this?

How is work progressing on www.iamjpg.com ? (great domain name by the way ) When do you hope to have it up and running and available for public consumption?

Finally "To leave everyone one of you in awe. Im gonna do it." , was your answer in the 2009 Aspirations Thread. Did you have anything specific in mind, like a large scale project or will you just be rolling with the punches to make it happen?

Placebo

Late reply, sorry busy week. OH very good questions
I'll do a quick profile for anyone interested

Age:24
Qualifications: Bsc Computer Science, Msc multimedia
Occupation: Web Designer
Im originally from pakistan but ive been here 11-12 years?

We might as well just deal with the painful stuff first. How are you dealing with the loss of your 40d? Any choice words for the kinds of people who go around stealing cameras?
I really wasn't taking photos at the time the 40d was stolen so while it was slightly annoying, i wasn't too bothered. By the time i got another one, the prices had dropped alot aswell Learning from mistakes, i think people need to get their cameras insured, approx 3k value in the house can cost up to only 60 euro a year ! This includes dropping your camera outside the house etc

From having spent a good bit of time looking at your Flickr you seem to really enjoy and have a large flare for photographing people. You also do a great job of operating outside the normal limits that people impose, conciously or otherwise, on portraiture. Would this be your main love in photography or is there something else that you are hiding from us all?
i think i'm just looking to develop my own style. I'm not really into face portraits, i'm always looking to put forward a photo that develops a little curiosity. Something slightly obscure and not so obvious. I guess you could call it street photography. Photos of objects and just plain scenery don't work well with me so walking down the street il really be picturing a background for my image. I'm a big fan of Depth of Field effects aswell so im always closing on eye and focusing on objects to envisage nice aesthetics

You are pretty damn honest on your Flickr, and i am thinking very specifically of this do you find it hard to separate yourself as a person from the photograph when deciding to put up shots like that?
haha i actually wasn't taking photos during the break up but anyway i see alot of photos with paragraphs of descriptions and some form of 'history' and its always bland and filled with meaningless lyrics. And since this photo results as no.2 when searching for breakup with the most relevant criteria, i thought it deserved a real explanation. I guess looking back at these photos, i just see them as photos but nothing id hang on my wall now


This is a great shot. One of my favourites from your Flickr. For those of us not in the know do you mind running through how you got this?
That gig was just impossible to photograph, basically crystal castles have strobe lighting, throughout their whole set, example , so i guess slightly slow shutter+insane lighting.


How is work progressing on www.iamjpg.com ? (great domain name by the way ) When do you hope to have it up and running and available for public consumption?
Sadly I' think more about presentation on the site itself rather than the content. I really dont have content that deserves to be on a stand alone site, Flickr just acts as a photo dump i guess. I need good striking images that would keep people coming back. I thought i reserve the name anyway Saying that ive a few projects in mind and i hope the site will go live in a few months.

Finally "To leave everyone one of you in awe. Im gonna do it." , was your answer in the 2009 Aspirations Thread. Did you have anything specific in mind, like a large scale project or will you just be rolling with the punches to make it happen?
I've a few ideas in mind, i see some photos on flickr and they leave me shocked, I want my photos to emulate that exact reaction. I'm looking to get more into strobist area, theres alot of good strobists out there but their general image composition is terrible, including some models, so hopefully my mind set + their skills = some nice images. Saying that im looking to go back to film too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anti-girl

kensutz

While working night shift I remembered something like this was touted and alas found it. Seems it has died a death before it began. It seems to be going well on other sections of the site like the fitness forum etc. Any chance of a revival and get an insight on more peeps?

Fajitas!

Give it a stickying

jaqian

Great idea Dragan and an interesting interview Placebo.

Dragan

This is mostly my fault, i should have checked with Placebo about when would be a good time to post it. I would suggest people ask any question they have and see about getting answers.

I already have victim number 2 picked ( i do like the idea and would like to see it work ) but i have been mad busy finishing up in work and getting ready for holidays and the like. When i come back next weekend i will be posting the second one of these, so work away on this one while you can!

John

Missed this the first time. Interesting thread topic and interesting replies Placebo. And yes, that Crystal Castles shot is brilliant!

Placebo

i was just a band candidate pick someone more interesting

Ricky91t

Ah i remember this,But i totally missed it the first time...Cheers for the bump up

alexandros

Thanks for sharing Placebo!
I very much enjoyed looking through your photos.
I kind of associate your photography style with Charles Bukowski's writing style.
(and I mean that in a good way; as I am a big fan of his works)
It's very raw and very real!
Well done!