Featured Artist: David Register

...Continued from home page

David recently took part in a group show at FlatFile Boston. His image of the Golden Gate Bridge is on their home page. He also has been featured on the Leica camera blog.

Question: How did you get into photography in the first place? What hooked you?
Both my parents were artists, and they passed it on to me. [His father was the noted photo realist painter John Register, 1939 — 1996.] My father's technique was to travel across the west by train to photograph in these little towns. He would take photos with this teeny Olympus film camera, then project the images onto a canvas and outline his paintings to get the perspective correct. Then he painted the rest to his liking

As a teenager they gave me a used Nikon, with, I think, a 35mm fixed lens on there. I'd go on these trips with him and learn from him. He got to the point where he liked some of my photos. Sometimes I'd shoot one that he wanted to paint. That really inspired me, because I would get paid — probably fifty bucks, because I was just a kid.

He also passed on a very strong, almost genetic aesthetic, as did my mother, and I became interested in these lonely, almost desperate, but also beautiful scenes. There's sort of a comfort in them. It's not even a loneliness in them, more of a reflective pause. They feel like home.

Question: In terms of your photography, how did you get to where you are now?
Obviously, my father was very influential on me, but I didn't go to art school. He hated advertising, which was his first job. He hated the politics involved most of all. Somehow his dislike of it made it sound interesting to me, so I went straight into advertising from college.

I quite liked it as a writing medium for me, and I like the social aspects. So I never really focused on photography — I just focused on commercial writing. But as I've gotten older, I've really returned to it.

I travel a lot [for business] and I often have mornings and evenings and sometimes even days free to walk endlessly through towns I would never go to otherwise.

I usually give myself some time at dawn to walk around places that might be a little too sketchy for someone with a Leica. But I find at dawn, it's pretty quiet, and I'm never too fearful. I just walk and look for scenes of interest. I don't shoot street. I have no interest in shooting a crowded scene.

I've been all around the world and it's funny, because I always find myself shooting stuff that reminds me of the wastelands of California. I'll be in Greece and find an abandoned gas station to shoot, for example.

Question: How do you work? What equipment do you use?
I like to go wide. I shoot a Leica digital [M9], mostly with a 28 mm lens which I think gives the work something of a unique look. Although I think the iPhone has a 28 mm equivalent lens, so now a lot is being shot with that slightly wider perspective. That said, I have recently started using a 35 mm, which I love and is new for me. I like sticking with one prime lens for a long time. I do very little lens swapping. For me, the less technical I am, the better my images seem to get.

I don't like carrying a camera bag, so I pretty much wear my camera every day, and I prefer to shoot on my own. There's nothing worse than finding a scene you want to photograph and having the guy next to you shooting the same thing.

I work in Lightroom, and don't do much in post. I might bring in some contrast, push the shadows and bring down the exposure, but no manipulation.

Question: Do you work in projects? What are you working on now?
I don't work in projects, and that's probably something I have to work on. I'll shoot landscapes and urban scenes, then I'll flip to shooting painterly water scenes on a pond. I find all of it interesting. As a result, I think my work is a little unfocused. On the other hand, I've avoided having a certain look

I think of photography as something that frees me, so sticking to one theme or genre is really not that appealing. If the scene is lit beautifully I'm drawn to it. There's a certain light I look for. It's not cloudy. It's not golden hour light. I think of it as California light—there's some haze in it. When I come across scenes with that certain kind of light, it strikes me as a perfect moment, especially if the subject isn't beautiful.

Question: I see you post photos on Flickr and on Instagram in addition to posting to your own website. What role does social media play in your photography?
Although I love the solitude of taking photographs, I very much enjoy and use social media as a way to connect with other photographers. This also enables me to see how people are or aren't appreciating my work.

The online experience really gives the lone photographer a place to bond. And the work I see online really drives me and inspires me. It constantly pushes me to shoot better images that will connect with people.

It's like having an instant show, so I'm very careful what I put out there. I see something like Flickr or Instagram as my work-in-progress portfolio. It's not a place to post images of my food or new shoes. Nothing wrong with that. It's just not how I see social media.

(You can find David's images on his website, www.dregphotos.com, on Flickr, and on Instagram.

Question: How did you start working with AutumnColor? What do you like about the company?
A few years ago, I asked Guido Viddi, a commercial photographer for whom I have a lot of respect, who did his post processing. We talked about the kind of photos I shoot and he paired me up with Mark. He suggested I send him a few to print and see if Mark was a good fit.

Instantly, I knew he had a good eye. He does interesting things with my photos and I like working with him a lot. It is a good fit on a personal level and an aesthetic level.

When Mark makes a final image, it's ready for print. I went and worked with him on the first few prints he made, because I wanted to see the whole process. Now, when I send him photos to print, I just get tubes in the mail.