Mark Bridgwater

MARX
Interviewed by Kofi Ansah

First of all, congratulations on the feature! How do you feel about this?

Its a huge honour! Since being accepted to Digital Flow I have just had one surprise after another with the reception to my photography! First getting a featured piece and now this.

Could you tell us a bit more about yourself.

I was born in England and my family moved to NZ when I was 11 . I have been a full time athlete since finishing high school and a member of the NZ National Ski Team until funding was cut last year. I worked as a freelance graphic designer while skiing and started shooting landscape photography with a little point and shoot. I managed to get straight into 2nd year of a Bachelor of Design Degree in Christchurch where I am currently majoring in Graphic Design and minoring in Photography (not enough photography for my liking!).

What do you aspire to, and who or what inspires you especially in the photography field?

I have goals of freelancing in Graphic Design and Photography to create a one stop shop for companies. I also have some cool artistic photography plans in the prototype phase right now which is quite exiting.
My inspirations come from Marc Adamus and his stunning landscapes. Currently, I am also very inspired by the lighting effects of Chuck Anderson in my graphic design.

When did you start your quest as a photographer, and what made you go this direction?

I live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world... and being such a visual person with my design I constantly see compositions and moments I want to capture. Other than taking film photography at school, I started with a little point and shoot, taking multiple shots of a scene and making panoramas to try and bump the quality a little. I finally got enough money and with a little help, I got my first Digital SLR and started experimenting with long exposures! I still love to play with long exposures and panoramas now and see these as my strongest points.

As a photographer with experience and still learning, what advice would you give to other photographers thinking of portraying their career in this field? Is it a hard field to get into, what are the opportunities and conditions of succeeding and what will make you stand out out of the millions of professional photographers out there. In short terms, What does it take to be a photographer?

It is a relatively easy field to get into with a huge amount of resources to learn from online. You do however need to have a good eye for composition which will develop with experience. I would suggest you find as many examples of photography you like and want to work towards, and find out how to do this yourself. I think my point of difference would be my vision to take things that step further.

Tell us a bit more about the camera you use. What kind of camera is it, what types of lenses do you use, and overall, what's your secret weapon?

I use the Nikon system. My collection consists of a D80, Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED, Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6 G, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 and my new pride and joy Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (IF) DX super wide angle.

I don't really know what my secret weapon is... perhaps BULB mode and my remote timer!

Being a photography Artist at DigitalFlow... How do you feel about that? Is it competitive enough and do you think you receive enough criticism about you works for better improvement? If so, would you recommend DigitalFlow to any photographers who may be thinking of following your steps into joining us?

I think its a great place for photographers! As I have said before, having a background in graphic design gives you an awesome understanding of composition and this is what I get most of my comments on. I think we could do with a few more photographers and I'm glad its growing with more!

Anything else you would like to say, which I may have left out?

I'd like to commend the efforts of you Kofi and the rest of the admins, you guys put up with a load of stuff from us and do a great job organizing and putting together the packs! You are appreciated!

Lastly, a link to your online portfolio would be great.

www.mark-flammable.deviantart.com/gallery
A portfolio showing my photography and design will be made in my flash web class next term tho!

Thanks