September 06, 2004 - This week, we interview Caitriona Dwyer from Caitriona.net:

Tell the folks about yourself:
I'm 27. I live in Dublin, Ireland with Aonghus, my partner of seven years. I graduated from electronic engineering in 1999 and have since strayed into programming. I currently work as a web developer.

When was the first time you grabbed a camera?
I inherited my parent's cheap cartridge film camera when I was about 11. I didn't understand about parallax and I'd spend ages lining up a shot (I remember one in particular of a row of poplar trees at the end of a swimming pool) and be disappointed when the photo came back all to one side. I was subsequently delighted to hear of such a thing as an SLR when I did a little photography course in school. I also used to waste film trying to take close-up shots - which always ended up disappointingly blurry and out of focus. So it was with great pleasure that I discovered such a thing as a macro lens. I got my first proper 35mm SLR camera with macro lens as a 21st birthday present from my parents and I moved to digital a year ago - it was that or buy a decent scanner.

Did you get serious with photography after that birthday, or has it been a love affair since 11?
To say it was a 'love affair' might be a bit strong, but the interest was always there. I took my first photography class at 15 - it was very basic - during lunchtime at school, but we did some darkroom work which was lots of fun. Even aged 21, when I got my SLR, I don't think you could say I was properly serious about photography - as a student, the price of film and developing was expensive and I don't think I considered myself good enough to justify the cost. So I guess it was when I started to work full-time and I had a bit of spare money that I really got serious about getting good at taking photos. I did another class then, in the evenings - black and white techniques and darkroom work - and I was happy with the photos I was taking (which can be seen here). I think that once you start to be pleased with the quality of the photographs you're taking, there's really no going back.

So why is photography so interesting to you?
Beauty. Beautiful photographs. It's a thrill to be able to create something beautiful. I find photography very accessible and immediate - particularly in these instant gratification digital days. I've dabbled with painting, but I find it takes me too long to produce anything I'm pleased with. I go for the quick click any day. Though having said that, photography doesn't necessarily have to be quick; if you want, you can spend ages setting up a shot - and it can be wonderful or it can be rubbish. But you can also quick-snap something without stopping to think too hard. And it too can turn out amazing - or not.

Do you think it's from a lack of patience, or something else? Do you ever prepare for a shot, or are they more candid?
The quality of printing and developing in Dublin is poor. When I returned from Australia, I sought out a supposedly professional standard processing shop and was willing to pay a couple of quid extra for the guarantee of getting back good prints, but even then the results were inconsistent - mostly good, but with the odd badly processed batch - and I was making a long round trip and paying extra for the privilege of that inconsistency. So it's a combination of the delay, the effort of getting to a good processing shop, the price and the lack of control that turned me to digital. If there was a great shop right beside my house I would definitely take more film shots.

As for preparing shots... I usually prefer to photograph things as I see them, though I have bought a couple of rolls of coloured paper to use as backgrounds for still life's - and I have taken a few 'prepared' shots this way, but I'm still learning about lighting; I have no studio equipment at all and I'm not good with the flash, so I rely on natural light. My next photography goal would be to get a grip on how to properly use my flash.

Other hobbies other than photography? Do they mix with it?
I like to cook and I like gardening (if you can call messing with pots on a balcony gardening). They don't mix too well with photography - your hands get too messy to go near a camera - though the end products can be good to photograph. I also love to travel, which is the perfect companion hobby for photography. I think it was all the photos I took over a 16 month trip abroad that really clinched the photography thing for me.

Where did you go? Any interesting stories? What's the favorite place you've ever been to?
We (my partner Aonghus and I) had an amazing 16 month trip based around a year in Australia. We worked in Melbourne for six months and traveled all around Oz (and the south island of New Zealand) for six months in a little white Nissan van that we bought. We had two eight week stop-offs in Bangkok on the way to and from Australia and traveled throughout Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and into some of Malaysia. Of all of those places, the most photogenic was probably 'Angkor Wat' in Cambodia - partly due to the sunrise and sunset trips we made to the temples, but also because it was such a photographable collection of ancient structures picturesquely set in the Cambodian jungle.

Sound amazing. Definitely memorable. As for photos, what are your most memorable experiences?
- Everytime I take a photograph that I'm pleased with.
- That first roll of film I took, a couple of years after getting my SLR camera that had more shots I was pleased with than not.
- Taking a macro photograph and seeing details in the photo that your eye cannot make out in real life.

Most negative photographic experience?
- The disappointing shots.
- The run of disappointing shots.
- When my precious SLR camera jumped off the fridge shortly after I got it (it was easily repaired though, so it was ok).

Alright, so you're preparing for a day of shooting. What's your ritual, what are you carrying, and what are your tricks?
I don't specifically prepare for a day of shooting - I don't so much 'go out to take pictures', as 'go out and bring my camera'. I sometimes make an effort to go to places where I think there might be good photo opportunities, but often as not, it's the unexpected places that offer the most photos so it's good to always have the camera to hand. I do try to always bring my (digital) camera out with me and apart from a set of spare batteries, I don't bring anything else - I don't have anything else to bring.

What's your shooting style, or do you feel you don't have any?
I photograph things around me that I think are beautiful or more precisely, what I think will look beautiful as a photograph. That is pretty much a constant. What changes is what I see as being beautiful. I love macro shots. One of the must-haves on the list of features when I was buying my digital camera was a short macro focal length. I'm just about satisfied with the 2cm on the camera that I got, though some days I wish I could go closer. I don't know if I have a particular shooting style. If i do, I hope it's still evolving.

Although we've kind of discussed it, film or digital?
The ease of digital. I couldn't post daily without digital. I couldn't take a LOT of the photograph's I've taken without digital. My film camera has sat on the shelf for the year since I bought my digital camera. I might yet take it down for a particular purpose, but it will never be the one I carry with me when I'm going out on a stroll. I can't really see the point in using film if your photograph's final destination is a computer screen. If, however I decide to blow up and print some shots, I'm gonna be wishing they were in film.

So your favorite camera is a digital, or which is the best you've ever used?
That film camera that sits on the shelf. We have history. It came all through south-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand with me. It was my 21st birthday present.

Onto photoblogs: Why did your start one?
Because I discovered they existed. I had a blog, I took photos. It was the obvious next step.

Obviously. What's been the best thing about it so far?
Having a purpose in taking photographs. Having somewhere to exhibit them. Having something that pushes me to take more when I'm feeling lazy.

You mentioned 'having a purpose in taking photoblogs'. Do you think you wouldn't be taking photos if you didn't have a photoblog?
Absolutely not. I would be taking photos whether I had a photoblog or not. I just don't think I would take the same volume of photos. It's wonderful having a gallery space to show off my work and without that I think I'd periodically lose interest. The photoblog keeps me constantly motivated to take pictures when there's nothing in particular to be taking pictures of.

What are the biggest strains in running your site?
Trying to take photos that I think are good - not what I think other people will think are good.

Has photography and photoblogging changed your life?
It is part of my life. Without it my life would be different. I don't buy into the whole 'it changed my life' thing in general.

Do you have any inspirations?
I prefer to list particular photographs that inspire me:

Susie Smoking - Nick Knight
Divers - George Hoyningen-Huene
Bed - fiftymillimeter
Vera Hoops - Heather Champ
Potato - exitwound
Fashion - chromasia
040329 - zonalibre
Yellow Chair - makinghappy
Girl in a Red Dress - softservegirl
Un Regard Oblique - Robert Doisneau

So are any of these your favorite photo of all time, or is another?
Too many to even think about trying to remember. The only photograph who's name I've managed to commit to memory is, "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange.

Before you head off, what advice could you give people when it comes to taking photos?
Take lots. I think the best way to improve your photography is by taking lots and lots and lots of photos. Some people naturally have a 'good eye' but you can train your eye with practice. Also, before you jump into (or out of) the digital pack, consider where the majority of your photos end up (or where you'd like them to end up) - on the wall, or on the computer screen. As most of my photos were ending up onscreen, it made sense for me to go digital. I wouldn't recommend making the change if you're just going to end up printing out the pics.

As always, we thank you for both this interview, and for your wonderful photoblog...