Place you live: Portland, Or

Place your Instagrams were taken: None are really taken in “Portland proper.” Most of my photos are taken within a 2 hour drive from the city.

Can you sum up Portland? I live in what some call a “city” but feels more like a town located betwixt volcanic landforms in every way and direction. Portland is a pleasant place to live but really I love the Pacific Northwest as a whole. I love the mountains, the caves, and I love the proximity to them.

If Portland was a person or character who would it be? I have no idea. Great question. Someone who drink a lot of coffee and rides a bike? I’ll be thinking of a good answer to this now, ha!

How long have you been using Instagram? Roughly two years.

What phone camera do you use to shoot with? I actually shoot with a Canon 5d mark ii mostly. If I am shooting a cave there is no way I am going to take my iPhone out. I’m too afraid of damaging it; getting it wet or dropping it because I’m wearing gloves, etc. If I’m on the mountain same thing…. I have take off one or two pairs of gloves and I’m afraid I’ll drop it down the side of a cliff. I have already lost a camera lens that way. Ha! I take a lot of astronomy photographs as well. This is completely impossible with an iPhone.

What is your editing process? I shoot with a 5d mark ii and I edit with Lightroom. I try not to tamper with the image too much and try to take good pictures instead.

Do you create images outside of Instagram?  Yes, and I hope to more in the future. I was just involved in a group show at the University of Oregon. Unfortunately I never even made an appearance at the show because I was too busy climbing mountains. I didn’t even want to bother going because the weather was good and I didn’t want to miss out on shooting pictures and having a great time.

Has Instagram/phoneography affected how you shoot? Yes it has. It has encouraged me to share my work and become a lot less self-conscious. It’s been great really. I enjoy seeing what other photographers are up to. I also see A LOT of the same gimmicky images over and over again its nice to know what NOT to do.  I am always searching around looking for new people to follow. It can be hard to find someone really good or unique but once you do its always a pleasure to look at their work and also to ook forward to their next post.

Can you give a couple tips to aspiring Instagram photographers? If you’ve seen someone else do it then try something else….. unless…. You can create the same image but better.

Who are your three favorite Instagrammers? @bradleycastaneda, @iamunknown, @omega686

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