I came across Ethan Coverstone aka Spiderthan's photostream on Flickr and followed the improvement of his work on his 52 week project!
a long with that he's probably one of the funniest guy on the planet!! =D
closer look to Ethan:
Introduce yourself .
Who has inspire you the most in terms of photography?
I don't know if I have a favorite style, but I tend to approach each image with as much honesty as I can. I tend to supplement reality with Photoshop to achieve the look I want.
What is your favorite style of photography?
What style of photography do you find challenging?
Shooting other people is always challenging, but I really enjoy it! I think the challenge of coaxing the right emotion from a portrait is immensely satisfying.
Name other photographers you admire.
Where to start!? Flickr has introduced me to some of the greatest artists and people that I have ever met! David Talley, Karrah Kobus, Sarah Ann Loreth, Rosie Hardy, Molly Strohl, Rachel Bee, Nicholas Scarpinato, Brad Wagner, Lara Jade, Kiara Rose, Nicolas Mephane, Robby Cavanaugh, Chloe Smith, Jack Batchelor, Cari Wayman, Anka Zhuravleva, Liisa Harmson, Luke Sharratt Brian Oldham, Lucia Rubio, Gillian Woods, Elizaveta Porodina, Masha Sardari, Stephen Beadles, Dylan Shaw, Phillip Schumacher, Rob Woodcox, Alex Stoddard, Joel Robison, Seanen Middleton, Rachael Putt, and Brooke Shaden all rock my world on a regular basis.
Who are your biggest supporters?
I initially didn't want anyone to know about my photography; I was afraid that people were going to think I was weird! Now that they know for a fact that I am indeed weird, I don't really care who knows! My friends (especially Sydney, Heidi, and Rachel) have really pushed me to take more photos, and they have helped me do things that I didn't know that I could do! My family has been really supportive as well! My sister Erin is always willing to model, and my family has been cheering along my work the whole time!
What do you enjoy doing other than photography?
I am a book junkie, I love music, and architecture is my passion. I love the outdoors; hiking, canoeing, down hill skiing, boating, swimming, riding ATVs, and horseback riding are some other things that I love. I am also involved with some campus organizations that keep me pretty busy. I am president of Freedom by Design, which is a group that builds ramps for people off campus with physical disabilities, and we also do awareness programs on campus. I am also on the executive board of our American Institute of Architecture Students chapter. I work as a resident assistant in my dorm, and I was recently inducted into the National Residence Hall Honorary! I am also a part of the Honors College at my school. So busy!
What are some of your favourite films, books and musicians that keep you inspired?
Pan's Labyrinth, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Melancholia, and The Prestige have really stuck with me lately. I have been wanting to do photos related to all of them since I initially saw them. East of Eden, The Glass Menagerie (script), The Great Gatsby, The God of Small Things, Death with Interruptions, Lord of the Flies, and The House on Mango Street have all been on my list to interpret into photos as well! I always find inspiration in the lyrics of Stars, The Beatles, Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver, Jethro Tull, The Classic Crime, Queen, Florence+the Machine, Cat Power, and Mirah.
You're doing an amazing job both in front and behind the camera, would you be interested in modeling or acting?
Thanks so much! I always find my poses and expressions to be less interesting than my model's. I actually used to be in theatre in high school, and I really loved it! I actually do miss it some, but I have too many other things going on in my life to be active in theatre again. I wouldn't stand much of a chance as a model, and I would probably be too controlling over the photographer; I would be so bossy that no one would hire me!
.jpg)
How do you respond to people who think that self portraits as narcissistic
I would tell them to model for me, so that I don't have to. I would prefer to have models!
What scares you the most?
I am terrified of failure and not meeting my own goals; I am probably my own harshest critic.
Tell us a weird fact about you,
I am related to Edgar Allan Poe through marriage on my dad's side, and to Bonnie Parker (the notorious bank robber) though blood on my mom's side!
What is your definition of beauty?
True beauty is true honesty.
If you could create the perfect camera what features would it have?
Automatic skin retouching, auto focus, and a built in remote. My current camera doesn't have auto-focus with my 50mm lens.
What is you favorite location to shoot in and why?
I love to shoot at my house! I live on a farm (about 79 acres), and there is plenty of space to run around and lots of new things to find! We have swamps, fields, horses, barns, and other fun things.
Do you like answering questions regarding your photography or do you like to keep your secrets to yourself ?
I don't mind answering questions related to photography! I think that it's nice to share the knowledge with other people. I didn't learn through tutorials or asking questions, but I can definitely see how those sorts of things can be helpful!
Do you recommend any websites for photoshop tutorials?
The only tutorial that I have found myself really coming back to is a skin-retouching tutorial by Sara Kiesling. It's fantastic!
What is your favorite photo taken by you?
My personal favorite photo is always changing! So it is really hard for me to say! This one is one of my favorites, because it is of my sister and myself. I love her to death.
How do you manage to stay creative?
It's hard sometimes to stay creative! I get bogged down by school work and R.A. work and random other things in life. I try and get back into music and read as much as possible. Doing both of those inspires me immensely! I also look through my contact's work on Flickr. They are always creative inspiration for new photos.
Do you prefer shooting indoors or outdoors?
I would rather shoot outdoors! I love natural light (studio lights freak me out), and there is such a wide range of things to find! I love the natural backdrop, of course, but I get really inspired when I run around in the woods by my house.
When you first started out at photography, what were the mistakes you made a lot?
I still make a lot of mistakes! I would never claim any one of my photos as "perfect." When I first started, I really worried about what other people would think of my photos! I was a little afraid to be creative, and I would rather just copy other people's work.
Name people you enjoy working with models or other photographers, or people you wish to work with both models or photographers.
I love working with my sister, Erin. Her and I always collaborate on my favorite works, but I am excited to meet some Flickrites this summer at the Midwest Gathering! Hopefully we come up with some awesome work!
How do you respond to other people stealing your photographs?
It's really frustrating, but there isn't really much you can do. I always confront people, if I can. People don't care that much though and tend to just ignore me.
Have you ever contacted other photographers for advice?
I contact other photographers all the time! A lot of people on Flickr are really helpful and very knowledgeable.
You mentioned that you've learned a lot of photography tricks by the end of your 52 week, what's you're favorite trick?
Learning the Brenzier Method of Expansion was definitely my favorite. I think it has really helped me grow as an artist, and I love being able to use the technique on all sorts of projects.
You started a collaboration with Brad Wagner, David Tally and Kiara Rose ,how did you guys get together? who came up with the idea of the collaboration? how do you decide on the themes of your shoots?
The idea was originally mine and Kiara's (I think), but we sort of collaborated together on the theme! Kiara mentioned it on Formspring, and we planned via Facebook messages and Skype. We talked about a lot of different ideas before we finally settled on one that we all liked. We took time apart to think about different ideas that the four of us could do, and then we put the ideas into action. None of us had seen one another's photos before posting them to Flickr! It was a lot of fun, and I would definitely work with them again!
Links you should know:
Ethan's Flickr -- Formspring -- Italian Vouge -- Google+
No comments:
Post a Comment