PhotoDeCal forum

Amine Hambaba
4th Year
Economics
http://hambaba.com

Photography background / What you're interested in taking photos of
I got my first digital camera as a gift for my high graduation and now I am senior soon to graduate in May 2008 and have been taking pictures ever since on that camera, the camera was a point-and-shoot camera, Canon Powershot S200.

I never took lessons or took time to learn more about photographic or camera techniques, etc but I still took photographs and I have gotten into natural photography after my small weekly hikes in the South Bay Area trails became an obsession.


What you want to do in the future with regards to photography
I have a huge interest in meshing two art forms together, Arabic Calligraphy and Natural photography to create a visual presentation combining the elusive written text with the majestic beauty of nature.


Equipment
Canon Powershot S200
Canon Rebel XT

Chenchen
Second semester in cal / college transfer
EECS
there is a flickr... not much to see so far...


Photography background -
I have been taking photo for about a year.
Back in the day, I never like to take pictures, because I don't think it is important for anyone.
Right around high school graduation, I got my 2MP camera phone and it rise my interest of taking pictures of people, natural, and stuffs.  I got my DSLR on 2006 christmas.

I never took any lessons as well, but I did downloaded a lot of tutorials to learn, mostly lightroom, I like to use lightroom to do some minor editing.

I never thought what to do in the future with photography.  For me, it is a tool to save each moment in my life.  It is kind important for me.

Equipment? Nikon D80

Year: Freshman Spring Admit
Major: Undecided
Website: Under Construction
Equipment: Nikon D40 Kit

My life is photography. I take my camera almost everywhere and I never let it leave my side, except when I go to Mexico to build homes with a church group. The neighborhood kids (and sometimes the elderly women) flock around me to see images of themselves on my Nikon. Their excitement at seeing a camera and having their picture taken is so incredible that I can’t deny them a chance to hold my camera. It’s such a delight to see their smiles and hear their laughter as they excitedly point to their picture on the LCD screen.

I am a very observant person and I rarely forget the faces of people I meet. I find that when I have my camera in hand, approaching people is simpler and it opens doors to communication that otherwise would be closed or difficult to open. I am a visual learner and I like to express my thoughts, ideas, and concerns through photography. I’m still deciding on a major, but I am almost positive that I want to be a photojournalist post-college; I hope to make it to National Geographic someday!

Prior experience: My first photography class was in ninth grade, where I was introduced to the darkroom. The second class I took was as a senior in high school, where I created a portfolio of my work and explored with digital imaging. I also took a photo class this past fall semester at a junior college where I learned how to use my DSLR. I've shot for a camp, missions organizations, and one wedding.

(photo courtesy Residential Computing)

Christoffer Heckman
4th year
Mechanical Engineering

http://www.zeteticprojekt.com/

Photography background
I have had a strong interest in photography since early high school, since my mother took photographs with her Minolta 5000i AF SLR at my soccer games and on family vacations. I followed her with my 2MP digital camera, and upgraded through the ages and finally graduated to my digital SLR over this past summer. Paid for on my wages as a network security specialist with Residential Computing, I've been proud of the system and enjoyed its use thoroughly for the past 7 months. I host a website from a server sitting in my room that contains an online photo gallery of my past photography.

What you're interested in taking photos of
I go on adventures (generally hikes) quite often and come across some very nice landscapes that always seem to be difficult to capture. However, I've found myself in a variety of photographic scenarios and in general just like to capture life.

What you want to do in the future with regards to photography
My work is entirely amateur and I don't think that will change. However, I'm going on to grad school next year and I hear the wages of a starving artist are better than those of a grad student, so anything could happen...

Equipment?
Everything I have was either passed down to me by my mother or came with my camera (got it on eBay), excepting my pride and joy prime lens.

        Sony Alpha A-100
        Sony 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6
        Minolta 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6
        Minolta 35-80mm f/4-5.6 w/ Philips 0.65x Wide Angle Conversion Lens (always seems to get blurry suckiness)
        Minolta 50mm f/1.7
        Targus 3″-12″ miniature tripod

Last edited by christofferheckman (2008-Feb-01 22:50)

Dylan Nelson
Year: Senior
Major: Physics/Astrophys./Math
Website: ugastro.berkeley.edu/~dnelson/ or facebook?

Photography background: Started like a few others it seems with a powershot, then moved onto a Fuji S7000 "prosumer" camera which was pretty nice at the time. Have followed the canon rebel line up since then, waiting for the 450D!

Interests: It seems like I mostly associate photography with travel. During school semesters the camera usually collects dust in the closet. I like to shoot just about anything, abstract/surreal scenes, animal/flower macro, architecture and industrial, landscapes, and of course people/portraits, especially candid.

Future: This: http://www.ashesandsnow.org/

Equipment: Canon 400D + BGE3, Canon 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS, Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS

Christine Liao
Second year undergrad
Undeclared

I haven't been doing photography for too long. Took a semester of intro to black and white photography (film based) at a community college, but that's it. I met some cool people that have helped me with questions that i have.
Just got a Nikon D40 for christmas, so have been playing around with it. I'm not particularly good, so hopefully this class will help me with lighting and other cool effects.
Photography is just a hobby. I like taking emotive pictures and pictures of real life, oh and nature! It's really just for me to show off to friends and family, but there are very few pictures that i feel are good enough.
Equipment is just the Nikon D40 and i have a zoom lens that i haven't used yet and actually not quite sure what size/magnification it is?

helen kim
4th year
english

i've been dedicated to canon's for a while but was only using point and shoots until recently when i purchased my first canon dslr. decided to work all of last summer in order to splurge on a 5d. i've just been taking pictures of random things.

i want to mainly concentrate on portraiture, studio, fashion and documentary. i guess that is a pretty wide range. actually i enjoy taking pictures of almost anything.

i want to go to art school in the near future for photography and make it a part of my life either as a means of living or a frequent hobby.

canon 5d
canon ef 50mm f/1.4 usm

Anne Wu (pronounced "Annie," thanks to my parents)
2nd Year
Intended Economics and Statistics

Photography background:
I had two point-and-shoot cameras throughout high school and college. I don't recall taking a lot of photos until the summer before college, but even then I mostly enjoyed the camera more as a method of preserving memories than anything else. Eventually I became more and more interested in photography as an art and began to admire the photos taken by friends with dSLRs. My mother and I began researching a bit on dSLRs last summer, but I didn't really have any intent to purchase one because the prices and the expectations that came with owning such a camera intimidated me. My parents surprised me with a Canon XTi for Christmas, however, so now I have the burden of trying to live up to the camera... ha...

What you're interested in taking photos of:
Portraits are always fun, and I love to take photos of animals, especially of my dog. I'm really interested in macro photography, but macro lenses are expensive...

What you want to do in the future with regards to photography:
Photography will more than likely remain a hobby for me when I need to relax. But I'd like to learn to take better photos and post-process them. Before I buy any more equipment, I'd like to try out those do-it-yourself things and see how they work out.

Equipment:
Canon XTi
18-55 mm lens