Al Ebnereza is a crafter of image, a singer through sight, a weaver of tales via vision. He does not just capture a moment, but infuses it with intent. His diverse and vast array of images reveal a curiosity and willingness to tackle many subjects. His answers to the questions reveal many things I've come to appreciate about Al: his wisdom, his humour, his insight, and his humility. With much joy do I present to you, this month, Al Ebnereza.

 

as her spirit flew away 

 

 

Fountains of Gold

 

Q: How did you get interested in photography?

Aaaaah, this question makes me reminisce! I think it was basically just in the books for me, to end up with some kind of camera floating in front of my eyes. I still remember, that as a kid with many many toys, this little camera I had was one of my most favorite toys. There's a picture of me somewhere around here, at the age of oh… let's say 6 or 7, where I have that camera hanging from my neck and I'm grinning cheek to cheek as I clutch onto it.

Did I know what I was doing with it? I hardly doubt it. Do I STILL know what I'm doing with all my cameras? I hardly doubt it!

I remember once I discovered where my dad used to hide his old 35mm Minolta (or was it CaNNon with two N's?), I would sneak into his room, open up his hard leather camera case, pull out the camera and lenses, and ogle it all. I'd put it up to my eyes, push and pull buttons and knobs, and pretend like I knew what I was doing. I still do that to this day; you know, the pretending bit.

Ultimately though, what got me interested, and KEEPS me interested in photography, is my ever unquenchable curiosity for the world around me and around us. Exploration is the key for me. Whether it's what the art form is conducive to, or whether the art form ITSELF requires endless exploration and discovery, that is what keeps me coming back, mainly. I tend to gravitate in my life toward things that are not defined, rigid, established, sustained, maintained, ruled, strict, and overall dead-ends.

I still feel like there is so so so much to learn. That is what KEEPS me clicking.

Oh, and also, I have pretty lousy memory these days so if I don't take pictures, I will soon forget!

 

 

 

Love rises

 

As she stretched her arms

 

Q: How long have you been a photographer?

I guess you could say almost all my life. But there was quite a few years of pause, from the age of 10 till my early 20s, where my main art outlet was drawing. I was pretty decent. I can't draw to save my life now, and that is when I went back to capturing the world around me with a camera. It allowed me to seek, inspect, and capture the minutiae of our daily lives.

Officially, or semiprofessionally, you could say I've been a "photographer" for about 10 years. Although the hobby most certainly started few years before that. I've since gone through more than 11 camera bodies and numerous lenses (a waste of time -- what ANY true professional will tell you).

You have to burn a few years on learning the technicalities, the gear, the specs, the this of the thats. Most important of all being the timeless and magical relationship between Shutter speed, Aperture size, and Film/Sensor sensitivity. The thing we call EV, or Exposure Value. I find this to be the most fascinating thing about capturing Light with cameras. EV, and the formula that derives it, has not changed in over a 100 years! That's incredible!

But I digress.

Add on top; learning the rest of the craft, the editing, the coloring, the toning, the "mood"-ing, which is crucial to my style personally. This is where the story or image is molded and massaged to convey the rest of what it was destined to convey.

What does any of this have to do with how long I've been a photographer, you ask? Well, having a camera in your hand NEVER makes you a photographer. How you finish off those images, the final product, and the emotion it conveys and conjures, is what finally makes you a Photographer. If I choose to be strict with my own timeline, I'd say I've only been a "real photographer" for just a few years now.

Granted, all of that is hyperbole, and for me. There are plenty of mind blowing photographers out there who absolutely have NO clue what the camera is doing, and they still produce incredible works of art. I just personally prefer to become one with the tools of the trade, before I dare call myself a craftsman of any sort.

 

To this earth I belong 

 

As she rose to depths

 

Leaving home in pieces

 

Q: What is your favorite place to photograph? Or subject?

Tough to answer this one. What interests me is evvvvvverything.

I am not a niche photographer. I admire those who are tremendously. I just find that for me, there's NO WAY I can pick one or two topics. I can't do that with languages, I can't do it with food, I can't do it with music. How could anyone expect me to do it with my favorite craft?

There are of course subjects that I spend more time on, compared to others, so I guess I can mention those.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE animals. I find them incredibly fascinating. I find them to be pure. Purely raw, purely instinctual creatures and purely raw. I find them to be nature's works of art.

 

Waiting for you

 

It took me almost 4.5 hours of waiting behind shrubs just to get that one shot of this cheetah. Finally caught him playing pounce-pounce with his imaginary prey.

Properly photographing animals takes a tremendous amount of time and patience. This is something that is underrated. They're not exactly studio friendly, you can't always light them how you want, you're at the mercy of mother nature when it comes to both subject and lighting! 

 

Come out of your shell

 

My other favorite subject, is/are children! The common ground here, for me, is again the pureness. Pureness of heart, of joy, of sorrow, lack of adult nonsense and complexity (unless I'm dealing with a child prodigy) is what draws me to them. They remind me of how to be a child and how to see the world from an uncluttered, unjaded point of view. That is something I gratefully appreciate when surrounded by kids. It's effortless, for the most part, to capture a human being truly enjoying the moment. Try doing that with adults! No sir!

 

Lotus Elise

 

Aston Martin DB9. At Summit Point, waiting to unleash some raw power onto the tarmac.

 

Audi R8

 

I like to photograph man made things-of-precision, like high end automobiles. I know, it's a guy thing on the surface, but as humans we DO make some very impressive AND functional pieces of art. I simply celebrate that by capturing these objects from my point of view.

 

 

Last, but most certainly not least, I love to photograph the people in my life. I don't tend to photograph strangers as much as, say, street photographers. Even with people in my life, I don't tend to chase them about and stick my lens in their face. But should they cross paths with me, when my camera is floating near my face, they better watch out!

Again, these lists could go on and on. I really do not discriminate. Everything in life is fascinating to me. I've pretty much photographed anything possible. I've even reluctantly done Wedding photography, which is something I personally don't think I am good at. I have the utmost respect for the greats of wedding photography. Man, that is a SPORT! Kudos!

 

Stop calling me kitty 

 

Peeking through the lights: Washington DC, around the Tidal Basin.

 

Q: How can photographers help change/impact the world, while they are traveling?

You know, that is a great question. One to which I struggle with.

Something I've always wanted to do, is to travel to places that are misrepresented by the media and strive to capture the truth, the real unfiltered and unglamorized reality that is being ignored by the masses.

I think photography can be a powerful medium of education. What better way to show kids/students/adults of the world what is really going on in some remote land no one knows much about?

In the world of today, where technology is making the world smaller and smaller, I find it CRUCIAL that correct and valid information be disseminated for consumption.

My personal struggle with photography is that, let's be honest, for the most part it is self-serving and quite narcissistic.

In pop culture, it's a machine of vanity. It's marketing, it's glitz and glamour. What good is that doing ANYONE? It's just making some brand more money. Very few of those brands give back.

Photogs like Jeremy Cowart, with his Help-Portrait movement, and young amazing talents like Joey L., with his continuous trips to deep jungles of Ethiopia and other remote parts of Africa, come to mind here as stellar examples of what Photography CAN do for those less fortunate, or those whom are forgotten or are on the verge of disappearing as a race.

Same can be done with conserving and protecting creatures from extinction, saving humans from injustice, conserving and saving mother nature and more.

I am personally looking forward to taking part in Jeremy's Help Portrait movement this coming year.

 

Don't judge me by my cover. Part of a shoot for a political study about juxtapositions in todays multi-cultural youth. Trying to visually explore the dichotomies of conservative upbringing with the ever yearning to break rules and express individuality.

 

The Forest Fairy 

 

A quiet night in Delaware

 

Q: Are there rules in other countries people need to be aware of about who or what you can or cannot shoot?

One should always research and honor the local customs and policies when it comes to photographing in other countries. You don't want to get your camera smashed up, or even worse, end up in jail or beaten up! Culture and religion play a fairly strong role in many non-western countries. Always do your homework!

 

Brooklyn Bridge 

 

Where heroes once stood and lay forever

 

Alexandria

 

Q: Any photography tips you want to share?

YES! STOP obsessing about how many mega-pixels your camera has or has not. Stop checking stats, specs, charts, reviews, and forums.

[Mind you, I'm speaking from experience in this topic :)]

All of the people who sit around comparing specs, or ranting and raving, or analyzing the latest technology, or this camera vs. that one, etc. have likely never taken an incredible image. Yeah okay, maybe one or two, but that's it.

Go and buy yourself a HOLGA [available at Amazon] and a couple of rolls of professional film (called 120 film).

What's a Holga, you ask? It's a PLASTIC camera, with a PLASTIC lens, with almost ZERO control over anything besides a fixed speed shutter. Oh, and it's NOT digital!

You may be saying "Wait, WHAT!? You want me to take pictures with a TOY??" -- Well, while it may classify as a "Toy", and while it's completely manual, and while almost nothing is guaranteed to capture a shot correctly, it actually takes 120 film which is professional film with negatives almost twice the size of your fancy 35mm Full Frame digital camera. Calculated approximate resolution that would match the detail this film can capture is somewhere around 220 Megapixels. If you don't think this is a serious contender in the photography world, I'd like to inform you that brilliant photographers have used this camera to produce $5000 prints and museum pieces. Art CAN be created with a $30 plastic toy camera, yes indeed!

After 10+ years of shooting digital, I am personally getting back into film. Why am I doing this? Two main reasons:

- These old film cameras I'm into are just amazing pieces of mechanical engineering. Yet, they are uncluttered and for the most part un-distracting.

- Using these cameras slows me down. A LOT! Why is that good? It's great! We're so used to "spraying and praying" with our insta-kaboom-awesome digital cameras, that we are forgetting to slow down and THINK before we click that shutter. I want to slow down. I want to think before I capture this tiny story that lives inside of a square or rectangle of a picture. I want to then hold it in my hands. Not sitting on a hard drive, in a pile of 40,000 more, never to be seen again. 

 

Long story short: Stop obsessing about your gear. GO OUT and SHOOT! You haven't started until your shutter count hits 10,000. That's when you "begin".

 

 

What once was... 

 

Light play and laser swords

 

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

Keep pushing your limits. Photograph things you know nothing about and situations you haven't explored yet. Process your images in ways you've never done before.

 

**Photography is cherishing life 1/100th of a second at a time.**

 

Golden Gates of Snowvalley Village

 

Once upon a church...I stepped back in time to capture this place, hidden amidst a forest of Renaissance, somewhere in Maryland.

 

As he shone through it all

 

 

You can find Al Ebnereza online at:

Website - http://www.colordropstudios.com

Blog - http://blog.colordropstudios.com

500px - 500px.com/colordrop

Flickr - flickr.com/aligee

FB - facebook.com/aebnereza

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/113367609333589754250/posts

Book - plusonecollection.com

 

Golden atmosphere

 

Apocalypse landing

 

Rules don't apply. There's often quite a lot that hides underneath the veils you see in pictures or on TV. Little do most people know the parallel realities that live underneath the religiously induced nonsense of modesty or conformity. There is a whole world of individuality, talent, spunk and style that lives underneath. Don't always believe what your eyes see. Seeing, is not always the avenue to truth.

 

 

 

Jordan Oram is the Photography Editor for Wandering Educators.

He has a passion for encouraging and empowering others to realize the combinations of their unique passions and strengths. In April of 2012, with $250 to his name, he travelled more than 10,000 km, over 8 months, across Canada and back, to encourage people to rock out their awesomeness. Find him at www.maplemusketeer.com

 

 

 

All photos courtesy and copyright Al Ebnereza